Wearing Science
We wear sports jerseys to support our sports teams and jackets emblazoned with slogans from our favorite TV shows. When we love something we are proud to display it as we walk around our daily life, hoping to spark conversations and comradery with strangers in public and show our love for it.
Why not wear our love of science too?
This is the philosophy I have taken in science-ifying my wardrobe. I have everything from circuit board dresses by Svaha to LEGO shirts to pieces I actually made! When there isn’t a piece out there I want, I either take a trip to the local fabric store and sew it myself or create it through my company, SciChic, which creates 3D printed science and engineering inspired jewelry.
I founded Sci Chic with the goal of using technology to show the creativity and fun in science, while also sparking everyday conversations about STEAM. When we proudly display our love of science in what we wear we are inviting people to discuss science with us. It makes science an accessible topic for everyone. Bringing science into daily conversations creates a more scientifically literate and engaged society and makes people less afraid to ask questions about it. Additionally, by elevating science clothing onto a more chic and fashionable level, we can push it beyond cartoon pictures of atoms (which are awesome too, but is where science clothing is mainly at right now). Science can be high fashion, cool and fun.
I created this skirt by 3D printing space inspired design directly onto the fabric using one of my desktop 3D printers! I then sewed the fabric into this skirt design. The necklace is a Stainless Steel 3D printed Trajectory Necklace by Sci Chic. It shows the path of the Apollo 11 mission from the Earth to the moon as a necklace!
On top of all this, by wearing science and engineering inspired fashion, we make women in engineering and science more visible. By showing our love for our fields in our clothing and jewelry we are identifying ourselves as scientists and engineers and giving a new face to these fields. We can be a part of working to change the stereotype of an engineer from a guy in a white coat, to a more diverse 21st century view on the field.
Additionally, this inspired me to launch my own science fashion subscription box to bring science fashion to your door step every month. I want to make it easier for others to embrace science as fun and fashionable and make it easier for everyone to spread the awesomeness of science and engineering. It will also give all of the other science fashion creators a platform on which to spread their craft and reach a new audience interested in what they do. By pairing our kid’s box with educational materials about both the science behind the pieces and 3D printing, we are elevating the fashion to a learning experience as well.
The STEM fields are so much more creative than people often give them credit for. At its core engineering is all about problem solving and making creative solutions for complex problems. To do this we need people who love making things, creating art, and expressing themselves, not just people who are fantastic at calculus. So let’s start inviting these people into the conversation and showing off just how fashionable and fabulous science can be.
Svaha: STEM dresses, skirts and scarves
Shenova: STEM inspired dresses, skirts, leggings and scarves
Shadow Play: Space Dresses and shirts
Slow Factory: Space Scarves
Sci Chic: 3D Printed STEM Jewelry
TwoPhotonArt: Science Pins and Patches
