Slay your closet monsters

Choose your arcane path and academic outfit

September 22, 2025

Hey, Style Slayers — Happy Moda Monday!

Welcome Inside the Closet! In this edition, we’re sharing 1 quest, 2 tips, and 3 looks to help you embrace your unique style superpowers — Let’s step in! 👇

1 Quest for you to try

This week, I awoke to a fog-filled morning, crows cawing, and a crisp breeze in the air – not only does this feel like a true autumn day in New England, but it’s also a pretty fitting aesthetic for a scholarly-focused scene as well! Just add in some dusty libraries, flickering candles, and wardrobes rich with mystery. To start off our official first day of Autumn, I challenge you to step into the Academia of the Arcane and lean into dark academia’s moody elegance or light academia’s airy charm!

Which path will your outfit take you this week: the Path of Shadows or the Path of Lumina? Step into the Academia of the Arcane by choosing your aesthetic…

Path of Shadows: Dark Academia

  1. Choose: A piece from your wardrobe in a deep, moody tone (black, burgundy, forest green, charcoal).
  2. Create: Layer it with heavy textures (wool, tweed, velvet) and add an accessory that feels mysterious—like a vintage ring, candlelit pendant, or satchel.
  3. Capture: Share your outfit with #VostraModaQuest, or reply to this email with your entry. Bonus points if you take your portrait as if you were a scholar studying forbidden tomes by candlelight or if your backdrop includes bookshelves or shadows.

OR

Path of Lumina: Light Academia

  1. Choose: A lighter, earthy colored piece from your closet (cream, tan, warm brown, muted green, soft gray).
  2. Create: Build your look with soft fabrics (linen, cotton, silk) and add one accessory that suggests scholarly curiosity—a notebook, spectacles, or scarf.
  3. Capture: Share your outfit with #VostraModaQuest, or reply to this email with your entry. Bonus points if you pose as if you’re writing your next great thesis beneath a sun-dappled window, or if your scene includes tea, parchment, or flowers.

The most inspiring outfit will be featured next week! Please let me know if you would like to remain anonymous.

2 Tips to help you slay

For this week’s quest, I leaned into the fantasy aspect of the arcane and my outfit inspiration! I decided to embrace The Path of Shadows and turn my own academic look into a more chaotic character, including curious trinkets and spooky vibes!

— The fun thing about an academic look is that you can lean into the character of a magical scholar and create a look like you’d find a wizard in a Dungeons & Dragons game wear, or you could base your outfit a century or so in the past, but in the real world, like on a Victorian professor or investigator, ala Sherlock Holmes. There are no limits, so get creative with it!

Our style suggestions

  1. Layer like a mage: Be it cardigans, blazers, cloaks, or cape-inspired coats, think of them as your “layers of power”, and warmth! Think long lines, flowing fabrics, or structured outerwear that could just as easily be worn in the lecture hall as it would be on a moonlit adventure through the woods!
  2. Arcane accessories: The first accessories that come to my mind for scholarly accents are glasses with round frames, leather satchels, pocket watches, crystal pendants, or even a wand-like umbrella—these relics can be a way to bedazzle your outfit and your onlookers alike!
Bri leans into her arcane dark academia inspired look in an all black outfit of layered skirts, vests, and harnesses, complete with silver sword earrings, a black and silver necklace, and even a crow familiar to complete her ensemble as she ventures on a mysterious journey for the "Path of Shadows"!

3 Looks for you to shop

Upgrade your wardrobe with just one click! Shop these fresh looks to trend the multiverse and never go out of style.

The Mr.

Our Mr Arcane look could be worn for the Path of Lumina or the Path of Shadows, depending on how you decide to accent it! A monochrome gray look, this outfit includes charcoal gray trousers, a light gray dobby button-up, a herringbone tweed gray vest, a wool herringbone overcoat, and a black and silver belt. Even the boots have a silver, gray, and black pattern! Keeping with a neutral theme, a classic silver pocketwatch is important for every scholar to have, so they can keep track of time, and lion head collar pins in silver can be a nod to a school mascot, or other lore one may appreciate. Try cooler tones of gray and mixing more black or dark colors in to explore the Path of Shadows, or use warmer grays mixed with lighter earth tones to journey the Path of Lumina!

The Mx.

Our Mx Arcane look is inspired by the Path of Lumina: Light Academia, featuring a light and earthy-inspired color palette of creams, tans, browns, and gold. A classic academic look, this outfit includes camel brown trousers, a white pleated blouse, chocolate brown vest, and a camel brown trenchcoat. Complete the ensemble with a messenger bag, belt, and loafer in 2-3 of the aforementioned color choices, and a pair of gold rimmed round spectacles. All you're missing are some ancient tomes to be read by candlelight!

The Ms.

Our Ms. Arcane look is inspired by the Path of Shadows: Dark Academia, featuring a dark color palette of black, burgundy, and silver, along with classic academic items, but with a fashionable twist. A button-down, but sheer, paired with a burgundy skirt and layered with a corset over top, and a black and silver detailed cape for some real academic vibes! Finishing the look with black suede boots, a silver and red pendant, a silver nail ring, and a dragon handle umbrella for those rainy autumnal days!

Shop These Looks

Until next week!

👉 Share your quest success with #VostraModaQuest or reply to this email for a chance to be featured in next week’s email. Please let me know if you would like to remain anonymous.

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats