Study Like an Icon: The Pop Culture Blueprint to Becoming an Academic Weapon

I am currently midway through the first semester of the final year of my English Literature degree, and the pressure is rising fast. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to read, and I love to write. But that doesn’t make third year easy.

At the start of the term, I hit a full creative block. I couldn’t think — let alone piece together authorial allegories. Procrastination at its finest. So, I did what any rational person would do: I romanticised the chaos.

Nothing was going to get done if my workspace wasn’t perfect, and I wasn’t going to my lecture unless I felt confident. Enter: romanticising pop culture.

To write my dissertation like an academic weapon, I needed to look like one. So, I turned my favorite fictional icons into style blueprints. Whether you want to be confident like Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods or introspective like Normal People’s Marianne Sheridan, here are our Fizzypicks to help you dress like the type of academic weapon you want to be this year.

Normal People’s Marianne Sheridan

“Life is the thing you bring with you inside your own head.”

Contemplative and ruminative. If you want to study like the meditative Marianne, look for academic chic with rich textures; velvet will be your best friend. Look for soft tailoring that will make your lectures feel cinematic.

ZARA
Wide Leg Pants 
$ 79.90

 

Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods

“What, like it’s hard?”

Watch Legally Blonde, or at least the iconic montage of Elle acing Harvard Law and tell us you don’t feel unstoppable. Queue “Watch Me Shine” by Joanna Pacitti and channel Elle’s unwavering confidence by finding your signature pink. It doesn’t have to be blush, just bold and consistent. A monochromatic power look is the first step to embracing Elle’s ethos.

ASOS
Miss Selfridge pinstripe fitted poplin shirt dress in light pink
$64.99

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Gilmore Girl’s Rory Gilmore

"Who cares if I'm pretty if I fail my finals?" 

The coffee-fuelled academic. The perfect combination of cozy and clever. If you want to study like Rory, layer textures — soft knits, turtlenecks, and cardigans that make you feel both put-together and comfortable. The more comfortable you are, the more you can focus.

ASOS
ASOS DESIGN crew neck cardigan in cable knit in cream
$27.51

 

10 Things I Hate About You’s Kat Stratford

“I don't like to do what people expect. Why should I live up to other people's expectations instead of my own?”

Want to study to prove a point? Channel Kat Stratford. The rebel academic. She critiques the syllabus and the system, with a dog-eared copy of The Bell Jar as her sidekick. The look? Minimal effort, maximal attitude. Angst is perfect fuel for academic work.

ASOS
JJXX Fifi boat neck long sleeve t-shirt in burgundy
$34.95