Just a few random links I’ve collected over the past couple of weeks:
Amy at MotherLoad has a great post up on building a starter work wardrobe.
New commenters:
Chloe from Her Accessories.
Polly at Chick In the Country (featuring What I Wore pictures)
Jennifer at Family Musings. Be sure to see her post on modesty. 
Vyque at Fasshonaburu.
Sharon from A Scrapbook of Me
Master photographer Stuart Riddell
New to the blogroll:
BTW, Happy Mother’s Day!
As promised (ooh, stealth pun!) last week, pictures of what dd wore to the real prom.
Shortly after she attended the winter formal, and all the challenges of finding a dress, we happened on this gown, at Value Village for $40. It fit perfectly! (And is modest.) Even though she had no guarantee of having an invitation to wear it, having it hanging in the closet seemed a frugal move. An investment of sorts.
It may have been a wedding dress in a previous life; it had a train, which she saved the price of alterating by cutting off and hemming herself. The only other expense (besides necessary undergarment) was the dry-cleaning: $30.
Princess dresses like these are priced in the $400 neighborhood these days. ha ha. We don’t live there. Don’t believe me? This one from Nordstrom, the closest I could find to show you, is priced at $388. My frugal daughter spent about 20% of that price. You couldn’t make it yourself for less, could you?
Weekend reading:
More weekend reading:
On the topic of silhouette, Chantelle sends in this comment:
The Body Shape Bible over complicates for the sake of offering something different i feel. As a stylist I have always believed that there are simply 5 female body forms, the most common being the rectangle. In fact I have created a website which profiles your body shape and provides you specific style advice to suit… it’s an automated personal stylist service and simplifies the entire ‘what body shape am i question’.
I tend to agree about the 5 basic body shapes, although I do still prefer to distinguish between the hourglass and figure eight. But I never would have guessed the rectangle as the most common! Perhaps that explains my persistent attempts over the years to stuff my rounded shape into that linear silhouette. Am I the only one who has always subconsciously considered the pencil the ideal female shape?
Have a lovely weekend!
The short answer is: it’s Biblical.
Often, as young people move towards finding their own personal style idiom, they either experiment or rebel. While rebellion can often be avoided (IMO most rebellion can be avoided by not forcing kids to wear polo shirts), I consider experimenting to be rather a normal part of this stage of life.
And experimenting can get into some androgynous looks: men wearing makeup, women with short hair, and so on. The dangers in these things are, as I see them:
So, while I encourage experimenting to develop your own style, it seems best to take care to maintain your God-given gender identity. In other words, make sure that it is obvious you are female.
Some thoughts:
More suggestions?
While we stay-at-home moms spiff up in order to be taken seriously, working women around the country, perhaps around the world, vigorously defend their right to wear beach clothes to the office. Employers have had enough.
In WSJ.com’s The Office Cover-up, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan addresses the culture clash perplexing managers: are increasingly casual styles creating an unprofessional workplace? As women, I believe we are vulnerable to the delusion that if a style is cute and current that makes it appropriate anywhere. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you show up to greet an important client wearing flip-flops, your boss just might send you home and take over your meeting for you.
I believe we’re entering a new era of business dress codes. For example:
Emprise Bank in Wichita, Kan., which allows business-casual attire during the summer, says it was getting so many questions about what was acceptable earlier in the year, that it sent out a 20-page PowerPoint presentation to its 450 employees just before Memorial Day clarifying its guidelines. In one slide titled “How to Wear Crops at Emprise,” a photograph of a woman wearing cropped pants and a blazer is captioned “Like this,” while another shot showing the pants paired with an unbuttoned blouse says “Not like this.” The company nixes untucked shirts and flip-flops for men, for example, while reminding them to “Be sure to use a belt when loops are available!” For women, open-toed shoes are OK but only if they’re worn with pantyhose.
In my opinion, a little common sense could avoid alot of written clarification. The following have no place in the business wardrobe:
We do actually know someone presently working on an office dress code. What would you add to my list?
Dearest Young Lady,
Apparently you scared your mom when you came out of the fitting room and walked all the way across the store wearing a strapless dress with your regular bra under it, thereby displaying your underwear to any and all shoppers who happened to be looking, both male and female. That is the only explanation I can think of for her response.
When she said, “I think that will be itchy”, I’m guessing that was some sort of mom-speak for either, “I am not ready to see you as a young lady, go back to the fitting room and change back into my little girl” OR “uh, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re not dressed“. I’m not sure which.
If I can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
one mom in the fashion blogosphere,
Rebecca Mielke
First, about firsts. Not like baby’s first haircut, that type of thing, but the way all of the sudden life is pitching more and more opportunities that I am not prepared for. Like a press conference. Whatever possessed me to offer the first question at my first one?
Me: “… what advice would you give young people who want to honor God by their personal appearance?”
Measurable silence.
John Cooper of Skillet, quietly, looking around while opening his bottle of water: “I’ve never been asked that before.”
Me, looking for a rock to hide under: “I’ve never been to a press conference before”.
Everybody laughs.
Buy their record,
John, his wife Korey, and drummer Lori. Both ladies played the show in their very modest outfits pictured here.
Ultimately, the answer to the question centered around modesty (imagine that!), and led into a follow-up question by the moderator about Christian t-shirts. John mentioned two in particular which I agree are inappropriate.
Have you seen the ones advertising Free Hugs? Speaker Justin Lookadoo
Rub your body here
on the front and
because I’m lonely and desperate
on the back.
There was also a t-shirt sold at the festival that said I (heart) hard core christian guys. Oh yeah? How many?
What, may I ask, is the tackiest “Christian” t-shirt you’ve seen?
Back to the theme of being unprepared or unskilled to do all the things I would like to do, I consider the simple act of asking a question at a press conference more of a success than a failure. I tried. But most of my challenges these days are in the technical arena.
Can anyone tell me how to edit the CD of the interviews and post it to the blog? I’d be willing to send you my itunes card with 15 or 20 songs from Creation artists.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in the conversation during my week of “vacation” (I was really working very hard as kitchen staff at a Christian camp). Next up: Creation Festival 2007 at the Gorge Amphitheater (no - that doesn’t say “arm pit heater”, although it will be hot!), overlooking the Columbia River at George, WA.
What to wear to a music festival … ? As cute as the dresses are that Liebemarlene pictures, I will most likely be wearing something more similar to what I wore to church at the beach, but with better shoes. (I will probably even take the hat: it is cotton, so I can get it wet to keep my head cool.)
Being a Christian music festival, I was delighted to notice that Creationfest has a dress code, which I have copied for you here from their website.
Leaders, Chaperones and Parents: We need your help in enforcing this policy — our staff cannot do it alone! MODESTY is the key word. While the style and fashion these days seems to be “less is best,” we do not want to be guilty of causing another person to stumble. Girls: Bathing suits are NOT permitted, except in the showers. Clothes must be put on over your bathing suit for the walk back to your campsite from the showers. Tank tops are fine but bellies must be covered (even though the fashion now is to show it off). Shorts and/or skirts need to be long enough and shirts big enough. Guys are not exempt from the dress code: SHIRTS (and shoes) MUST be worn by all at all times.
Lord willing, and technology cooperating, I will be live-blogging from the event, with an emphasis on what the attendees are wearing. Thankfully, the Creation Fest promoters are more sensible about issuing press passes to bloggers than the organizers of San Francisco Fashion Week.
Are any of you going? Tickets are still available. If you are, let’s get our picture taken together!
Welcome to the first ever edition of The Carnival of Modesty!
Annette Berlin presents How to Tie a Head Scarf posted at Crafter’s Journey, saying,
“A headscarf is the easiest type of hat to make. Just hem a rectangular or triangular piece of fabric and you are finished. Here are some fun ways to wear your new fashion accessory.“
Deborah asked if it was alright to submit something by someone else (which it is) saying,
“Can you submit something that belongs to someone else? I came across this collection of blog goodies last night, all having to do with modesty and new trends toward modesty.“
The collection: A Tremor of Modesty and Restraint; posted at I Speak of Dreams. Deborah also gave me a great tip, setting up a google alert for the topic of modesty; as well as her own submission: Moms for Modesty Link and Libby Lou posted at One Beggar’s Bread.
Sherri Wilkerson presents Cover me, I’m goin’ in… , a funny story that shows that her children “get” what modesty is all about, at a suburban housewife.
Mary at Home-Steeped Hope shares her journey to modesty–from pastor’s kid to newlywed to a mother of three daughters in The Church’s Influence on Modesty and her thought about the first woman to ever inspire her to modesty in Modesty and the Older Woman, and how it’s made her feel responsible to carry on in her tradition.
The next two articles are from Your Sacred Calling:
Our carnival’s organizer, MInTheGap, presents Hey, Check Me Out!, part 2 of his modesty series, wondering,
“Is dressing for attention modest?”
More great entries:
ENFORCED MODESTY posted at Word Around the Net: The effect of immodesty is that it desensitizes men to their spouses’ body– says Naomi Wolf.
Who Defines Feminine Modesty?is a great question by Mollie at true womanhood in the new millennium. With 95 responses.
Why dress modestly? Part 1 posted at Unfurling Flower, is part of a great series talking about Why Dress Modestly.
Two entries from the lovely Anna at Veiled Glory:
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty:
Technorati tags:
carnival of modesty, blog carnival.
In keeping with our ongoing modesty discussions (don’t forget - The Carnival of Modesty is here this Friday!), I just want to say what a blessing it is to be part of a church that demonstrates their love for one another by how they dress. This past weekend we had our annual church family camp and I was not embarrassed once by anyone’s choice of apparel!
But, after camping all weekend, what does one wear to church when church is a baptismal service held on a sandy beach in full sun? This is what I chose, and I was quite comfortable, after I got over the laughs of my immediate family. My daughter (her outfit next) said I’d have to sit next to her and her dad or nobody would recognize me.
(We only had one child with us; our youngest has temporarily gone south, not for the winter but to the winter, and Mrs Lady isn’t feeling well.) 
This outfit is what an almost 18 year old Romantic Innovator would wear. (She really did wear it, we just forgot to take a picture until we got home.) The shirt says “celebrate”, which I think is perfect for the occasion. What do you think?
