No wonder Kate Middleton won Vogue’s “10 best dressed” this week. She definitely has a very refined style. And do you believe us yet? Belt your coats and jackets! This particular coat is from Hobbs if you’d like to buy it. Then again, it’s probably sold out by now.
“We are so excited to be launching thebeautydepartment.com! This is a site for anyone who’s ever had a beauty question or gotten into a fight with a hair brush and lost. We’ll be covering all kinds of hair+makeup how-to’s, nail trends, skin issues, tools, current obsessions & inspirations, as well as countless quick tips. In the process we are truly excited to get to know all of you! We want to read your emails and we want you to participate in our voting polls so we can figure out exactly what you need! We want to make beauty as accessible as possible. We’re releasing new things every day including videos, printable photo tutorials and exclusive images of our lovely Lauren Conrad. Don’t forget to bookmark thebeautydepartment.com and check back every day for your daily dose of pretty!”
This website is jam-packed with awesome tutorials and how-to’s and beauty ideas. Check it out! There’s something for everyone!…
…although, I haven’t seen anything for guys…
Don’t forget, in the midst of all the fashion, to keep the foundations lookin’ good, as well(:
(Source: sincerelysbp)
Living in Japan, I was always in awe of everybody’s fashion choices. Everyone looked so kawaii (cute) in their knit sweaters layered over button up shirts with shorts, tights, and heeled boots. I have envied Japanese fashion since I was in junior high school, and seeing it in real life was an absolute dream.
Just one problem: the fashionable Japanese girls that I admired were very keen on showing A LOT of leg. We’re talking short-shorts and mini-skirts galore. And it looked great on them. Somehow, they found a way to balance out the amount of skin they were showing by covering up their top half. (I really saw zero cleavage while I was in Japan, which I very much appreciated.) However, because I was surrounded by these amazingly stylish, beautiful, leggy women, and because I have very high modesty standards when it comes to showing skin, every now and then I would find myself feeling so, so frumpy. I’d look at myself in my seemingly matronly knee-length skirts in the mirror and just frown.
But then I thought, just because I don’t show a lot of skin, doesn’t mean my body doesn’t look good. Showing skin and being leggy does not automatically equal womanly. Sure, I may not ever be sexy…but I don’t want to be seen like that anyway.
Over the years, I have figured out ways to wear modest skirts without looking frumpy. These ways work for me, but I’d love to hear your tips in the comments as well! Remember, modest outfits don’t have to be frumpy! Think eye-catching skirts, tops, tights, shoes, and belts.1. Wear heels.If you’re petite like me (I’m 5’2”.), this is definitely a must. Lengthening your legs is a must to fight the frump, especially when wearing skirts! I’m talking 2” heels or higher. I can’t tell you how I feel when I put on heels after dressing up for the day: I finally feel complete.
J.Crew cardigan (similar); J.Crew Factory necklace;Urban Outfitters top; Crossover skirt from Japan2. Wear skirts at the waist, not the hip.
Wearing skirts at the waist definitely elongates your bottom half, which is what you want! I also feel as though it creates a very 1950s silhouette, which is very, very feminine. I have some skirts that actually fall at my hip naturally, but I belt them at my waist so they’ll stay up. Just a trick of the trade ;)
Uniqlo skirt; We Love Colors tights; c/o Blowfish3. Pay attention to where the hemline falls.
Supposedly, just above the knee is the ideal length for making your legs appear longer. I don’t necessarily follow this rule, but it’s good to keep in mind. For me, I usually wear skirts somewhere around the knee area.
I didn’t always practice modesty.
Generally speaking, I was pretty covered. I dressed conservatively, by 20-something American standards. I worked at a church camp, and my wardrobe consisted of polos, v-necks, long shorts, jeans, turtlenecks and sweatshirts.
Sometimes, I showed off, sometimes not. This is quite a change of pace for me, who lived in jeans and thought they were the best piece of clothing in the world, but it feels right, and I have to honor those feelings.
I do wonder, though, at the end of the year, or even as this year goes on, how I’ll look back at the days when I wore tight sweater dresses over leggings with high heels. I wonder if I’ll be so glad to put pants back on that I’ll never wear skirts again. I guess only time will tell, but so far, the reactions have been positive, and we’ll have to see where I end up in a year’s time.
Hi, World!
Some of you may know me from my other tumblr, (Mis)Adventures With Celiac Girl. The creation of this blog won’t affect my other blog. I started this blog to catalogue a year-long experiment that I’m doing. On New Year’s Eve (12.31.2011) I left New York to travel to Africa for a week and a half journey that changed my life in more ways than one. While I was in Kenya, we were expected to dress modestly and to cover up as much skin as we possibly could due to the conservative culture and the bright equatorial sun.
While I was there, I wore only skirts (with the exception of pajama pants). It occurred to me that it felt right to be covered up. I remembered how much I liked being covered up, and resolved to spend as much of the next year wearing skirts as I could. I used to believe that wearing skirts was a throwback to a time when women had fewer rights, and that skirts interfered in my ability to do things.
While I was in Kenya, we were in and out of a monster-sized cargo bus, and we crossed a river on foot twice. I was the first person into the van on many an occasion, and the first person across the river, even in my skirts. I realized that I could do anything in a skirt and that being in Africa in skirts was going to be much harder than being in the United States in skirts.
I decided that I needed to give modesty a full-time, adult trial, and I planned on going to my church’s thrift store the day after I got back to the US to buy long, modest skirts. Since I got back in January (cold and wintery), I wore jeans to the thrift store. It felt wrong as soon as I put them on (and I used to live in jeans), and so far, with the exception of New Year’s Day (when I was still traveling through wintery areas) and the hour I spent in jeans while buying skirts, I’ve worn skirts for the entire duration of the New Year. (The Thrift Store was a total success, by the way- I bought 6 long, modest skirts for $17.50!)
This is my experiment:
Wear only skirts, dressing as modestly as possible.
Leggings will be worn under skirts in winter, and possibly in summer-we’ll see, and they do not count as pants, because leggings are not pants.
Pajamas don’t count (I sleep in sweatpants because my room is in a basement and anything else is too cold).
Blog regularly about modesty and outfits.
At the end of the year, I’ll decide whether or not I want to spend the majority of the rest of my life in skirts, and write a more substantial piece on my thoughts on modesty in contemporary American culture.
Come along with me on this adventure!
I look forward to see where this adventure takes you! I’ll be watchin’, and I’d love to see some of your modest outfits(: God bless!
