Figuring out the Fall boots trend

After posting about the whole wonderful world of scarves, the next topic on the list would have to be boots! And I know what you're thinking...."Oh boy, here we go with the tight leggings, long shirt, and boots..or perhaps a mini skirt depending on how scanty they want to get". Hahaha No, I am happy to say that is NOT the case! And I will not even be talking about the "hovering between modest and scanty" style! Believe it or not we can all dress modestly and adorable without showing more skin, or shape (talking about mini skirt and tights) than necessary! So, now that I have you guys interested... hopefully watching for some fun, trendy ideas on how YOU can dress up with Fall boots.... LETS GET STARTED!

First let's start with a NO example and a YES example.

Keep in mind everyone has their own standards, and if your father disagrees with certain points that are made here, please do not turn a deaf ear to him! Believe it or not your father knows waaaayyyy more then you about women's fashion and pays a lot more attention to detail then you will ever guess! (Did I just see a few jaws drop?!?) But, I must say that I have found a nice line between modest and immodest through the ever helpful advice and instruction from my parents. (especially my Dad)  Yes, I balked at a lot of it for years....but I believe I am pretty much over all that needless strife. One thing I HAVE noticed is dads are great at telling you EXACTLY what lines NOT to cross when it comes to dressing and simply stating that that half inch of lesser fabric on your lower half makes a HUGE difference between you being associated with either a hoochie or a lady.  Moms on the other hand are GREAT at helping you follow those boundary lines and helping you find stylish items that are NOT immodest. 

Ok, now for the Do's and Don'ts.

A popular trend now...but for obvious reasons NO! Draws attention straight to the shapely leg. 

NO! NO! NO! Very popular....but very revealing and...well, just not classy! It looks so cheap...like you forgot to finish getting dressed! All this girl needed to add was a cute little skirt (not mini) or perhaps opted for a cute solid colored little dress that would match the leggings! So sad. 

Outfit number 1  is a NO. Why you ask? Though there really is hardly any skin showing, the jeans she is wearing leave nothing to the imagination! And though her outfit has all the right colors.......what draws your eye first? Yes, I hear you saying "well her face....she is a gorgeous lady!" But now be rational....were you REALLY drawn to her face first or did you think....man I wish I had a slim body like that, maybe some gym time would help? And guess what sparked that thought! You were drawn to the shapely figure of your fellow sex and wanted to look that same way! Every lady does!  You see, you were so focused on the girl and all the attention she was getting you didn't notice the young man standing back in the corner, away from the crowd watching you.....or perhaps is isn't a young man at all! Maybe it is his grandmother, mother, father, older brother or maybe even sister watching you, thinking to themselves..."Now there is a fine Christian young lady I wouldn't mind him meeting!" You see?  Modesty has its pros and cons! But the rewards can be extremely worth it! 

Outfit number two.....NO! Yes, again all the right colors and it flatters her figure very well and there isn't even a low neckline to worry about......BUT look at those tanned beauties peeking out from under the dress and then disappearing into those boots?!? Now I feel the need to mention that for some reason there is an unspoken rule that anything above the knee is ten times MORE attractive then anything below the knee. Nothing wrong with that, it was just the way we were created. BUT there is a way not to draw the attention directly to those lovely legs that you are so proud of.

First thing this lady could have done is add some leggings or tights. For some reason if the skirt (like the one above) is just about a few inches above the knee adding tights or leggings hides the missing inches in fabric and pushes the eyes back up to the more colorful dress and lovely face. Now I am not saying don't ever show leg.....most certainly! I would't want someone overheating on my account...just make sure that if you are not planning on wearing tights or leggings that you wear the dress that comes to the mid knee cap or lower. 

Ok, enough with the NO's, lets get into the Yes's! 

Here is a great example by fashion Blogger Jae Curtis showing how to make a short dress modest by adding tights and then adding a fancy little flair by adding a scarf to match thus tying the entire outfit together!

And since I can not find the exact post this picture is from on her blog I will just give you the link to her home page HERE. By the way she has some pretty good outfit ideas! I was really inspired by some of her fall dresses and fall boots ideas! So...if you haven't gotten the hint after all that, I'll just tell you plain and simple......GO CHECK OUT HER BLOG AND DROOL OVER ALL HER GREAT FALL OUTFITS!

Laura from Blessed gives us a wonderful example of a modest yet trendy outfit below. And it looks like she's got the color wheel thing down pat! Check out those Red shoes that somehow create a bright yet soft color to the rest of the outfit! Who would have thought?!?!? And I know this had nothing to do with the Fall Boots trend but it was too cute to pass up.  

You can find a variety of clothing/fashion inspiration on Laura's  blogs HERE. 

Found this lovely example on Pinterest but could not find the source. 

This lady used the age old jean skirt...yet instead of wearing a loose shirt (thus creating the block look) she wore a fitted shirt to even out the straight fit of the skirt and then added a scarf for added flair! Oh, and I just noticed an important detail! Notice she wore boots that left a good gap between the boot top and the bottom of the skirt? That also helps majorly with diverting the block tendency that the Jean skirt often creates. Super cute! 

Caroline from The Modest Mom Blog gives a very elegant example as well.

Kelly from Our Cone Zone blog (which is absolutely adorable btw) gives a very similar example to Caroline's. 

Now this outfit from the Down East by Design  blog is truly gorgeous! So many lovely color combo's. Notice they used two colors from the skirt pattern and matched them to a shirt and cardigan? There for matching colors yet creating several different color patterns! And lets not forgot those boots! 

Another set of outfit idea's from the Down East by Design blog. The dress farthest from us has enough embellishment to it that the lady didn't need to add anything but bracelets and boots (though you could add more if you wanted) The lady closest has a plainer style dress, yet the pattern makes up for most of the lacking style. Notice she is carrying a lovely dark red Cardigan though.....that when worn with the dress will most certainly create the finishing touch to her outfit! 

Now Olivia from Fresh Modesty took on a different style with her cute boots. Known for creating her own look no matter what you can always count on Olivia for fresh new ideas!  Notice that her skirt is long....yet has shape and grows narrower the closer it comes to the waist..and then flows right into the fitted (yet not too tight) long sleeved T.  A very important point to pay attention to. So often girls find very cute skirts/shirts ect.....but forget to make sure they fit properly and so end up looking frumpy and not put together. Now obviously Olivia has this whole modestly fitted thing figured out to the T! My how comfortable the whole outfit looks! And of course she gave the outfit a pop of color and flair with that cute hat.

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And again,  yet another beautiful color scheme! Who would have thought?

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I can not seem to find the link to this lovely lady's blog due to the fact that she did these lovely outfits as part of a guest post on THIS other lovely ladies blog. So I will just give you the link. You have to see how she MADE her super-cute legwarmers (from a sweater)!

And this ,ladies...(and perhaps gentlemen,) - I never know who might be reading this - is the first great example I have seen yet of a long skirt and riding boots! I have always tried avoiding it myself due to the almost always presiding cumbersomeness of it! You get the idea.....long flowy skirt with a sudden bunch of fabric and largeness around the calves and stout bits of leather poking out in the most undesirable places creating a frumpy look. But this lady chose nicely fitted boots that fit well to her calves and so allowed the skirt to flow freely! 

That, by the way, is a biggie as well.....fitted boots! HUGE HUGE must! I think anyone can admit that saggy boots are almost always never attractive! Now this also poses a very big problem for those of us with thin calves I must admit! But nevertheless...do not buy them.

Now, for those of you who do wear jeans, do not be discouraged. There is hope for you as well. But then of course if you do choose to wear jeans all your fashion choices ...shirts etc will then ride on the "tightness limit" your parents or perhaps even husband have set.  I have seen some very good examples of some highly esteemed girls/women in the "Christian society" who most hardly ever wore jeans if they could help it, but when called for wore VERY nicely fitted (and when I say that, I mean they were correctly fitted...not too tight or loose) jeans. They looked like they had been made to fit her and her only.  These jeans were paired with a long shirt (keep in mind they made sure the shirt was also nicely fitted all the way down to the waist but then became looser as it came over the rear and top of the thigh) But that is ALL I will say on the subject because I think it is best to allow each family to draw their own lines regarding jeans at all.

And remember who we are truly doing this for. We are God's daughters...his princesses! You want to dress the part, right? So get styling!

-Emelie



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Disclaimer: I assume NO right to the pictures on this post. I simply collected them online and put them in order and used them to illustrate a fashion point. I also did my best to connect each photo to its original origin so that you can visit the site it is originally from.
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Guess what time it is?!?!?!

Autumn has finally arrived and I think it is safe to say that we can now dive wholeheartedly into the scarves, boots, cute leggings, sweaters and cute hats for it is most definitely time to say TIS THE SEASON! One thing that is a BIG BIG deal to me is the scarves!

Scarves REALLY pull an outfit together and since summer here is too hot for scarves, I can now go wild with it (thanks to this lovely cool weather we have been having).  But it can be difficult to pick out and match scarves with outfits! Why just today I wanted to wear my black maxi skirt but wanted to refrain from wearing any dark colors on the top half....So after a quick search of my closet I located a very brightly (almost neon) orange tank that would be just perfect. But there was one problem. The tank was VERY sheer and was racer backed! Sooo what do you think I did? You guessed it! I found my racer backed white tank to go underneath and my racer backed bra. (It really is quite tacky looking to see bra straps in plain sight...especially with racer backed items.) And tada! I had my bright top but it looked like I was a Popcicle! A solid chunk of black on bottom and then a solid chunk of orange on top! So......walking around my room looking at different possible additions to my outfit I noticed a silky black, gray and white scarf that my Grandma had given me that previous Sunday! Now, I think it is only right to say I was planning to throw it out because it was rather cheap looking and (for all I could tell) would never go with anything! But since I didn't want to wear a solid black scarf, I tried it on. And guess what!?!?!? It pulled the entire outfit together and all that was left was adding earrings! (because I didn't even need a necklace at this point).  And so, after adding an orange bracelet and silver bracelet (to match the silver earrings) I was set! Moral of the story? Keep the scarf that you were thinking about throwing out. It could save your outfit's life!

Now some ladies use scarves to create the "finishing touch" while others use them to add that needed "POP" of color. And this is one of the most popular reasons around my house!
Such as the example below.

By itself this outfit would be very bland....but once the scarf was added it created a bright "POP" and draws the eye away from the darker outfit and up to the face. Still creating that cheerful happy look! 

So you see, there still is a way to wear all those dark colored clothes stuffed at the back of your closet without feeling like you are in the process of mourning someone dear. (No offence..but when that is NOT your intention, too much black can be depressing) Here are several more examples of brightly colored or just simply elegant scarves that were paired with rather plain or dark outfits. (Btw..if you are not a big jewelry person then scarves may be your ticket to the high road!)

Bright and cheery, even in the dark winter months of winter! 

Subtle, but yet it sets off her eyes and creates a lovely glow about her face.

Another nice little  tid-bit of info:  Scarves can hide a neckline that would otherwise would be deemed to low! Now that is an A+ right there!

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This particular scarf is no longer available but HERE is the link to the store where it was sold! 

Btw.....did you notice that the shirt this lady is wearing almost exactly matches her skin tone and hair?... nearly washing her out? Well, I will let you all in on a little secret. That was done on purpose! 1 to make the scarf the most important piece of the outfit and 2 to draw the eye directly to the scarf. Now though this tactic is often used to promote a sale of an item it can also be used to draw the eye to the face and nowhere else.
The same tactic was used in the picture above this one....plain shirt, beautiful scarf! It really works to liven up a rather dull, or subtle outfit! Some women have even gotten away with wearing a foreign color (not a color that flatters their color scheme) by wearing a scarf that IS a flattering color on them! (Just make sure the scarf and foreign color don't clash!


And then there are the crazy color combinations that just "go together" without any explanation! Such as the outfit below! And I truly do NOT have any explanation whatsoever!

But....maybe the fashion color wheel could tell us something! Here is a link to an article written by Danielle on The Fashion Bomb Daily Blog regarding the color wheel and how it can be best used for the most flattering and eye catching outfits. It is very insightful and very informative!

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Disclaimer: I stumbled upon The Fashion Bomb Blog while searching for an article that would best help you guys get a quick grip on the color wheel..... and though the article is VERY  helpful I would not recommend the blog for any further reading for most of you.  It tends to be very worldly.  (I have nothing against the site itself or its content.) It simply is not something I would recommend a Christian girl read often. 
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- Emelie Claire 

Combining Style

Maxi dresses look great on multiple body types and flatter many different body shapes, they are a great way to keep cool in the summer and still look classy, as well as feminine and trendy. They can be super casual or really dressy! There is no end to the possibilities! 

Here is a wonderful example of a dressed up Maxi. 

Absolutely stunning, and on a side note, very flattering to this lady's figure.  

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One thing we read recently was that maxi dresses actually create the illusion of you being taller! For the shorter girls among us, is that awesome or what?!?!?  But they are not just limited to summer!  When the days turn cold and blustery, they can be worn with a shrug or a jacket.  They can be worn year round! 

Ashley (pictured below) from Fiddle Dee Me styled her Maxi very chic.  

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 Even Jessica Alba knows how to dress up a Maxi femininely and modestly!

 Though simple and plain the pattern on this Maxi somehow creates the illusion that this lady has all the right curves in all the right places without clinging too tightly. It is really quite flattering!

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 So say you do some research online and are  finding that many of the maxi dresses you like are too revealing, do a search online for "modest maxi"!  You'd be surprised how many gorgeous dresses come up!  They're pretty popular right now!

They are  definitely a great wardrobe basic. In fact, earlier this spring we found some cute maxis

 (pictured above) on sale .  While buying several for ourselves, we also purchased some extras!  Here are some of the ways we've worn ours.  Again, they work year round, depending on how you accessorize!

As of this moment, we have only four dresses left to offer for sale.
(1) Animal Print:  Size Medium
(1) Animal Print:  Size Medium
(1) Black/White/Grey Print:  Size Medium
(1) Black/White/Grey Print:  Size Small
Sorry, no more reds available.
**to give you an idea of size....Marissa and I both wear Small. Our mom can fit a Medium and she's usually a Size  8/10.

They're $19 each plus $4.99 shipping.  If you'd like one, just leave your PayPal email address with your comment below...and let us know which one you want.
We'll send you an invoice.
You make the payment.
Easy peasy!
If you don't have a PayPal account, you can still send payment through PayPal by following the steps given on their site once you receive the invoice.

What's My Style?: Part 2

Whew, this is so much fun! We are already discovering so much, and we are only on the second post! In the previous post we discovered the top 4 commonly known styles. And, as stated in the last post, no one is a perfect fit for one of these styles (though if you are, that is great!) Everyone is normally a unique mix of several. So, now that you all have had some time to evaluate your personal style or perhaps have discovered a different style that you would like to try...we will begin looking at each style type one by one. We are discovering so many new possibilities with this series!  

After finishing writing Part One, I (Emelie) have been having so much fun experimenting with different styles and trends and combining it with my own personal style.  I realized that  perhaps I might really be more of a Boho style then I originally thought! It really changed my prospective on my closet and opened up the horizon for a whole new world of possibilities! Have you had the same experience?

Just last week, while at my Grandma's house, she gave me this lovely brown felt sun hat! Now in previous days I would have loved it, but never worn it, simply because no one else that was "cool" wore it! Hahahah  Really weird, huh? In recent months I have truly discovered a whole new fashion world all my own! It has been so fun wearing outfits and styles I came up with all on my own, out in town!

I feel bad seeing every other girl out and about, all wearing the same thing! It has to feel so confining! Never wearing things that only you could come up with and wear! Girls, I encourage you to look in your closet today and think...."what would I like to wear today?" Not "what would make me fit in like everyone else."  Try and find your own style!!

It can be challenging at first, but so worth it in the end!   I truly enjoy dressing more Bohemian now, and it makes it so much easier  to find new outfits in my closet! I have a whole new perspective now!

Btw, I finally mastered the fishtail braid!

 ** Cross posted on Horse Crazy Girl blog**

What's my Style?: Part 1

So now we have arrived on the question that most girls have asked themselves at one time or another in their lives, but don't exactly know how to answer. What is my style? So what do you do to discover your own style? How do you know it's you when you find it? What if you like a certain celebrity's style a lot but don't know how to mix it into your own personal style? We just might have some of the puzzle pieces that you have been needing to complete the picture/look.

First of all we have done a little research and have simplified the MANY MANY styles into four general categories.  (This has been no easy task!)

-The Sporty/Casual Look

-The Chic/Contemporary Look  

-The Boho Look (sometimes referred to as "Gypsy")

-The Business Look (could also be termed "Sophisticated")

 Here are a few lovely examples referring to the above list. 

The Chic Look

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*No Source*

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The Boho Look

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Anthropologie

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More references to this look - Boho-Style

Business Look

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Source - Etsy

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Sporty/Casual

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Via Pop Of Style

Now of course nobody is going to be absolutely one category.  Everyone is a mix of at least two or three of these. But in most cases one style shows up more then the others.  See any that look familiar to your style?  For example I (Emelie) definitely fit into the Chic Style section, but I have several outfits in my closet that reflect the Business and Boho categories.  Everyone has their own little twist of these 4 different styles in them - what's yours!?  (:  Don't exactly know which one is most you, or find yourself gravitating towards one style but wanting a totally different look? That it totally normal! We ALL have this problem at some time or other and that is why we are doing this series...this blog actually! To get some answers! SO, here are the two questions to ask yourself today.....

What is MY style? 
and
Do I like a different style better then the one I am reflecting now?

Now one mistake we (Marissa and I ) have made before was trying to suppress our own style and completely copy  someone else's style. There is nothing wrong with this as long as you don't completely throw out the personal touches and style that you would otherwise wear. I (Emelie) made this mistake big time! I saw some cute (at the time) celebrity who had just the cutest outfits (Or so I thought). So you know what I did? Yep you guessed it! I threw out my own special style and copied her style to the T! Hair and EVERYTHING! Only problem was I did not exactly have the same build as her or the same face shape so things that looked good on her looked frumpy or weird on me...not to even mention the hairstyle! LOL! I looked like someone who had not washed her hair in a week and whose mom just didn't care what I looked like!  She most definitely did, but unfortunately had learned when I was younger that I was extremely stubborn about "my style".  Once I heard that someone thought otherwise I threw up a brick wall around myself and said "no, no, no" to any advice. Stupid huh? Well I learned my lesson and here is the story.

*All in the name of Comfortable*
-
Our family was going on vacation and everyone in the house was extremely excited! Papa made the trip to our storage space and hauled out all 9 (at the time)  of our suitcases and duffles. So we were just on top of the world as we hauled those suitcases into our rooms and started packing. Well up until this point when we went on vacation our dear Mama chose all our garments for us.... or for the older girls run all the outfits by us before she packed them for us! (Nice huh?) Well Miss Stubbornness here (me) decided that she wanted to wear only comfortable things. No cute handmade dresses my Mama had specially made, no cute sandals. Now my Mama was horrified and tried to persuade me to wear something else but can you guess what I did? I argued and gave her an awful time until she finally relented and told me I could pack whatever I wanted. So yes, dear ladies and gentleman, I went and packed my "comfortable" basketball shorts that hit me awkwardly at the knee, big white socks that came up at least three inches above my tennis shoes (VERY 80s/90s).  Yes, tennis shoes.... and last but not least a big baggy t shirt.  That is what I chose to wear! Now I can not remember what else was packed for myself but sadly this certain outfit was the one that I stubbornly chose to wear (not to mention my horrid hair style) most of the trip AND when we went out into the sweet quaint little town that we were vacationing in! And boy did I strut around like I knew it all. Into Chico's I marched...along Main Street, into the boutiques, into Starbucks, and around everywhere else we went. And while I was strutting along ahead of everyone else, the rest of my dear little siblings were dressed to 9's and 10's (cute little dresses, curly hair, straight hair, sandals, you name it.)   They were all adorable and sweet little things) And then there was me. Sadly this was not the worst of it. Whether you may know it or not I am not at all camera shy and love to have my picture taken and so on and so on....so when my Mama brought out the camera...yes (sniff) I made sure I was front and center. So now when we are sitting around the living room happily looking through old photo albums there are "those" certain pictures that always make me cringe and promise myself never to argue with my mother about an outfit again. And most of the time I have kept that promise. (: 

So what can we learn from this sad and hilarious story? 
1
 When we may think something looks great on us, others may see something we don't, and it is our duty to listen and consider their advice.
2 
Always always listen to your parents. They almost always know best. 

Emelie Claire