Outfit: You Picked This for Your 1st Outfit? Really?

Yes.  Yes I did pick this rather unexciting ensemble as my first outfit post. I'm attempting to not miss more than 3 days in a row when it comes to posting, and I'm out of time, so these pictures of me looking rough are getting the blog treatment.

Yesterday was Friend Day at church, and everyone was encouraged to come semi-casual. I felt kind of awkward singing on the platform without heels and other fanciness, just because I'm used to being dressed up in "Sunday Best." It definitely made for a more comfortable BBQ party afterward, though.  Anyway, I had a terrible time coming up with something to wear that wasn't denim, wasn't dressy, would be ok outside in the cool, misty afternoon, hid my dirty hair, and covered my legs (Apparently a spider visited me in my sleep the other night, and I now have a series of ugly bites up my shin. I hope I rolled over and smooshed the bugger).  

I ordered the taupe ruffly shirt from Old Navy online a few months back during one of their mega-clearance sales.  I think it cost $2.49.  I never wore it because, like so many ON pieces, it's made of that tissue-weight jersey material that stretches and looses its shape approximately 3.7 seconds after you put it on.  I've taken to buying an insanely small size in shirts like these, and just embracing the stretch-out factor.  This shirt is a straight-size large.  Look at me.  Do I look like someone who wears a large with no "X"s in front of it?  

I snagged the skirt recently when it first made the jump to the clearance rack at Cato.  I'd planned on buying it since I first saw it in the store, 'cause a long, tiered white skirt had been on my wishlist for a while.  I'm sure it will get cheaper, but I decided it was worth a few extra bucks to be able to start wearing it now.

I initially planned to go with all neutral tones in this ensemble, but when I put on the hat, it blended too much with my hair and just looked "blah."  I tried several brooches and flowers in the brown family, but nothing looked great, so I popped the pink one on instead.  I needed additional "pop," so I added a pink layer in the shirt stack.  

I wanted to further refine, but couldn't be late to praise team practice, so I tossed on the cutwork belt I stole off another shirt, slid on some flops, and dashed out the door.

  

Taupe Shirt with Ruffles: Old Navy

Brown Long-Sleeve Tee: thrifted (Target new merch @ Goodwill)

Pink Short-Sleeve Tee: Tabeez

Brown Tucking Tank (not visible): Old Navy

White Tiered Skirt: Cato

Bronze Flower Flops: Kohl's

Brown Cutwork Belt: Cato (stole from another shirt)

Brown Knit Hat: Kohl's

Pink Flower Pin: Cato

Giveaway by Proxy: Spellbound Headband

I love ginormous hair accessories.  I have a lot of hair.  I like to wear it "big." The current trend of wearing oversized headbands, clips, feathers and fascinators is making me all kinds of happy!  I've been cobbling together my own hair stuff for years, but now that they're "in" with people outside the Apostolicverse, there are a lot of  ready-made options out there.  Etsy shops abound, and teenybopper stores like Forever 21 and Deb have racks and racks of moppet bows and mini-hats.

One place that is a cut above the rest when it comes to these over-the-top-yet-still-wearable adornments is Spellbound.  These headbands are seriously awesome.  Take a look at this deliciousness:

 "The Last Dance" : So innocent and child-like, but infinitely grown-up and classy.

 "As Time Goes By" : I am a total sucker for French veiling. Gorgeous.

 

"She's Cheerful" : If a candy store and a haberdashery had babies, they would be these fascinators.  Love!

So we can agree that her work is great, yes?  Unfortunately, the awesomeness comes with quite the hefty pricetag, so these beauties are a little out of budget.  Sad face.  Wouldn't it be nice if they cost a little less?  Would zero dollars be sufficiently inexpensive?  If you'd like the chance to own a beautiful Spellbound original for the budget price of *nothing,* then get on over to one of these fabulous blogs and enter to win one!

Kjrsten at {have a cute day} is giving away one of Miriam's beautiful pieces.  I adore this blog and read it regularly.  Her style is whimsical, yet reasonable, and I love her tone.  She also has the kind of "mainly clothes, but occasionally other stuff" balance of posts I'd like to cultivate here at I, Apostolica.  Go here to find out how to register.

Helena at A Diary of Lovely is also doing a giveaway of a Spellbound headband.  I found out about this giveaway through Spellbound's facebook page.  I'd never visited before, but after a brief perusal, this blog looks to live up to its name!  Helena's photography is beautiful, and the layout is so clean and serene.  She has a brief interview with Spellbound creator Miriam Reider and instructions on how to enter A Diary of Lovely's giveaway here.

I hope you win! Look for some upcoming posts here at I, Apostolica about making your own headbands and other hair accessories with stuff you probably have lying around your house already.  I'm going to try to school myself in some more advanced bow-making techniques.  We'll see how it goes!

What is an Apostolica?

I teetered back and forth between prefacing actual content-based posts with a "What's the deal with all the skirts" disclaimer, or just jumping right in and fielding questions if they arise.  I know plenty of fashion bloggers out there who don't have specific standards in dress who wear skirts most of the time, and no one seems to comment on the fact.  Conversely, the few Apostolic/Pentecostal gals I've found out there who blog about their clothes seem to get a lot of comments and questions about it.  It kind of leads me to believe that "Apostolic/Pentecostal Style" is distinctive and recognizable as such, even though we're not the only modest dressers or skirt wearers out there.  

Here's a batch of us at a recent Pentecostal Youth Convention in Kansas:

 And another set after a Young Adult Retreat in Maryland:

We're distinctive.  It's more than a skirt. It's more than having a lot of hair.  It's more than following trends without compromising modesty.  It's Apostolic Style.

I chose "Apostolica" as my online moniker because I am an Apostolic Christian, and my spiritual beliefs have a strong influence on my life, and, more pertinent to this blog, my fashion choices.  If you had to pick one defining characteristic about me, my "Apostolic-ness" would be high on the list.  Maybe right after “human” and “female.”  Yes, it’s a title describing my religious beliefs, but it’s so much more than just ticking the “Protestant, Other” box on a form. All of the things I choose to be in life; all of the decisions I make; most of what makes me me is wrapped up in my faith.  If I weren’t in church, I would be a totally different person, and I have no idea who that person would be.

Part of that personal identity is tied up in the frivolity of fashion.  I choose to keep certain standards of physical appearance that I believe are in line with what God instructs us to do through the Bible.  This isn’t a blog about doctrine, so I won’t go into a litany of explanations regarding my personal religious beliefs or the teachings of my church.  If you want to know more about our organization and what we believe, here are a few links to get you started:

About the UPCI

UPCI Position Paper on Modesty 

Scriptural Modesty in Dress 

Essentially, I'm a Skirt Girl.  I choose to wear exclusively skirts and dresses--no pants, shorts, etcetera. I also value modesty, so I avoid some other clothing, including short skirts, cap or sleeveless shirts, low necklines, anything sheer or super-tight--basically anything revealing or accentuating parts of myself I am reserving for the eyes of my Someday Husband. 

I don't wear much jewelry or makeup, and I have long, uncut hair.  Toss in the additional limiting factors of wearing plus-size (yup, I'm a chubby one), living in a smallish city without a ton of shopping options (Midwest all the way), and not having a ton of money (PTL for a secure job at all in this climate, but still...), and shopping can be a bit tricky. 

Yes, in some ways these restrictions are limiting, but they can also be exciting and challenging. Most "off-the-rack" outfits won't work for me, so I'm forced to be creative.  If I see a look in the pages of a magazine, I get to think "How can I make that happen in my world?" rather than "Another cute outfit I can't wear. *sigh* " 

That's me.  I'm an Apostolica. And I'm super excited about it!