Outfit: Pinned Up

Praise the Lord for safety pins.  I have no less than 12 of them keeping this outfit from being an immodesty nightmare.   I've kind of been holding on to most of these pieces until I found a way to modestify them, so I finally threw in the towel and just wore them all at once.  The white tank underneath is quite low, and it doesn't have adjustable straps.  I always have to pin it up when I wear it, and it's hiked up so far in the front that it hangs low in the back and looks strange under a normal shirt.  Sticking it under a dress, the fact that the front hem is at my ribcage and the back hem is at my bum is nicely hidden. 

The dress is a new purchase from Old Navy online.  I liked the pattern, and between a sale and a discount code, it cost $11.  I justified the purchase because it has a lot of colors I already own (maybe since 1/4 of my wardrobe is from Old Navy!), and I thought I could remix it quite a bit.  It's tough to see, but there's lavender, turquoise, deep purple, kelly green, lime green, pink...it's like Easter exploded into confetti all over this dress.  Anyway, it's just a teeny bit too short for my comfort, especially after belting (which I needed to do to avoid looking pregnant). So I stuck this skirt underneath.  It's pretty snug in the bum area, so a long layer over the top was probably a good idea. 

The pinky-lavendarish bubble sleeve shirt has a really wide neckline, but when I tried to wear it belted on its own with just a shirt under it, I didn't like it.  I want to look like my layers are purposeful and fashionable in their own right, not just "I know this shows my bra straps, so I'm sticking a random shirt under it."

Contrivances like that are what give Apostolics and others who keep modesty standards reputations as tacky, frumpy dressers, and part of what deters others from committing to maintaining a modesty standard.  It's possible to look fashionable and trendy in clothes that keep you covered.  I love it when I make a new acquaintance, and after seeing them a few times, she says something like "You always dress so cute!" or "I love your girlie style!" instead of "What's the deal with all the skirts?" or "Don't you EVER wear sleeveless?!?"  It's not that I am ashamed of my modesty, or that I don't want to stand out and set myself apart from the worldly crowd.  It's quite the opposite.  If people notice first that I look put-together, and THEN that that put-together look is always sleevy and skirty, I'm much less likely to get the "I could never wear dresses all the time" or "Holiness standards are so limiting" responses, and they're more open to hearing my testimony about why I dress the way I do.  Do you have similar experiences?

White Tank: Walmart
Lavender Bubble-Sleeve Top: Old Navy
Multicolor Dress: Old Navy
White Pencil Skirt: Torrid
Green & White D'Orsays: Burlington Coat Factory
White Belt: Cato
Blue/Green Hair Brooch: Walmart
Lavender Sunnies: Torrid