What I've Been Wearing

Sunday

This dress is originally from the Loft but I purchased it used from thredUP; which has become my favorite online shopping site. Everything I've ordered has been true to size and good quality. I've also sold them a couple bags of our unwanted clothes - they make it so easy and surprisingly I've gotten a bit more than I expected! The necklace is from The Edit Vintage - she always has lots of unique styles at very affordable prices. 

MONDAY

This dress is over seven years old from Anthropologie. I know most people don't think of dresses as versatile but if you get one in a fit, print, and color you love I promise you'll find lots of ways to wear it. Here's a few several other ways I've worn this dress: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine

Friday

Rainy stay-at-home days seem beg for sweats. I used to hate the idea of sweatpants but when I was pregnant with babyZ I fell in love with them. I feel like designers have been playing with the shape and details of sweatpants over the last several years so there several options that are cute but still comfy. 

Little Lady was my photographer during the week and I have her pose first to test the shot. She bought this outfit with some allowance money she had saved up, it's become one of her favorite things to wear. 

This is the first "What I've Been Wearing" post I've done in over eighteen months. There are several reasons why I stopped...things got hectic with homeschooling, I needed more rest because of pregnancy, and I tried to keep my schedule light because I was afraid of getting hit hard again with postpartum depression. 

I also started to question the role clothes and fashion could play in a Christian woman's life, "subconsciously, was I trying to attract the wrong attention by documenting my wardrobe?" I wanted to make sure I could create these posts with a clear conscience. That I would be ok if my daughter someday followed in my footsteps. Sadly, in Western Evangelical culture it's hard to separate a women's desire to be expressive and beautiful from a man's desire to lust. I've spent a lot of time over the last two years studying scripture and reading articles. I can get pretty fired up and someday I may even be brave enough to post my thoughts here, even though I far from a biblical scholar. I will, however, say that I don't agree that men are so visually driven that when they see something "attractive" they can't help but lust. I think it is a lot more nurture than nature and unfortunately, the church has played a large part in that nurturing. When I started to study the "modesty movement" my heart hurt for my daughter (she's a beauty and already loves fashion), but now my heart hurts for my sons. Jeremy and I will obviously try our best to teach them differently but I fear someday they will buy the lie that they can't appreciate or notice a woman's beauty without also having to lust. That instead of choosing the harder path of changing their own sinful nature they will choose the easy well worn path that says others must change for them.*

After searching my heart and praying over scriptures I've decided that I do have a clear conscience about posting my outfits. I think it's great that Little Lady already has such a sense of style and I'm more than ok if she follows in my footsteps. Fashion is a creative outlet for me. I thrive on the challenge of keeping our family stylish despite having so tiny of a clothing budget. I enjoy mixing and matching and finding ways to make old clothes feel like a new outfit. I know this isn't true for everyone but when I'm 'dressed' I'm a better mom and a better wife. A good outfit helps me feel comfortable and confident. 

I also questioned my pride when it came to posting outfits, "did I need to be the best dressed woman in the room?" The answer was a solid, "NO!" Not only do I get joy out of my own creative outfits but I love seeing other women (and men) wearing clothes that make them look and feel great. I enjoy seeing the creativity and beauty of others. It makes me happy when I see people embrace their style. I've struggled with plenty of self conscious issues but when it comes to my physical appearance I feel like I've always been pretty balanced. I know that I'm not a strikingly gorgeous model but I also know that I have some attractive/pretty features. I do enjoy it when people comment and say that they like my outfits because it's an expression of my creativity...an expression of me, if you like my clothes you are saying you like me! I don't get dressed to have anyone rave about my physical appearance, though. My husband, Jeremy (who I think is extremely hot!), is pleased with it and that's all I need. 

If any of you have ponder/questioned some of these things, I'd love to hear your insight. 

*Just to make sure I'm not misunderstood I'm not advocating for women, especially Christian women, to go around with no thoughts on how the way they dress could impact others. I'm not saying I think A is so wrong we should go all the way to Z. There does need to be a change though, especially in the Christian culture! If men are called to be our leaders, then so much of the weight of whether or not men lust shouldn't being falling on women. And the current teaching to boys and men to look at the ground (etc.) does nothing to solve the problem.