Okay, I have loved fashion and wearing pretty things for as long as I can remember. It’s obvious that my sense of style has definitely evolved as I’ve gotten older—despite the pink and sparkles, which is never going to change I promise. When I’m picking out new clothing, I try to focus on these three things mainly: how pretty it is (duh, you know I care about my aesthetics), how comfortable it is (I try not to sacrifice this no matter how pretty something is, but of course there are exceptions because I, like, really care about how pretty some things are), and then the last would be how it looks on me and if it remains true to my values. Since style is an expression of who you are, I try to make sure mine is consistent with the person I am, and that includes making sure I’m not conveying anything that goes against my beliefs.
There is, of course, numerous debates in the Christian world over what is modest or not on girls. I have even found myself asking questions like how much is too much, questions like whether I should buy a bikini or stick with a one-piece. I definitely think it’s wise to consider modesty when making clothing decisions, because the Bible says our bodies are meant to glorify God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), so we definitely should consider what messages we’re putting out there when we dress. Unfortunately, I really haven’t found Christian blogs to be that helpful when it comes to advice on modesty. I’d love it if they could just give me clear yes or no answers on whether it’s okay to wear a bikini or not, but of course, you get this big long post that tells you just about everything but, instead leaving the decision up to you at your judgment. Which is fine. I understand that with a lot of these, there is no clear definition on what is too much, which makes it that much harder.
Personally, I think there are two extremes when it comes to modesty and fashion, and I don’t agree with either one of them because I think both are degrading to women. So the first extreme is that women can’t wear ANYTHING that is the slightest bit revealing or form flattering. I think that’s degrading because there comes a fine line where it’s like, that’s how we’re made, and trying to conceal that to the extreme is acting like we should be embarrassed or ashamed of how we’re made. Yet then you get the other extreme, where women can dress anyway they want and just, you know, leave it ALL out there practically, and I think that’s degrading too, because it’s like have enough dignity for yourself to not just put it all out there for attention. So like most things, I think it’s about finding a balance that works for you and your relationship with God. Like most things—and I know this is another cliche but just hear me out because it’s true—it really does come down to your motives and attitudes for wanting to wear something. More often than not I see a lot of girls taking the second extreme where they are so flippant about what they wear, not caring at all about honoring God or themselves in their fashion choices, and they just throw out excuses like how He doesn’t really care or it’s not that important. Well, maybe these little choices aren’t as important as some, but I can assure you that God still cares because the little choices you make on a daily basis are what end up defining you as a person whether you like it or not. I’ve been very disappointed with a lot of supposed Christians who repeatedly wear very revealing outfits even though they claim modesty is important, and I don’t take their advice for anything in the faith as a result, because seriously, talk about hypocritical. If you’re gonna talk the talk, you have to walk the walk, period. So that’s something I try to be conscious of always, is making sure that I live up to what I believe.
Anyway, here are some of my summer outfits that I’ve put together. I figured I would post these so I have an excuse for making Grams take all of these pictures of me besides me being conceited. 😉
Well, first, I should show you what I used to wear—four years ago, so like when I was eleven and started this blog, I was obsessed with the store Justice haha, and so I had all the sets of tops and shorts to match… Oh, those were good days. I do miss some of their fashion pieces honestly because as I said earlier, PINK AND SPARKLES. You really don’t find too much of that in the women’s clothing, but don’t worry, I’m going to scour everything to find out because you know the saying… If there’s anything pink or sparkly, of course I want it. 🙂 My dog was only a baby in this photo, too… Like where does the time go.
I loved these sparkly shorts… I have yet to find another pair like them.
Then I also started wearing a lot of sporty outfits because that was the big trend, but now I read fashion blogs so… Haha. They give me a lot of ideas, but above all I try to buy outfits that reflect my own style and not somebody else’s because that’s the fun in it, and you don’t need to worry about being just like somebody else because you have your own personality.
Also, can we just take a moment with this photo… This was me in SIXTH GRADE, the night before it started. Also the first month of me writing this blog (read my first post here!).
This is me on the first day of sixth grade. This was actually one of my fave outfits; I would still wear it if I could. For summer, my style largely consists of blouses or tees with jean shorts and sandals. I’m not big on accessorizing, but I have my ears pierced and so really I should be wearing different earrings because I have a bunch, but you know, maybe one day I’ll get around to doing that…
summer 2k17
So during this whole week I was with my grandparents last month (read all about it here!), I made Grams take a picture of me everyday because I brought my whole summer closet basically, so I had a new outfit to wear everyday. Some are more basic than others, but for simple days going to town those work fine. If I’m going to a dressier occasion, I definitely wear sandals instead of flip flops, and I also have a pair of dress pants that I’d pair with a summer, dressy top. Or I also have this dress I have yet to wear because I can’t find an occasion that warrants it, but I could also wear that with sandals, too.
This outfit is one of the more basic ones with the simple black flip flops (they have glitter on the straps though!!!). I just wanted a basic pair to match outfits like these, and I think I got these ones on DSW for a really good price.
I also have quite a few sheer tops in my wardrobe. I don’t necessarily mean to buy them that way, but some are definitely more sheer than others, and usually the white ones are a lot like that. I can’t remember where I read this, but if you’re looking to get away with wearing a sheer top without anything underneath such as a cami (because I hate layering, especially in the summer), wear a nude bra. Seriously, it works; you can’t see anything. I tried wearing white ones thinking that if it matches the color it would work, but really, wearing a nude one is the way to go. Also, with bralettes being a huge trend right now, you could also wear one of those underneath a more sheer top. I think this is also one of those situations where using your best judgment on modesty comes into play, too, because some sheer tops can easily not be modest—in fact I’ve seen girls wear completely sheer tops that are made just for the purpose of showing off a bralette, meaning you can easily see what they’re wearing underneath. And I don’t think that’s very modest, but I think if you get a top that’s more concealing with some sheerness and then want to wear a bralette, I think that’s fine. I have a new bralette I have yet to really break in, but I think I do have a picture where you can kinda see the straps of it that I’ll show later.
Here I’m wearing a more casual outfit with my favorite pair of flip flops that are on the fancier side, they’re Michael Kors! Haha. Unfortunately they’re about shot, though, because I wore them so much.
This is one of the more dressier tops below, along with the sandals. In fact I think I wore this exact outfit to a special event and just swapped the jean shorts for a pair of dress pants.
So this top was kind of a struggle for me in the outfit below because I think I got it from my cousin when she asked if I wanted it, but it’s just a little too big on me, but I liked it so much I took it anyway and thought, oh, I’ll just make it work! Anyway, it does work well for the most part, but since it is a little big on me and I’m moderately tall, it’s one of those awkward situations where if I pull it up, it’s like a crop top on me, which I don’t like, but if I pull it down too far, it shows too much in the chest area. So if my body looks like it’s at an awkward angle in this photo that’s probably why… But I was so happy I found a top to match these pink flip flops I’d had for awhile AND my purse!
This is that same outfit except with my leather jacket over it. It adds to any casual summer look, if it’s not 90 degrees out haha like when this was taken.
Sometimes I’ll also wear crops or capris. I like my pants to fit tight; I don’t know why, but I’ve just always preferred that. I think that as long as your clothing covers what it needs to, I wouldn’t be as critical about how tight or form fitting something is. I know some people have a fit over leggings and whether those are modest or not. Personally, I wear them everyday in the wintertime basically, and I’m okay with doing that because I usually wear chunky sweaters over them, so it’s more a means of comfort than hey, look at my legs! Again, I think it really comes down to your attitudes on why you’re wearing something and using your best judgment on something. I don’t think there’s any excuse for wearing clothing that is super revealing because MOST of the time those things aren’t unintentional where it just kinda happens. Like if you happen to wear a larger v-neck shirt, that may be unintentional, but then are some tops that are low cut on purpose, for the point of showing off and revealing more. That’s what I don’t think is okay. And trust me when I say that you can tell the difference between people who are unintentionally wearing a top like that or people who are deliberately doing it. I remember seeing this one girl who wore what I thought was a really revealing top, but I decided to let it pass because I thought maybe it was just one of those tops where she couldn’t really make it cover more. But after seeing twenty more pictures of her in various different tops that were all like that and some you know were designed for it, that’s how I knew she dressed like that on purpose, and I thought that was upsetting because she was a Christian and even MARRIED, so it was like what are you trying to prove?
Below is the photo with the bralette I mentioned earlier, where you can sorta see the straps. I think it adds a nice pop of color to an otherwise rather dull look.
That’s all I currently have on summer fashion, but if you enjoyed posts like this with fashion, just let me know and I could always do more! I’m by no means a fashion blogger, but I do like to buy what they tell me to. 😉 I try not to break the bank either; I’ve gotten pretty good at finding designer items on sale if I do say so myself. Now if I can just find this dream Michael Kors crossbody I want on sale…
Also, hopefully my views on modesty make sense. If you’re confused about what I mean by some of my views, just let me know, and I’ll try to clarify. I also want to say that I’m NOT trying to act overly judgmental or nit-picky about these types of things. At least, that isn’t my intent to make you feel that way. I don’t want to be one of those Christians who makes up rules or goes by man-made religion along those lines, but I don’t think modesty is about following a set of guidelines, I think it’s about making pure choices that will best honor God and yourself. After seeing so many “Christians” completely not care, I just had to shake my head because it sets a terrible example. Knowing Jesus is about having a relationship with Him, but everyone knows that relationships are a two way thing, so to just not care about the little choices you make because you think He won’t care is, first off ignorant, but it’s also taking advantage of grace. And it’s ignorant because God DOES care, but does that mean you’re going to hell if you wear a top more on the lower cut side? Um, no, but again, use good judgment. If a top is way too low and you can pick a better one, then why don’t you? Being modest is also about knowing your own worth in Christ, too, though: when you dress modestly, you’re showing respect for yourself because let’s face it, immodest clothes are designed for attention, but that cheap attention is not the meaningful kind you want—you want to be valued as a whole person and not just for your body, so I think we should dress like that. But hopefully this post can also show you that dressing modestly isn’t some boring chore; you can still dress trendy, cute, and stylish while being modest at the same time.
