Empowered Traditionalist

After posting about the surprising lack of skirts being modeled, I now have cheerful news. Skirts are popular for fall! We have two prominent shapes making their debut this fall, the sophisticated pencil skirt, and the short n’ swingy bell skirt. The latter is rather too short for modesty’s sake, but it’s nice to see skirts making an appearance on the runway.

Pencil skirt:
Every woman needs a classic black pencil skirt in her wardrobe. You don’t have to pay a lot for the skirt (Thriftstore’s are loaded) but ensure you budget in an estimated $12 trip to the tailor to make sure it fits.

Do:
-Wear it with a tucked in blouse and a statement necklace
-Wear it with a feminine cardigan or body-conscious sweater for a lady-like look.
-Visit the Tailor to make sure it fits perfectly.
-Have fun with adding a belt, thick or thin

Don’t:
Don’t be a afraid to mix brown and black (i.e. black skirt, brown sweater)

Full Bell Skirt:
This voluminous style works well with full and fitted tops and is ideal for a pear shaped body as it emphasizes that small waist while disguising a full derriere.

Do:
-Wear it with opaque tights and a chunky knit sweater
-Wear it tucked in with a loose bow-tie blouse and belted waist
-Wear it with a sleek turtleneck
-Make sure it is the right length for your body shape (2-3” longer than your finger tips when you arms are down at your sides)
-Wear some fun jewelry like a gold cuff or hoop earings.

Don’t:
-Don’t wear it too short- this style is just as cute 3-4” longer than a fashion stylists would suggest.
-Wear two prints, (i.e. both top and skirt)

August 8th, 2008
A shocking trend is gaining ground in teen dressing: modesty.
What has happened in the last 10 months to increase the modest fashion trends?

The author suggests:

Layering. The economic downturn. Traction from an entrenched parents’ backlash against highly sexualized looks for their daughters. Oh, and fashion’s do-or-die need to throw something new at the gigantic but fickle teen/tween market as quickly as you can say “MySpace” or “Facebook.”

I like the result: too-revealing camisoles and tank tops now paired with a covering hoodie or graphic T-shirt. Dresses topped by ’50s-ish cardigans or shrugs. Vintage ’70s-ish pieces picked up cheaply at thrift shops.

Also, layered items are interchangeable and can be put together in different ways…

“It’s all media-driven…It’s about girls seeing celebrities on TV shows, movie and concert tours and now they get to communicate about clothing on social networking sites…That drives tween fashion.”

In the emphasis on layering, many parents see a welcome trend that is long overdue.

“A lot of the very fashionable looks right now are very modest,” said Brenda Sharman, national director at Pure Fashion, a Catholic-based organization that has put on modesty teen fashion shows in nearly two dozen U.S. cities. “It’s almost a flashback to looking very demure and proper.”

The group has long deplored the low necklines and sexy looks that have marked teen fashion, and they aren’t alone. Last year, an American Psychological Association task force reported that cognitive performance and health can suffer when teens and young women make themselves into sex objects by wearing sexy clothing or styling themselves after sexy celebrities.”

We aren’t the only ones to notice the pending trends toward modesty-

Sources: Eileen Putman for The Associated Press, for the entire article click HERE