"Evolution" of my Style and its Icon

For some reason, style screams being a taboo word to me. Perhaps because a church I went to for a few years preached from the pulpit that wearing attractive clothes was wrong. Maybe it was because I didn't know what to think about the subject so I avoided it. Frankly, it doesn't matter where I was; it matters more how I got there and where I am going.

The last thing I want to be is considered "immodest" by general society. And the purpose of this post is not to rehash the often brought up subjects that inevitably come from posts such as these. I do not want to have debates about pants vs. skirts, long skirts vs. knee length skirts, long hair vs. short hair, etc. That is not the point of what I am doing here today. For me, it is about thanking a TV show that made me find the balance in my fashion =) And as I harp quite frequently, what I was led to do doesn't mean you have to do it that way. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

I was a person who thought I had to wear shapeless clothes to be considered modest, feminine, and God honoring. I thought that if I had an interest in fashion, I was in sin....but over the past two years, The Lord showed me that was not true. I could desire to wear more fashionable clothes and do so in a modest way. And he used "What Not to Wear" to point me in the right direction. Yes, a secular TV show taught me something ;-) I do not agree with all the choices, by any means, but there are some nuggets of grain to be gleaned.

Watching episode after episode, I discovered what my style was. I found out what things looked good on my body type. Like how I cannot really wear wide cut pants because on my petite frame, they will drown me. I learned that jewel tones are the best with my skin tone. For petite people, knee length are the best skirts to wear, as they don't cut you off proportionally. And dresses, fashionable, classically cut ones, aren't as foreign as we are made to think.

Once I figured out what worked for me, I put it all together...and everything clicked. Certain materials are better for me to wear, certain styles are better for me to wear. (I can't wear cotton shirtdresses; they just look *bad* all the way around =() And now because of What Not to Wear, my fashion icon takes on the form of a princess, HRH Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge....or Kate, as she will always be in my mind! =)

Rare is the occasion when you can call Kate being immodest. I think that she oozes a classic, timeless look that probably will be emulated for years to come. She knows what colors look good on her (she loves navy ;-); she knows what styles work for her. She recycles the same clothes on numerous occasions, thus making herself very approachable to the average civillian. Her best accessory is her smile; she is definitely Prince William's best asset...these are things I want to say about myself someday. And so, whenever I see things about Kate in the fashion world, I take notice...because they are often ideas that God has given me as guidelines for what I am to wear.

I know you can send a message wearing any type of clothes you want, but personally, I like showing that Christ does approve of fashionability. When a coworker compared me to Coco Chanel in my birthday card, I could hardly believe it. My hopes had paid off. I was reflecting Christ by being modest and letting inner beauty reign, while at the same time, wearing classic clothes from a bygone era. I must say, I love it!If I ever get to be in a position to walk a red carpet (which I highly, highly doubt), I plan on taking my "P's" and "Q's" from a recent outfit of Kate's. Modest, classic, timeless, fashionable...several adjectives that I love to hear. And because of What Not to Wear I do get to hear them every now and then. Christ has my heart, fashion has my clothes...that is a winning combination in my book.