How to Dress Like Penelope

Ok, I know this movie came out over a year ago but I just watched it again on Netflix instant play and again was enchanted by the set design and wardrobe. It may not be the best movie I've ever seen, but every time I watch it I think "I want to live in that movie." I want those colors all around me, I want those plants in their terrariums, I want that swing in my bedroom for goodness sake. But the thing that enchants me most of all, I think, is Penelope's wardrobe. There's something classy and classic about it, yet at the same time something original and personal. And best of all, the majority of what she wears is modest - tasteful and classic.

The first time I watched this movie, upon arriving home, I immediately jumped on the ol' internet and searched desperately for any pictures I could find that could give me inspiration in recreating this look for myself. (With my own personal touches of course - as much as I love skirts, I just can't give up my jeans.) Nothing. There was like ONE picture of Penelope online - her in that adorable coat. But even though it was adorable, it just wasn't enough. So, after watching Penelope again, I tried again - even harder - to find some pictures and get some ideas of what makes Penelope's wardrobe so enchanting. Finally I found some. Here they are:

Yep, all three screenshots I could find. But, still, I did gain some insight into the style and I wanted to share some major points of what makes Penelope's wardrobe so great, and how to recreate it, or elements of it, for yourself:

a.) Colors - For most of the movie, Penelope dresses in vibrant but muted jewel tones: reds, greens, browns, blues. They have a sort of saturated feel that makes things feel older, classier, somehow.

b.) Skirts - I don't think Penelope wears any pants in this movie. She mostly wears knee-length skirts and dresses with coordinating tights and shoes. In the last scene of the movie she's wearing a blue dress with blue tights and blue shoes. How I love it. In all, her clothing is sweet and very feminine.

c.) Embellishents - Again, with the feminine - many of the shirts Penelope wears are embellished with very feminine elements like beaded flowers, ribbons, ruffles, puffed sleeves, and my personal favorite - buttons.

d.) Shoes - Penelope wears these adorable, solid-colored, heeled Mary Janes throughout the movie. They usually coordinate perfectly with whatever tights she's wearing.

So, while everyone else has moved on, I've finally cracked the code to Penelope's clothes ;) I think we all need to find our style inspiration and wear things that make us feel unique and beautiful in a modest way. Who are your style icons?

Heads Up: Free Shipping at Great Lengths

Ok, so most of you already know that Great Lengths Shorts is not just about shorts. They're also about awesome, affordable modest clothing for all occasions, including those oh-so-important occasions that involve corsages, bow ties, and decorated school gyms. And they've got a great deal going right now. From now through Valentine's Day (actually the day after, the promotion officially ends February 15th) shipping on all formal gowns is free. So whether you're thinking ahead for prom, planning a wedding, or just wanting to wear a pretty shiny dress for no good reason, head on over to Great Lengths Shorts and check out their formal wear.

Modest Fashions at Bellisima

So, January was a dismal month for blogging, eh? January tends to be a pretty dismal month all around, what with the cold, the snow, the cold. Yeah, mostly the cold. But here we are in February, and suddenly everything seems better. We've turned the corner. Snow is melting (even though it will probably snow again), and we have the rosy pink glow of Valentine's Day to perk everything up. Oh yeah, and I was born in February, making it the best month of the year. Happiness.

So, February will be a month (hopefully) to renew both blogging and sewing efforts and hopefully get some fun things going around here.

For the first post of February, I just have to let everyone know about Bellisima! Modesty Boutique. Cute Faith clued me in to this site (thanks, Faith!) and wow, do they have some great stuff and great prices. Makes me anxious for the Husby's check to come in so I can spend it. Mwahahaha.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites:

First up is this adorable bolero that could be used to modestify any formal without looking cheesy or bulky as sometimes, sadly, boleros do.

Next up, for those of us not attending a formal dance any time soon, but still wanting to get dressed up, this paisley skirt is just to die for (best part? it's on sale for 4.99):



This blouse totally gets me, as in - it knows where I'm coming from and it totally wants to hang out with me. I want to hang out with it too:


This entire outfit makes me giddy and totally brings that rosy pink glow of Valentine's Day into my heart:

So, go check out Bellisima. There is so much there - so cute and so affordable.

And keep checking back here at Modestify - there should be good things happening in February.

Sale at Sakura Rose

Ok, so I need to check my comments more often... oh yeah, and post more often. New Year's resolution, maybe? Anyway, a few weeks back I got a comment from the owner of Sakura Rose Boutique (wow, flattered), informing me - and by extension all of you - of an awesome sale they are having over at Sakura Rose. I went over and checked out their stuff and man, they have some beautiful clothing for some extremely reasonable prices. I chose a few of my favorites to share with you all, but go! Check it out. You won't be sorry.

First, from the 9.99 Sale (9.99?!? You kidding me? I'm getting me some o' these)

They also have this one in plum, but I'm such a sucker for red. Oooh, red.


I'm also a sucker for tuxedo tops. Look how cute!

And this one looks both comfortable and classy. And hey, it's just a coincidence that all the ones I like are red.


There are more bargains on the site; like check out this gorgeous, sparkly dress. Anyone have a formal coming up?


And then there's this beauty. Sigh. So charming.


So, go check out Sakura Rose. Replete with awesomeness. And, it actually does get better - free shipping! (Seriously? Man, this makes my day)

Etsy Love: Modestmaven

Ok, I was going to try to post a tutorial today, but then I was bumbling around on Etsy and I found something I absolutely had to share: Etsy seller Modestmaven. I saw her stuff, specifically this shirt and just fell in love:

She has several modest, creative, endearing shirts for sale and two beautiful modest dresses, including this one, which happens to be in my favorite color:

So, go check out modestmaven :)

Dress Update and Eliza Magazine

So, things with the dress are going well. I went to Joann's on Saturday and bought fabric for the lining and the lengthening bits, ribbon, and dye. The colors I had planned did not exactly work out - I found a much more tempting fabric in a different color - shall I give it away or surprise you all once it's done?
Sunday I made the pattern for the lining, which was time-intensive but fun when it finally worked out. So far so good.
Monday I did the actual dyeing of the dress, and I am extremely pleased with the results. I've never dyed anything before (unless you count tie-dyed t-shirts), so I was more than a little worried, but the color came out exactly as I hoped it would.
So, now it's just making the lining and putting on the finishing touches.

Also, today, I wanted to tell you guys about Eliza magazine. I think I may have mentioned it before, but I don't think I gushed enough. This is a magazine that showcases fashion and other feminine interests (forgive me if that's a little stereotyping on my part) but with a distinct focus on modesty and high standards. The fact that they exist and are doing well makes me feel good about the world we live in. Read this to learn more about them. They have an awesome blog as well as quarterly issues.

Homecoming Dresses: Sale at Great Lengths

Well, since not everyone can win a dress (sad, but true), I wanted to highlight some other sources for homecoming attire. Happily, Great Lengths Shorts is having a sale on many of their beautiful, modest semi-formal and formal dresses.

My picks:



(Though I really hate those shoes. Really hate them.)

Dreaming My Dreams

So, it's been another terrible week for blogging. Not that anything has really kept me from blogging, besides the lack of material, that is. I have lots of ideas to try, but just haven't gotten around to actually trying them. I blame our newest purchase here at the West home - our projector. All evenings are now employed in the serious task of watching movies. This is important work that takes our time from other, less worthy, endeavors. Please read the sarcasm intended.

Anyway, today I clicked on my own ad (whoops, not supposed to do that, but in my defense they are actually interesting! I want to see these sites too! anyway...) I found this fun little clothing vendor called Martin + Osa, which provides all sorts of layering options for creating modest outfits and actually has an application that lets you mix and match outfits that you have layered and created.

Unfortunately, it's a bit pricey. If you have the money, though, mmm, there is some nice stuff. I absolutely fell in love with this pair of pants (on sale for 45$)--I mean I actually gasped out loud when I saw them. Ah, love.

Go check it out, it's at least fun to make your own layered outfits. And dream. Always fun to dream.

Window Shopping: Heavenly Couture

So, today I was visiting clothing sites via StumbleUpon and found this really cute vendor that is having a sale! (Yay for sales this week!) The company is called Heavenly Couture, and I was very impressed to find that a large portion of their merchandise is modest. There are some lovely shirts and some adorable skirts that I would love to add to my wardrobe. And everything in their online store is $18.00 or less (except denim, too bad, but some denim items are also on sale).

Here are a few of my favorites:









And here are the absolute favorites:

One More Reason to Love Japan

Ah, Japan. Home of tempura, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hello Kitty, and all thing cute. Now we have one more reason to love Japan: the haramaki. Apparently, as I discovered while randomly stumbling craft blogs, the haramaki is a new fashion trend over in Japan, and one I think we should import over here to the good ol' U. S. of A. and use for our own purposes. It's also been called a belly warmer or a tummy warmer, which is rather descriptive of what it is. Basically it's a tube of fabric or knitted material that wraps around your stomach, waist, and hips to provide a little extra warmth and coverage. This can be especially useful since sometimes the only pants you can buy are of the low-rise variety (a fashion pet-peeve of mine). Here are some pictures of some cute haramaki I found online:







As you can see, there's a lot of potential for spicing up an outfit, providing color, adding modesty, or just adding texture to whatever you're wearing! I gotta get me one of those. It's been a bit frustrating, because I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them on the internet, but I did find a tutorial for how to make one on Planet June (a fun, crafty blog to visit in your free time). Go here to access that.

On the Red Carpet

I love looking at red carpet pictures. Generally I try to avoid obsessing over celebrity lives (they're just people after all), but I'm still pretty interested in what they choose to wear for the very public events that require them to walk down the red carpet. So, I was very happy to find that among all the extremely revealing dresses celebs tend to wear to these events, there were some modest gems.

Featured Site: Beautifully Modest

This is both a site (www.beautifullymodest.com) and a brick-and-mortar store (Allyse's Bridal) (which happily happens to be in my area) that really just puts a twinkle in my eye. I always loved their all-modest selection and their customer service, but now that I know a little more about their company and how they came about, I love them even more. Apparently their story started with a dad going prom dress shopping with his daughter and experiencing the frustration and disappointment of not being able to find a modest dress anywhere, even in Utah, the mecca of mormondom. You can read all about their story at Meridian Modesty. Their pictures are copyrighted, so I couldn't add them straight to the blog, but click on the links to see some of my favorite items from the store.

My wedding dress

Cute semi-formal

Gorgeous brown sheer

Simple day-dress

I'm in love with this one

What I would wear to prom if I could go back in time

Patterns! Continued

So, continuing with the sewing theme this week has mysteriously taken on, I've decided to post some of my favorite patterns I've found on Burdastyle. The ones I've picked to someday make myself are all in the very easy to moderately easy category, so if I can do it you can do it! Just gotta get some ink for my printer... Anyway, here they are:

Keep Cool Secret #3

Choose the right shirt. A great modestifying tip is to layer your shirts - if the shirt is too short, add a long tanktop underneath; wear a shade shirt underneath a cami; add a ModesTee to your slightly revealing attire. These are all great ideas - when it's not a hundred degrees out. Sometimes just the thought of all those layers is enough to make me sweat. So, one way to avoid that is to carefully choose a shirt that is both modest and cool, without having to add any extra insulation. My favorite shirt is a black tuxedo top style that I found at a used clothing store (Plato's Closet) - it's made with a thin fabric so it's deliciously breathable, it's modest, and it's cute. I love that thing. So, I went on a little search and found a few more modest, one-layer-covers-all, cute, breezy shirts for summer:

From Chadwick's:




From Delia's:




Hmmm, I think I have a thing for white. Most of these come in other colors as well, but I'm partial to white (which isn't so great when you somehow manage to spill all over yourself every time you turn around). I think it is key, though, to choose a light color and a light, breezy fabric. Stay cool!