WIFD 3

I'm finally getting in on this week's Week in Feminine Dress over at Sense & Sensibility! The WIFD is a time when we dress in girly clothes and celebrate. I've been moving to dresses and skirts more lately anyway, so it isn't a huge transition, but it's still so much fun to take pictures and share and see what all the different ladies wear. It's great inspiration!

My dress is brown jersy knit from Express, via Goodwill (I'd never pay their prices!). I had to let the hem out so it was long enough. It's a cozy, bum-around sort of dress. The tee is from Target.

Although this WIFD is focusing on hats, I don't really have any! So, instead, I'm wearing a handmade headband. I can only wear my hair down when I pull it back like this. This is by far the longest my hair has ever been, ever, and I LOVE it!

Thoughts on Feminine Dress

I wanted to share some of the thoughts I had last week, the Week in Feminine Dress. For some of you this may have seemed like no big deal. You may already wear dresses and skirts frequently, if not every single day. My experience has been quite different than that. This week has been an important and exterior step to show what God has been doing in my heart these past three years.

I started college in Fall 2005 with big plans. I was going to graduate as a double major in International Economics and Econometrics from a prestigious business school in only 3.5 years. Then, gloriously single, I was going to fly off to France to live a crazy ex-pat life in Paris until I got bored with it all at which time I’d return to some major US city, find some nice boy, and settle down. Although I was a Christian, I hadn’t submitted my life to Christ in any realistic way. By the end of my first semester, I was miserable and planning other options for school.

To summarize the next two years in extremely brief fashion: I transferred to a school near my parent’s home, got involved with a wonderful campus ministry, renewed my commitment to Christ, met my now husband, got involved in evangelism projects I never would have imagined, got married, moved and switched schools again, and joined another new church. That brings us up to Christmas Break 2008.

At the end of last semester, God showed me that I wasn’t living modestly. I love to get attention and compliments. My biggest concern as I go about my day is “what will people think of me?” My cowardice to step outside the status quo has held me back from witnessing to and serving the people in my life. Although this is mostly a heart issue, my clothing has certainly been a component. While I crave attention for looking like I “should,” I dread the attention that comes from being different.

I decided to do WIFD even though I was scared (of skirts? Yes…). I wore my favorite dress, which before now has only been worn at home. I wore skirts that I’ve only worn to formal events. And I relaxed! The adults I interact with didn’t say anything about my different wardrobe, if they even noticed. The children in my first grade class kept telling me they loved my dress with cherries on it – “You look like a real teacher, Mrs. Preston!” (I love kids, lol). And God nurtured my heart to realize that my preoccupation with appearance has held me back all these years.

Since WIFD, I’ve gone back to wearing pants more often than not. But I can feel a shift in my heart. I’m wearing them because that’s what I happen to have in my closet at the moment, not because it is what is expected of me. To sum it up – I care less! It’s a freeing feeling.
God still has a lot of work to do in my heart to knock down my pride and obsession with fitting in. But I can clearly see that the Week in Feminine Dress has helped me in my journey towards not only a modest appearance, but also a modest heart.

WIFD, Thursday - Sunday

I've been so busy! We got pictures taken, but never had a chance to post them. Here's the 2nd half of the Week in Feminine Dress, all at once:

Thursday is ballroom dance class. Even tho we lower the average age by... lots... it's so much fun! This week was the last week of waltz; next week starts swing dance. I made this dress four years ago for the last day of high school. My group of friends went to the park down the street for a crazy picnic and water ballon fight. Now, it's my favorite dress EVER! It feels so pretty when I walk. I think I'm going to take the pattern and make it again. (Picture is from Christmas time, but this is exactly what I wore)

Friday is school in the morning, then home in the afternoon. I wore this to class, then came home and was fitting a new 40's dress all afternoon.

Saturday was once again a travel day, for more birthdays. I picked this outfit because it's super comfortable while still being classy and a skirt. It was perfect for my afternoon spent with my best friend visiting niche tea, spice, and antique shops around St. Louis. The whole thing is from Wal-Mart -- I love love love the Danskin brand.

Sunday was Church. As our community group doesn't begin until next week, Shaune and I spent the Sunday School hour passing out curriculum for the Lenten study. Then service. I am perpetually renewed by our church. I love how real our pastors are -- I've been in churches before where the pastors didn't seem to really believe or live their faith. Our church... I don't know. I feel restored every time I enter.

WIFD, Monday-Wednesday

I am loving this Week in Feminine Dress! I'm being braver with skirts than I usually am -- I don't wear them often because the atmosphere I am typically in is so casual. But I've done it every day so far and I'm loving the way I feel. My husband likes it too, he said it helps him "remember I'm a lady." He even brought me roses yesterday!

Monday I kind of failed. I had great intentions, but we were traveling. It was easier to stay in sweat pants. My skirt stayed rumpled at the bottom of my suitcase.

Tuesday was a home day and I didn't get around to taking pictures. I wore one of my favorite skirts -- a charcoal grey knee length from Old Navy that has deep inverted pleats below a dropped waist. It just *feels* nice. I paired it with just a plain pink long sleeve tee.

Today I wore one of my forgotten favorites:

I bought this outfit nearly four years ago when I was doing scholarship interviews for college. There's diagonal pinstriping in the skirt that I don't know if you can see online. It's two-tone -- a coral sort of color and one that perfectly matches the blouse. The striping is subtle enough to still be considered a neutral, but detailed enough to not just be another black skirt. Oops! I left my school badge on, too. Oh well.

I never thought I would wear a skirt to teach 1st grade in -- something about little ones buzzing around scares me. So I layered another super soft, super warm jersey knit skirt under this one that has a habit of sticking to my tights. Double bonus -- keeping me warm since the temperatures have dropped so much!

I love wearing skirts. I think I need to find a way to incorporate more into my wardrobe.

Week in Feminine Dress, Sunday

This is my first day of my first Week in Feminine Dress (from hence forward, WIFD). I wear skirts and dresses from time to time, but it's pretty counter-cultural so I don't do it very often. I attend a REALLY relaxed college where most girls show up in jeans if they bother changing from PJs. We also attend a very modern church. I've been wanting to transition to more feminine clothing, so this is a great kick start!

Today was church, followed by a whole afternoon of family visits, then staying overnight with friends, then more family/friend visits tomorrow. Busy, busy!

I'm working on a long post about learning as a Christian adult. It's coming together, but I want it to be "perfect" before going on-line. Hopefully it'll go up Tuesday morning.