Clothes are a girl's best friend (next to diamonds)

 So recently I've been on a search for clothes. A) because the bucketloads of clothes I bought when I was 17/18 (and had lots of babysitting money that I didn't bother to save) are starting to completely disintegrate, and b) I've been on the search for more modest clothing lately.

 I'm having a tough time with this whole modest thing.

 It's funny - I'm actually heading straight back to what I grew up with. My mom drilled modesty and femininity into me ever since I can remember (with a healthy love of digging in the dirt, and muddy hiking trail thrown in from time to time), and, while I deviated from the whole modesty thing as a college student, I never gave up the femininity part. I've always liked fluffy girly things. But there came a time in my life when I realized "I have my own money - I can buy myself a mini-skirt if I want!" I didn't go mini-mini, but I went a bit overboard with the strappy tops, shorter skirts, and rather daring necklines. My mom (bless her heart) didn't say anything while I was 'experimenting', and I am very grateful to her. I think she's doing the same thing with my almost-17 year old sister. I wish her luck.

 When I started dating Thomas, he certainly had something to say about my wardrobe. On one hand, I felt sorry for him - here was this sweet Mormon boy, dating a girl who wore strapless dresses (OUT in PUBLIC!) and plunging necklines. (have I mentioned I have a rather ample bosom?)
On the other hand, he was the one who continually asked me out until I said yes.
 I resisted his "helpful" suggestions about my wardrobe, and gave him a rather triumphant look when the women at his Church complimented me on my outfits. He just retaliated with more helpful hints, until even his mother told him to shut up about it. :)

 Isn't it funny how we'll resist and resist when it's someone else' idea, yet when it's our idea, we'll jump right on it? I realized that really, regarding my body shape, and the way I've been heading lately, strappy tops really don't look good on me, my leg shape is REALLY only best seen from the knee down, thank you very much, and, I hate my chest size anyway. Why would I want to show off something I dislike?

 It also helps that I've found some cute, 'modest' clothing. ;)

I've been doing a lot of researching, and checking on the internet. Whenever someone says the word "modest" red flags seem to go up immediately. I think about the women and girls I grew up with in the 90s, and (sorry Mom!) fluffy hair, long sleeves with loud prints, and jean dresses (down to the ankles of course) jump into my mind. I just don't think "modest" and "fashionable" at the same time. Well, apparently some other women have thought the same thing, and we have this lovely thing called Internet. Which means I can go online, and immediately find cute, feminine - but sensible! - clothing. My favourite websites from the most recent search are:

http://www.halftee.com/ These people are brilliant. They have created a, well, half-t shirt! You can wear these short little shirts under tanks, dresses, anything that needs that extra coverage, but not necessarily an extra layer. And for those of you who are really picky, the shirts are reversible, which gives you a choice of your neckline!

http://www.jenclothing.com/ This is a sweet little site. The owner of the site actually runs her own little fashion online mag, and she always has great tips on how to stay fashionable, keep healthy, and have fun in the process. And the dresses are so cute! I have my eye on the Kristy dress, and the Ava dress (in black, in case anyone is wondering ;).

http://www.shabbyapple.com/  And here was my find this morning. Oh. My. Goodness. Can you say "I love vintage?" Also the fact that most of the dresses seem to stay under $100? I realize that's a bit steep, but when you think about it - the style of these dresses + quality + VARIETY, totally makes it worth the splurge. The entire site seems to be directed towards me; I'm not sure how they did it. It's like ModCloth, only way better.

So there's my little blurb for today. If anyone has sites/stores to share, please do!

Now I'm off to eat breakfast, and take a walk in the lovely outdoors. Cheers!