Costumes to Clothing no.1 ~ Penelope Wilhern

I have decided to start another type of post...

~Drum Roll Please~

Costumes to Clothing!!! (yeah the title kind-a gave that away)


These will feature some of my favorite movie/tv costumes and show you how to get these looks yourself! Note: I will not agree with some of the modesty standards of these costumes pictured, but I hope to find alternatives so we can modestly dress like our favorite characters!

Our first Costume to Clothing subject will be: Penelope Wilhern.
Penelope is one of my favorite movies.  It is about a girl who is born in a rich family, but because of the snobbishness of her ancestors, she has been cursed with the nose of a pig.  The art style is one of the aspects that make this movie so great!  The details on her costumes are amazing; I would dress like her every day if I could! 

Below are some clothing items that I think would work to match her different looks!

    For her striped shirt:
     1.) Read-Through Ready Top from modcloth
     2.) Ready to Roll Credits Top from modcloth
     3.) Stripes Your Fancy "Dress" (I would wear this as a shirt) from modcloth

   For the bottom outfit:
    White shirt:
     1.) Bebop Dots Top from modcloth
     2.) Alfani Angel-Sleeve Crochet Blouson Top from Macy's
     Dress:
     1.) Jukebox DJ Jumper from modcloth (depending on how you wear this, it could be immodest)
     2.) Study Up for Fun Jumper from modcloth

    For her dresses:
     1.) About the Artist Dress from modcloth (I think an undershirt is a must with this one)
     2.) Mix the Moxie Dress from modcloth (I would also wear an undershirt with this dress)
     3.) Guest of Honor Dress from modcloth
     4.) Too Much Fun Dress from modcloth

As you can see, Penelope loves details. Below are tutorials so you can make some of them:

     1.) Flower Embellishment Tutorial from All Free Sewing
     2.) How to Sew a Basic Fabric "Yo yo" from About Sewing
     3.) Dogwood Branches Embellishment from The Cloth Parcel

Or if you are not into crafting, these are some really fun embellishments I found on Etsy:

     1.) Crochet Flowers
     2.) Fun Buttons
     3.) Crochet Peacock Feathers
     4.) Fabric "Yo yo"

And finally, that scarf!

     1.) The Replica of Penelope's Scarf from Etsy
That is a little over my price range, so here are some alternatives.
     2.) Jones New York Pashmins Wrap from Macy's
     3.) Prettiest Girl in Plume Scarf from modcloth
     4.) Brighten Up Circle Scarf from modcloth

So what is a character you would like to dress like? 

What did you think about this post? 

Note: I do not agree with the stores or websites I listed above on different issues/modesty standards, so please remember to look through them carefully, as you would with any website.

Books, Faith and Fashion

Hi everyone!  I hope you week is going well.

I have been busy with pattern making, Mother-of-the-Bride dress material shopping, and of course, the large commission of Bridesmaids dresses.
Speaking of dresses, I'm thinking about buying #thedress as a generational keep sake (though I might need to wear an under shirt depending on how low cut it is).  Being a designer/business owner I am so happy that #thedress is helping Roman Originals business; one news report said that #thedress has help their sales grow by +300%!
Check out their website; they have lots of modest dresses to choose from!


This week I also have finished the book, Theology of Her Body, by Jason Evert.  I LOVE this book and highly recommend it to any woman!  You can probably get it at your local Christian book store, but for you online shoppers, it is also on Amazon.
These are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Despair can be transformed into hope as a woman discovers her immeasurable value, regardless of her past"
~
"Nothing on earth compares to the beauty of women. Such a statement may seem an exaggeration to some, but it is easy enough to prove: When was the last time you heard of someone who was addicted to online pictures of sunsets?"
~
"In his first letter, St. Peter writes to the Christian woman, saying, 'Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelery, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressing in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God' (1 Peter 3:3-4). In saying this, he is not arguing that external beauty is bad, but rather that it must be secondary to the beauty that lasts."

Again, I really hope you take the time to read this book!  It makes me appreciate being a woman so much!


Last, but not least, here are some fun Spring styles!

Design no.64

What The Fashion Industry Needs to Stop Doing!

Happy Wednesday, I hope you all had a fantastic week so far!

I have been busy over the last couple work days with Demure's bridesmaid dress commission, and planning for my Spring fashion show!  I hope to have it filmed and posted on the blog.  I will be showing six items; one bridesmaid dress, two up-cycles (from last year's show), and three original designs from yours truly. ;)

Now on to the article.


What the Fashion Industry Should Stop Doing

Writing "What Styles are Out" articles:
     Fashion is about expressing your personality with your clothing. I understand that some people might have been walking around in a certain style (for example, a peplum) since 20-whatever and might be bored of it, but don't say that others who are still wearing them are "not stylish" or "not fashionable".  That denies others the ability to express their own style, or prevents them from enjoying their favorite trends.
     Plus, some fashion journalists don't put into perspective that people who have less money or choose not to spend much for clothing cannot get a hold of an article until it is "out of style".
     Now I am not saying that being current is not something to strive towards, but don't tell me that I am not fashionably dressed if I wear an older trend.  (I mean, for the last few years haven't we been emulating past eras anyway?)

Using sexual advertising to get people to buy their items:
     This type of advertising is low for two reasons.  The first being, that it is obviously inappropriate and objectifies people.  The second is, that it shows that the styles that they have created are so badly done they need the help of animalistic behavior to be bought; in short, it lowers the acclaim of that brand.

Photoshopping people to make them look more "beautiful":
     I'm not talking about photoshopping to remove zits or using a filter, but rather changing someone's body shape to make it look thinner or more "beautiful".  This is not only lying to their customers about how their clothing looks on the body, but it also can cause insecurities and create self-loathing in people. 

Using cheap and horrid labor conditions to produce their clothing:

     I mean, come on!  We are so blessed in this country that we over look that others, who sometimes are child workers, are making our clothing in disgusting conditions.  Please people, produce our items locally or use a fair trade manufacturer.

What The Fashion Industry Should Be Doing:

Donating money, clothing, or food to the less fortunate:
     Some designers are already sharing what they have, which is so cool!  I think designers are tasked with the mission of providing the population with beautiful clothing.  I think that this should also include people who can't afford quality clothing.  Tom's shoes provides an amazing example of helping the less fortunate!

Teaching people how to maintain a healthy and beautiful body:  
     Exercise, a healthy diet, and lots of water are all important parts of looking and feeling healthy.  I think that people in the fashion industry should be encouraging people to take care of their bodies.  A lot of what human nature considers beautiful is what people would generally look like if they listen to their body and take care of it.
     For example, pimples are a struggle for teens, and sometimes they cannot be controlled, but other times they are a result of your body reacting to certain things. (Like if I eat too much dairy, I break out in the middle of my forehead. You can read this article for more information: What is Your Acne Telling You?)

Teaching people in third world countries to successfully run their business:
     World Vision is doing a great job of providing women in developing countries with business loans that "recycle" and help hundreds of women.

Using models that don't fit the typical model specifications:
     Even though I don't agree with their modesty standard, I love that Modcloth is using models that are real!


Now I understand that some of you might feel that you cannot help in these issues, because you don't work in this industry, but you can!  When you buy from brands who uphold better standards, you are encouraging them to keep doing those positive things! 

Anna

Design no.63

Property of Anna L Parker

Vlog no.6

Stop the War on the "Modesty Culture"

Many of you have probably seen numerous posts all over the web about whether or not to wear leggings and bikinis.  This one in particular has fueled me for writing this post: The yoga pants witch hunt: missing pieces of the modesty conversation (Thank you Hannah Schaefer for expressing your views, however, some of them I don't agree with, but I hope this article will respectfully and adequately express my feelings on the subject.)

Some may say that wearing leggings or bikinis "show too much of your body and therefore lead men to sin", others however think that this is a "too severe" or "too conservative" point of view.

Personally, I believe both items can be attractive, but I think that it is wise to abstain from wearing either of them.

Why, you might ask, in our modern culture are they a problem?  When, as you can see, so many others wear the these items every day. 

These are the 3 main reasons why I don't wear bikinis nor leggings. 

Number one: I stand out, and in a beautiful way.
Dressing modestly encourages me to find rarer or unique styles to stay within my modesty standard, while following current fashions.  As a fashion conscious woman this is very good. A bonus of maintaining your morals is that you can encourage other people to do the same.

Number two: Because of the effects they can have on other people.
I know people constantly berate the "Modesty Culture" by saying that it makes women feel responsible for leading men to sin.  Now personally, unless you are intentionally wearing something to purposely lead someone to sin, I think you're fine, after all it's where your heart is.  I choose to not wear bikinis and leggings, because I don't want to make men (and sometimes women too, though in a different way) feel uncomfortable, guilty, or self conscious.  Each person has their own set of stumbling blocks, and while I can't and will not try to dress modestly for the entire male population (because it would be impossible) I will try to follow my own standards; guidelines I have developed through counsel, prayer, and reasoning.
 
A few of my brothers in Christ will say that bikinis and leggings aren't a stumbling block for them.  So why am I still against wearing them?  Though these might not be a sin issue for them, I know for a fact that they are for other people.  Some of those people might not even recognize bikinis or leggings to be a stumbling block, because they might not have the best intentions or correct morals.  Therefore, I am also protecting myself from their thoughts, while maintaining my dignity; rather than being considered an object, which brings me to my next point.

Number three: I want to be viewed as a person, not as an object.
A study from Princeton confirms my desire to not wear a bikini:

From an article on CNN's website:

"New research shows that, in men, the brain areas associated with handling tools and the intention to perform actions light up when viewing images of women in bikinis.
The research was presented this week by Susan Fiske, professor of psychology at Princeton University, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science."

Another article from National Geographic goes on to say:

"And in a 'shocking' finding, Fiske noted, some of the men studied showed no activity in the part of the brain that usually responds when a person ponders another's intentions.
This means that these men see women 'as sexually inviting, but they are not thinking about their minds,' Fiske said. 'The lack of activation in this social cognition area is really odd, because it hardly ever happens.' "

Now, I am not blaming men for thinking this way; that is their "Cross" to bear.  I want to help them overcome the stumbling block, or not even have to deal with it, as much as possible.  I also want to protect myself from being thought of as an object by a guy without a good moral compass or one who is failing at that moment.

And as far as leggings:
I feel like women are made up of a myriad of different aspects (beauty, mystery, charm, purity, personality... the list goes on).  In the case of leggings, I feel like the aspect of sexuality (which is a beautiful part of being a woman) overrides the others so much that it should be saved and given to the man that you have committed to stay with for the rest of your life (aka your husband).

In Conclusion:
With all of this said, I wanted you to know that I am not condemning anyone, but rather calling you to action and asking you to consistently think about your clothing choices, so you can help others remain pure, while maintaining your decorum.

Modesty and purity are not exclusively a female responsibility, rather it is a communal commitment to respect others.

I think we should stop this war over the "Modesty Culture", and rather with love and respect, work together past our differences, to make the world a better place.

See you on Friday's Vlog!
~Anna

Here are the links to the articles about the bikini study, caution, they are for a mature audience:
CNN
National Geographic

I found the above photo on Pinterest, to check out my business Pinterest click here.