PAIRING TEXTURES - Denim and Tulle

We love when different textures are paired together. There's something kind of nice about the rough against the sweet, like when you see leather paired with chiffon, or in this case, denim paired with tulle. And do you know when we started seeing this specific denim and tulle combo? On the runways of 2010 (back where the denim trend was taking off. You can see the look here. You can also see a shot from backstage at D&G here).We feel bringing in an element of texture is what makes some outfits more interesting. A lot of us don't very often think of texture as being an element in dressing, and I must admit we hadn't either.  Sometimes you just go off the instinct of  'oh this could use a fur element' or 'this could use a tweed' 'or maybe leather would help this.' For instance, one of us is dying to pair a long chiffon dress of hers with a leather jacket soon. We'll let you know how it turns out. By the way, we loved this picture from Vogue China (Feb. 2012) that kind of illustrates the juxtaposition of denim paired with something more formal. So we say go for it! Start pairing rough and sweet (kinda like the sour patch kids commercials....:) 

(P.S. don't you think sometimes nature has it right all along? The bird pictured was definitely an inspiration for this color combo.)

ZINA FROM FASHION VIBE - Blog Highlight

So we've been watching Zina from Spain for a while now (at her blog Fashionvibe-blog.blogspot.com), and we had to show you all what she's been up to. We know we can't show you everything from her blog because it's all amazing, but we can show you some of her most recent looks. What we love about her style is her perfect blend of class and edge. She can't really be labelled to have a specific style, like "preppy," or "rocker," or "traditional," because really she's all of those. So keep up the awesome styling Zina, and you, like us should keep an eye out for her....

THE DUCHESS - "African Cats" Premiere

Kate Middleton stepped out in a Matthew Williamson pre-fall 2012 dress on Wednesday night for the London premiere of Disney's "African Cats" (a documentary done in 2011 which is now being released in theaters to help promote the charity work Disney is doing for wildlife protection in Africa). It's funny how all growing up it was William that was always in the spot light, but now he steps out with his wife and he's very much in the background to everyone getting a glimpse of what Kate is doing or wearing. Don't get us wrong, we've always loved William's poise and eloquence with the media, but now it's definitely a power couple who step out together. We love these guys.

WHAT WE WORE - Clinton Kelly at Macy's City Creek

Since Desirae couldn't be there this past Saturday, we had Alison (Melody's sis-in-law) fill in in her absence. And would you ever believe that this girl has 3 kids? Yeah, tell us about it. And look how effortlessly cool she is. By the way, I would've been tempted to put heels with this look, but she definitely doesn't need them... she's 5'9" without them.  I had to wear heels just to keep up with her! Man, sometimes it's hard being a part of an extended family where all of the girls are almost 6'....

MODEST PROM AND EVENING WEAR - Ready to Buy

$100-200 range

ABS by Allen Schwartz (bloomindales)

Max & Cleo (bloomingdales)

$200 - 500 range

Tadashi Shoji

Badgley Mischka 

(it seems like the portrait collar could give a bit more coverage if needed)

Tadashi Shoji (bloomindales)

Tadashi Shoji

$500 - 700 range

Tadashi Shoji

Robert Rodriguez

David Meister

Badgley Mischka

David Meister

Aidan Mattox

Aidan Mattox

St.John

Rikki Freemen

David Meister

David Meister

Alice + Olivia

Badgley Mischka

Tadashi Shoji

Tadashi Shoji

Tadashi Shoji

Kay Unger

Kay Unger

Tadashi Shoji

Badgley Mischka

Here are some extremely classy gowns we found while browsing Neiman Marcus online (with the exception of a few looks from Bloomingdales). We were happy to find so many options ready to buy, where in years past we'd be lucky if there were one or two that were a bit more covered. OK, so you're going to hate us, but for some reason the top red chiffon dress was on Neiman Marcus while we were creating this post and was listed on sale for $124. One of us was soooo tempted to buy it! But then when we finished, it was gone! We wonder if it sold out so fast that they took it off.  Anyway we still included it since deals pop up everywhere when you'd least expect, and when they do, it doesn't matter if you have nothing to wear it to in the moment, you'll want it in a pinch when you need it and can't find anything. Sadly, we've learned that the hard way. There are some things (notably a Zara dress) we wish we hadn't passed up since we're always looking for things to wear on stage. Also there are plenty of cocktail dresses that have a bit more coverage up right now. Seriously ladies, if you're looking to find a dress for the holidays or weddings or anything, we would say you should keep an eye on the formal wear at Neiman's right now.
   Lastly, some may wonder why we even care about trying to find dresses that cover or fall under the category of "modest". It may seem 'holier than thou' to some. But truly, when your beliefs have a part in dictating what you wear, you, like us, are very relieved to see and find that you don't have to make a shrug or tailor sleeves onto a dress to adhere to that standard. You're relieved that a dress exists that you can just wear - no sweaters, no jackets, no shrugs, no sewn in panels; just a nice high-fashion looking dress. And believe us, that's important. 

WHAT WE WORE - Clinton Kelly at Macy's City Creek

When I dressed in this on Saturday, I was really thinking of taking our own blog advice. I have to admit, lately I've been thinking a lot of our post on Poppy Delevigne. I started to realize how some of the best dressers just pick good, classic pieces and know how to put them together. There's no fuss about it, just clean lines that look cool. So my whole approach to dressing is changing from the likes of Poppy and Miranda. They don't have to overly accessorize because the pieces themselves speak. So wish me luck in taking our own advice! You'll definitely be privy to it all!