CHRISTIAN DIOR COUTURE SPRING 2012 - Grace Kelly inspired?

We like to call this the frothy Grace Kelly collection. All of these looks are so retro where even the stylings of hair and make-up remind us of Princess Grace. It makes you want to jump back into the movie High Society, where every look Grace wore looked like these. I wish we could show you the gowns in this collection but they were just barely not covering over the shoulders (here's one that is to die for). Wow, this is inspiring one us to break out her 'Grace Kelly' look. Stay tuned...

CANNES 2012 HIGHLIGHT - Eva Herzigova in Dolce and Gabbana

 
We're not the only ones who noticed it, but this look of Eva's reminds us so much of this scene, it's crazy. Something about the hair, the diamonds, the red carpeted stairs and the men in black all around her, have made us want to start singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend!" For your sake, it's a good thing blog posts come without sound.  OK we'll try to get beyond the Marilyn Monroe similarity, but truly, she looks stunning don't you think?

SARAH FROM "WELCOME TO THE GOOD LIFE"

We ran into Sarah from Welcome to the Good life at Tiffany last week and didn't she look so cute? We are in love with her Tahari dress from Macy's (lovely Sarah sent us a link to where you can buy it here).  We didn't realize it when we first met her, but we were already familiar with her blog. One of her DIY puffy sleeve post images showed up on Pinterest and we were so intrigued that we spent a while trying to find out where it came from (Man! Pinterest makes it so hard to trace image sources). To make a long story short, let's just say we finally found her, and ever since we've been hooked (you should check out her recent post on dying your own mint-colored jeans here).  Anyway, she's quite creative, (besides being beautiful) and we were glad we got to meet her.
      Lastly... do you notice the color of her finger nails? Man, we wish we had a close up on them. Yes, we're pretty sure that's Tiffany blue there. And we must admit, it's very fitting....

ASHI COUTURE - Designer Highlight

Here's a designer we are very unfamiliar with. But his designs are beautiful, aren't they? They remind us of the Dior couture collection we saw for Spring (which we'll post soon). There are bolts upon bolts of whispy fabrics, making for beautiful, frothy collections. 

     Just a little bit about Mohammed Ashi; he's a designer from Kuwait who became known for his caftans. So if you go to his website here, you can see that there is a whole section devoted to some of the most beautiful caftans we've ever seen. But truly he's shining outside of this. His designs are starting to be seen on the red carpet these days by celebrities like Eva Longoria. We definitely think his name will continue to get out there as his beautiful designs become more and more well known. Do you have a favorite? We really can't decide....

CREAM WIDE-LEG TROUSERS - Tiffany event

OK so we have to admit, one of us has been wanting cream wide-leg trousers since we posted about Zina and Poppy. And do you know where this girl found them? You're not going to like it (since it means you can't buy them too and we really would like to share) but I found them... yes you guessed it, thrifting. Let's just say I have been in love with these pants. The closest we could find online were these by Stella McCartney, but we paid such a fraction of the cost that we'd feel bad sending you there, so definitely be on the lookout. Wedding season has started and they have been my go to piece for the more casual reception setting (not to mention they'd be perfect for the office). I have to admit though, it was a bit difficult to know what to pair them with up top. Too often we see a look sort of like this, where one thinks to pair trousers with something tight on top. But the better look is to go loose and tucked in (partially or fully)... think 40's, like Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn. Oh, and one more thing regarding the wide-leg pant in general. Always make sure they're long enough, but when you pair them with a heel (or flat) see that it doesn't break the pant line. What do I mean? Well let's go back to the Stella McCartney pant here. The platform shoe in the image is making the crease in the pants break. This makes it look alla 90's "90210" for some reason. And let me tell you, I went through a few heels of mine to get the right height for this not to happen. Lastly, I wanted to pair a more structured bag with them, but nothing will fit my massive camera, so slouchy it was. The bag is from a place called Tai Pan and the top is from REI (in the menswear sporting shirts). Oh and the bracelets are Forever 21.

MODEST LOOKBOOK - Eva Green in Tom Ford

Looks like Eva Green has picked Tom Ford twice for two of the "Dark Shadows" premieres recently (the new Jonny Depp/Tim Burton movie). You can view her other look here. We've loved all of the Tom Ford looks as of late. They're simple, yet extremely sophisticated and classy. Oh and in case some of you are confused as to why we share modest red carpet looks, runway looks, etc., even though so few of us can ever afford such clothing? It's because we feel that if women and girls saw how many celebrities are wearing, and designers are creating, looks without a lot of skin, maybe they wouldn't feel so alone if they chose to cover up more. We felt alone when we looked for gowns, dresses, tops or skirts that covered enough and were stylish enough. Then we met and worked with the designer Zac Posen in dressing us for his fall 2009 line. When we told him some of our requirements in coverage, he didn't blink an eye. He said "oh, well we have MANY requests like that" - like it was no big deal. We were stunned. We weren't alone after all. It was then that we realized it went beyond religion. Many older women have similar requests, or younger women who don't want to show certain parts of their bodies because they think them unflattering. So that's why we created this blog. 

    But back to religion... some people really don't realize how big of a deal it actually is within religious families, communities and cultures.  It's something you grow up with, or convert into. And we'll admit, we haven't always dressed "modestly." But for some reason, when you walk into a church, cathedral, temple, or sacred place wherever you are in the world, you suddenly feel a bit self conscious. Or take that a step further... why do you think there is "office wear"? We tend to feel self conscious showing skin in these places because they are environments where the mind or the sacred is supposed to be the focus. And believe us theoretically, fashion and religion or fashion and office wear don't mix terribly well. But that doesn't mean we all need to wear boring black suits or long linen skirts with long-sleeved cotton t-shirts (even though we think this is an awesome version of the look :)!

    For instance, you all remember the royal wedding right? Did you notice that every single woman as a guest at that event wore what most of us would consider to be "modest" in coverage of their bodies (we're not talking about the broader definition of the word)? There's a reason for that. No one feels a need to go into a religious or sacred place showing skin. And that's the mentality we and others have for our daily lives. That's why the blog. That's why the red carpet looks, the runway looks, the street style looks. We just want people to know that there are options out there. And hey, we'd say Tom Ford is a pretty good one today!