My maternity pictures are on Friday with this lovely lady, as I think I’ve mentioned several times. Can you tell I’m excited?!?!?! I have a bit of “wedding regret” regarding my hair and I wish I had budgeted to hire a specialist to come in and do it. Thanks to all of you*, I’m splurging on myself this Friday and spending some time with Angie Williams while she works to make me look pretty.

I resurrected my wedding hair inspiration folder to come up with some images to show Angie so she can get an idea of what I’m looking for, but all of my wedding looks of choice were updos and I’m looking for something a lot more casual than that. My goal is to find a style that works with my hair, shows off the length, has lots of height (I love big hair but mine doesn’t hold a back-comb well), and is curled without a lot of frizzies. Here are my favorite options so far:

Yes, this is Mrs. Bee of Weddingbee, my adoration for her knows no bounds. I love the soft and natural look she has for her own maternity photos. I realize that some are probably thinking “I make my hair look like that all the time without paying someone to do it for me.” For whatever reason, loose, natural looking curls without a multitude of frizzies are beyond my abilities.

Image by Punam Bean

I like that this hairstyle Beyonce Ashanti (thanks Jasmine!) is sporting would give me a bit more height though. I tend to like “Texas beauty pageant” when it comes to hair.

Source

While I was hunting for hair inspiration photos I figured I might as well look for some makeup ideas as well. My instructions for Angie will definitely include the phrase “Make my face look as skinny as possible”, but a little more guidance than that might be helpful. I started looking at celebrity makeup, but I soon realized that I didn’t just want their makeup, I want to be transformed into the celebrity. As in, please just make me look exactly like Katherine in this photo:

which just isn’t possible. A bit more stumbling led me to the blog of a real girl, Tiffany, who spends her time executing different makeup looks and doing product reviews and sharing her results through photos and video. If I was more adventurous with my makeup routine I’m sure I’d be tuning in to see what she comes up with on a regular basis, but I really enjoyed scrolling through her blog to see all the different looks she has come up with. I like looking to her for inspiration because she’s a regular girl with blue eyes taking snapshots of herself with her camera. A few that caught my eye:

Look 1

Look 2

Look 3

Look 4

What combination of hair and makeup would you suggest? Or do you think I should go a different direction altogether?

I’ll be wearing this dress with black tights and heels for the first “look”:

And either this dress or another brighter purple floor length one with rain boots for the second:

There won’t be any naked belly shots and I have props galore that I’ve brainstormed and collected. The focus is going to be color and childhood nostalgia and it’s going to be like no maternity shoot you’ve ever seen before (at least, I’ve never seen anything like it.) The forecast has gone from 70% chance of rain to sunny and in the 40’s. Let’s hope it stays that way! That Husband will be there as well, which reminds me… I’ve been so focused on myself I forgot to figure out what he’s going to wear.

*Ummm, yeah, did I mention that I recently cashed a check for $500(!!!!!) from Tulle because so many of you took the time to vote for me back in November! I’m working to gather up several different types of goodies for a giveaway the last week of February. I love you bunches!

I’m planning on keeping my hair long and bang free as long as I can, because I know once I cut it off I’ll never grow it out again (I tease my sister frequently that I’m going to grow it out until it reaches my bum!), but I’m getting bored with the way I’ve been doing things. I’d like to start using accessories, playing with colored clips and headbands a bit, but I’m not sure where to start! I’m hoping that some of you might have some cute Etsy items and sellers favorited that you wouldn’t mind sharing with me! Or maybe you’ve seen blog tutorials on how to make your own stuff that you would like to pass on,  I’m in a crafty mood and willing to give handmade stuff a try if it is easy.

Keep in mind that I’m looking for subtle changes, not huge flowers stuck to the side of my head. I’m not really a fan of doing things because they are trendy and I don’t want to regret my purchases later on.

I’d like a few different things:

1. Something to wear when my hair is all down with the front strands tucked behind my ears.

Maybe something like this pinwheels headband from Etsy seller Daris Day? What are some things you can wear in your hear when it’s down other than headbands?

2. Something to cover the bobby pins when I pin it half up.

This poppy barrette from Etsy seller Amerie Rose is pretty, but maybe a bit bigger than I would like? Although it will be the back of my head so I guess I could be more dramatic!

3. Something to wear when I have my hair in a ponytail (especially since I usually wear my hair all up for photography shoots and I’d like to dress things up a bit and show some style).

This felt heart stretch headband from Etsy seller madelyneteacup is oh so sweet but still nice and subtle.

I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas! Don’t be tempting me with dreamy expensive stuff. I’m thinking somewhere around $10 (less would be better!) for items like this.

Thought you might enjoy seeing how I dress myself for church when I’m in a hurry.

Does that shrug look a little high on the back of the neck? And a little loose around the bust? I had to keep tugging on it all through the meetings to try to get it to stay where it was supposed to. I had never had this problem with it before. I guess it must have shrunk in the washer.

Could it be that it was *gasp* upside down?

At the very end of church two wonderful ladies came up to me and said “Jenna, your shrug is upside down.”

Oh… so that’s what the problem was.

So I reversed it.

Doesn’t that look so much better?

Don’t mind me, I’m just the 24 year old girl who can’t dress herself!

A big thank you to TH for taking these great photos!

Happy Friday! Don’t forget to laugh at yourself every once in awhile.

The response to my comment about a series revolving around the concept of a Fashionably Modest was surprisingly high, and so I’m writing this post to introduce what I was envisioning. I hope that the outfits you see throughout this series inspire you to think outside of the round-neckline-short-sleeve-tshirt-with-jeans-box. That is certainly what I’m hoping it will do for me!

There are a few rules that need to be set to keep some consistency between the posts.

1. Tops must have sleeves, necklines that don’t show cleavage, and backs that dip no lower than the bra line. The hemline of shorts and skirts must come within a hands length of the top of the kneecap (*see below for criteria for this).

2. Submissions must have a photo. Photo must be clear enough to accurately show the details of the outfit. It doesn’t have to be a “pro pic” but it does need to be a well-lit quality photograph. I reccomend using no flash and taking the photo in indirect sunlight.

3. Photo must be of a real person wearing the outfit. Anyone can go to a website and show me a “fashionably modest” outfit on a model, but I want to see what real people are wearing.

4. As I have demonstrated below, each item of the outfit should be listed, with brand and/or store purchased from. Include prices when you can, because we’re all curious what it will take to put a similar outfit together! Please format your description of your photo as close to my formatting as possible.

5. Links to online locations where articles and accessories can be purchased are encouraged.

6. Anyone brave enough to contribute a photo of themself in their swimwear?  If so, email me and we’ll talk about guidelines.

7. Submissions should be emailed to that wife {at} gmail {dot} com. Links to photos uploaded elsewhere are easier for me to handle than photo attachments, but I accept either!

Optional: Total cost of the entire outfit.

This series is not just for people like myself, with guidelines dictating what they need to wear, but for anyone with an outfit that they want to share! I hope to see work outfits, casual outfits, vacation outfits, accesories, killer shoes, bright colors, prints, patterns, etc.

I’ll kick things off with an outfit of my own that makes me feel like one of the cool kids. Please ignore the BodyBugg. Information you submit should be formatted as close as possible to what you see below.

Shirt: Brand-Rampage, Found at-Ross
Undershirt: Classic Tee, Brand-Down East Basics, $9.99
Shorts: The Cassidy Fit, Brand-The Limited, Found at-TJ Maxx, $12.99
Shoes: Brand-Me Too, Found at-Ross

My favorite part about this outfit is that the ruffles on my shoes match the ruffles on my shirt!

Total:

I don’t know exact prices, but I’m going to estimate the entire outfit cost me no more than $65

*Lay your hand flat with your fingers together and place your pinky at the top of your knee. Your hemline shouldn’t be any shorter than your thumb when sitting.

P.S. Geeky photog note: These photos were taken with Kelli Nicole’s new 5D Mark II. Drooooollll. Drool all over my ruffly shirt and ruffly shoes. That camera, is AMAZING.

Editors Note: I don’t moderate comments on my other posts, but I reserve the right to moderate comments on all posts with the title “Fashionably Modest” made up of content submitted by readers. The purpose of this series is to share ideas, not criticize each other. Helpful suggestions are welcome, but if I feel that your comment has a negative comment it will be removed.

On Sunday I managed to get ready for church in 15 minutes or so, but somehow I managed to throw together an outfit that left me feeling sassy and cute.

Until I got home, and then I started to second guess myself. Unlike fashionista Tiffany of I am Style-ish I have no confidence in my ability to combine pieces to make a stylish wardrobe, but would really like to get there someday.

Would you be willing to give me some feedback on what I came up with? Am I headed in the right direction? Is this the wrong look for my body type? Do I just need a different top? Do my breasts look really weird to anyone else? (A new bra perhaps?)

Remember I do have limitations surrounding what I can wear. This top represents the most neck/shoulders/arm I can show, and the skirt is the shortest I can wear. The top is by DownEast, the skirt is from Nordstrom about 5 years ago, the belt is from an Ann Taylor dress I wear to shoot weddings in, and the shoes are the most comfortable peep toes ever made by Sofft.

Yes? No? Maybe with improvements?

That Husband always laughs at the faces I make while doing these photos (I have to take at least 50 to get one or two that I’m willing to put on the blog!). I call them “Myspace Facial Expressions”.

I’ve been thinking it might be fun to do a “Fashionably Modest” series, where people send in their outfits with sleeves, necklines without cleavage, shorts/skirts that come within an inch of the knee (or are longer), bathing suits (I can’t wait to show you the one I bought!), etc.  Would anyone be interested in reading something like this? Or contributing?