What I Wore Sunday

True confession: I used to have ambitions of being a fashion blogger. Once I even submitted an outfit to the sadly defunct blog Academichic. Taking occasional photos of my daily outfits really helped me learn how to dress myself after college and use my closet creatively. Eventually I quit because I was busy with other things, and honestly, my clothes are not that fascinating.

So I was excited when my #Cathsorority friends at Fine Linen and Purple started the "What I Wore Sunday" linkup! It's fun to see what other people wear to church.

This week's church outfit: Kohl's dress, Target cardigan and tights, Ross lace tank, Me Too black flats. 

The necklace is from a jewelry store in NYC where everything is $3.99! It's a souvenir of the first day I took NJ Transit and the subway "all by myself."

My parents always emphasized dressing up for Mass on Sunday, and I like continuing that custom. It makes Sunday a little extra special. Especially now that I wear a uniform for work 5 days a week, I'm glad to have a chance to use the rest of my closet! 

Dresses have totally become my favorite standby in the past few years. It's easy to throw one on in the morning even if you're tired or in a hurry, and they are very forgiving if you lose or gain a few pounds. No one will ever make a reality show called "Say Yes to the Jeans" - shopping for pants is just painful.

This outfit now feels like it was years ago. Since Sunday I've been living in sweatpants as we deal with Hurricane Sandy and a soggy basement. Stay safe everyone! 

Christian knock-offs?

1 En 8, from Louboutin's fall collection. 

Have you heard about the designer shoe lawsuit in court right now? Christian Louboutin wants to trademark the signature "China-red" soles of his high heels. Yves St. Laurent recently made an all-red shoe with red soles, and insists that designers should be free to use whatever colors they want.

Personally, I think the all-red YSL shoe is not a big deal, but overall I side with Louboutin since the red soles look cool. If Tiffany's can have a signature blue, why not a signature shade of red? This case has major implications for issues of intellectual property and creative licensing blah blah blah. It's also an excuse for editorials with terrible puns and footnoted legal references to Sex and the City 2.

Recently I discovered some designer knock-offs that made me say "Whhhhaaaa?" They weren't at Forever 21, they were in a religious goods catalog. That's right ladies, you can now buy designer Jesus totes for your next Bible study meeting.

Louis Vuitton becomes "Love"

Gucci becomes "God"

And, my personal favorite for preposterousness...

Juicy Couture becomes "Jesus Christ Born to Save"

There's also a spoof of Tiffany's and a Fendi/Faith pattern. All images are from Autom.com, a generally reputable Catholic wholesaler.

Are these fooling anyone? Are the sellers in on the joke? Whom are these for? Would you buy one of these? 

I just....I dunno. It might make the women in your fellowship group chuckle, but anywhere else you would just look like a poser with a cheaply made bag. 

Sure, Christian parodies of corporate logos are nothing new. "Lord's Gym" tshirts have been around since I was a kid. Today you can also get "Faithbook," "Jesus/Reese's," and "God is my [Guitar] Hero." Some college friends and I once dreamed up an ill-fated Gatorade spoof design for "The Eucharist: Is it In You?"

I feel like such things are a fun inside joke for youth group meetings or service trips, but they won't actually "engage THE CULTURE," as they say. Christians are capable of brilliant satire and beautiful design. Let's not settle for cheap imitations of frivolous consumerism. Juicy Couture has a flagship store a block down from St. Patrick's Cathedral, and I think it's clear which landmark will endure longer. 

Mormonpalooza Part 2: Housewife Blogs and Evangelization Envy

The past few years have seen the rise of the hip Mormon mommy/housewife blog phenomenon. There seems to be an endless network of them, and good gravy are they popular. Thousands of followers, dozens of sponsors, weekly giveaways popular. Personally, I am hooked on The Daybook, Nat the Fat Rat (Happiness Curator! Lover of Anne of Green Gables!), Rockstar Diaries, and Mormon in Manhattan to name a few.

The stinkin' cute Sydney and Tyson of The Daybook. 

In Salon this January, highly educated journalist Emily Matchar asked the question on many young women's minds (including mine): “Why can’t I stop reading Mormon housewife blogs?” She concluded that, unlike the uber-intense mommy blogosphere, these ladies make marriage and motherhood look like fun adventures.  At VirtuousPla.Net, Julie Rodrigues recently observed that these blogs "give beauty slowly," countering the modern obsession with instant gratification. Jen Fulweiler chimed in that it’s the inherent female nurturing, giving instinct that makes PhD candidates pore over posts about recipes and decorating.

I agree with all these women, and very much identify with Matchar and her friends. Reading cookbooks and stalking other people’s domestic bliss were my main coping techniques while thesis writing. It was a world so comforting, and yet slightly exotic compared to the library stacks.

There's been some discussion in the Catholic blogsphere about what an effective evangelization force these Mormon bloggers are. Such artsy diaries make show that we church-going folk are happy, creative, and normal.  These women blend modernity with faith seemingly effortlessly. They are in the world but not quite of it, often more subtly than we Catholics seem to be. But before we go running out to create knock-off hipster Catholic blogs, there are some key points to consider.

Mormon housewife blogs are up-to-the-minute trendy. 
These women use Instagram, sell handmade accessories on Etsy and dish about makeup trends.  Their trendiness seems authentic, not self-consciously commercial. When readers ask, "What makes Mormons so cool?, they reply that they just look for beauty in everything, and that includes Forever 21.

These blogs are written for a wide general audience – lifestyle first, LDS a distant second.
 “Just frolicking in the city, pushing this stroller in my hipster glasses and red lipstick. Have you tried that new burger place across town? Oh and I’m excited about General Conference and hosting some missionaries for dinner on Sunday.”

via ClothedMuch.com

Similarly, clothing discussions are about fashion, not just modesty. 
You'll never see these stylish girls in tank tops or short skirts, but they don't feel the need to tell you that constantly. Their posts are all "Hey, look at these cute blouses! I found the sweetest necklace on sale!"

I once told my parish priest that he should give up his pipe dreams of a modest clothing line, because the Mormons have that locked down. Three words: Shabby Apple dresses.

By far the expert Mormon fashion blogger is LA-dweller Elaine Hearn at Clothed Much. Her blogroll of Mormon fashion bloggers is comprehensive, and her use of items from both department and thrift stores is brilliant. With nary an ankle length jumper in sight.

They offer artistic quality and positivity, not preaching to the choir
Mormon bloggers' layouts are uncluttered and their photos use natural light, not garish flash. They write about what is good in life, instead of just clutching their pearls about THE CULTURE.

There is a time and place for hashing out the minutiae of theology and liturgy, and then there are times to be more approachable. Endless debates about NFP and homeschooling get tiresome, as does the millionth mediocre rehash of Theology of the Body. This is where Mormon bloggers enchant and inspire me in a way Catholic mommy blogs often do not. It's refreshing to see something practical and beautiful, not just hand-wringing about immorality on TV.

Who cares what horrendous things the kids on Jersey Shore are wearing; what would be a good outfit for work tomorrow? How could I still unleash my creative side once I am chasing after little ones? How do I relate to my secular colleagues? More importantly, how could Catholic life be relevant to them? Women like Sydney and Elaine give me hope that I can participate in modern society but also stay true to my beliefs.

Via The Rockstar Diaries

This is where I as a Catholic blogger/cultural historian do some serious pondering. 
Do we blog to evangelize or to talk amongst ourselves? Should Catholic young women write with our theology more "undercover"? Personally, I love the like-minded community of spiritual support I have found through blogging. Should I put my money where my mouth is and switch to posting recipes and daily outfit photos? Or would that be watering down my faith?

Do any Catholic lifestyle blogs with a large secular following already exist?  Do you think Catholic women should embrace a new online evangelization strategy? What do you think?

7 Quick Takes Vol. 13?

--- 1 ---

I have Veteran's Day off, something I didn't realize until three days ago. This morning I am thinking about World War I (since this was originally Armistice Day), and considering a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.

--- 2 ---

Speaking of veterans, I finally visited the Stonewall Jackson Shrine that randomly lurks off I-95. Check out my post about it on my museum blog.

--- 3 ---

Last night I turned to Brother #3 and said, "In the morning, I'm makin' WAFFLES!" Our parents have this sweet George Foreman grill with waffle iron plates. You don't even need non-stick spray! My last GF waffle experiment was quickly gobbled up by even the normal eaters.

--- 4 ---

It even has POCKETS!

This week I reached an adult milestone: I now own a wool-blend suit. Like the kind professional people wear. All those Anne Taylor Loft sale emails were not total spam. This is the jacket, and there are pants to match.
My Fall fashion mantra is, "A jacket covers a multitude of sins." Seriously, pair a blazer with a cute necklace and no one will notice your faded jeans or the fact that you lost a shirt button on your way to work.

--- 5 ---

By this time next week, The Beau should be ABD! That's academese for "all but dissertation," meaning your coursework and qualifying exams are done and your advisors have approved your research proposal. Please say a prayer for him, because there are few things more nerve-racking than asking someone to validate your life plan.

--- 6 ---

On a happier note, my job is still awesome. We accountants are usually the last to leave, so by 5:30pm things get a little loopy. This week we had a stirring group rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," which prompted our new Russian team member to retaliate with YouTube videos of dancing Cossacks.

--- 7 ---

I've been pondering it for a while, but I've decided it's time to make this happen: next week is going to be Mormonpalooza on this blog. The LDS Church fascinates me, so I'm going to ponder their role in modern American pop culture. I'd love for you to check it out next week!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Modernist Monday - Conference Edition

While I was sanely attending conference panels instead of rallies this weekend, I learned about some awesomely crazy modern architecture. A few years ago Chanel decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic 2.55 bag with a mobile art exhibit. The resulting UFO-like building was designed by celebrity architect Zaha Hadid. I had never heard of her before I went to grad school, but now I find her work very entertaining. Just say her name out - even that sounds fun.

So here she is with Karl Lagerfeld in her fashion-inspired building that can be dis-assembled into 56 crates of materials. Apparently it was the hot place to be in Central Park for a while. Note how the lines on the walls look like the seams on the iconic quilted handbag.



Isn't that fabulous? It makes me imagine Karl and Zaha in one of the Fug Girls' imagined dialogues. Karl would say something like "Fashion is architecture for the body. BUILD." or "Your presence decorates the walls of your creation. CONNOISE."

Material Culture Alert: Pants are evil!

Pants are evil. At least that's what my classmate N-slice and I have decided. Pants never do what you want. If you fail to conform to their shape, they either sag and droop or compress your internal organs. Skirts, on the other hand, are forgiving and flexible. Skirts are our friends, especially in a fancy-pants museum school.

Now, you may be aware that there are some conservative religious groups wherein pants on women are evil. My fave Arkansas family the Duggars are an example of this, as are some Catholic homeschooling factions. In their eyes, pants undermine modesty, chastity, the role of women in the family, and the natural complementary differences between the sexes. Those are big issues, so I respect their worrying about them. The worry can lead to some extreme ideas, though. Naturally, if you look around the internet, you can find people in crazy arguements about this topic. For instance:

This article I found today is well meaning, heartfelt ... and totally nuts. When the author suggested that you take your husband shopping with you so he can pick out your clothes, I had to laugh out loud. It also seems to imply that pants simultaneously make you look too fat, too sexual, and too "cheap." Dude, which is it?

This post in response is snarky, skeptical, and full of female common sense. I laughed out loud more than once. Basically it says "I am a busy mom chasing after my kids - PANTS!"

All day I've been hashing out what I would write in response to these ideas about modesty and gender roles. Why can't I stop thinking about it? Here's my own itemized pants/skirt manifesto.

1. This is a material culture issue - clothing has both individual and social meaning. Clothing can assert control, reinforce a group affiliation, express individual creativity, and yes, offend those around you.
2. Longing for the "good old days" of modest clothing is bad history scholarship. Have you ever seen a Hogarth engraving from the 1700s? Not much modesty there. Granted, immodesty may be much more visible and diverse now, but it always existed within the social constructs of its time. That's another thing - clothing culture is a language that evolves. In Jesus' time, everyone wore long robes. Was that blurring the sexes too much?
3. There is extreme immodesty in our culture, but you don't have to go to opposite extremes to combat the cultural poison of, say, Jersey Shore.
   
4. Last night I read Ira Levin's novel The Stepford Wives. That book is a worst case scenario of caricatured gender relations, but the first article has some similarities. In both worlds, men admire women for their beauty, and want to direct how that beauty is displayed and idealized. The Stepford husbands wanted impossible women who would do endless chores with no personal needs; the other author appears to want the impossibility of never remembering that women are sexually attractive.
   
5. I'm the kind of person who takes spiritual advice much too seriously, especially when it is strict. Last year I read Colleen Hammond's Dressing With Dignity, and it troubled me for weeks. Was I really buying into a modern conspiracy of Marxism, Freemasonry, and the downfall of civilization as we know it? Padre Pio, a profoundly holy man, wouldn't even hear the confessions of women in pants. Was he looking down from heaven ashamed of me and my wide leg dress trousers? But then I remembered - that was one holy man's opinion. He was not infallible and he was influenced by the context of his time.
   
6. Lastly, having itemized lists of rules or forbidding entire genres of garments outright is not an adult moral approach. This is a lesson I'm learning myself, since I tend to like structure and direction. But I'm not in my high school anymore with its regulation of shirt collars and prom dress straps. There is no papal checklist approving or condemning every item of clothing you might ever try on in a store. As adults in a mature relationship with God, we must take our properly formed consciences and apply them to the unpredictability and diversity of daily life.
   

So that's my rant. No, I don't think skirts are evil signs of patriarchal oppression. I like wearing skirts and how they make me feel feminine and polished. I like when The Beau tells me I look pretty or my female classmates compliment me on a new dress. Some colleagues are bigger fans of pants, but they still look feminine.