What I Wore Sunday, Vol. 1

I'm very excited to be linking up with Kendra and Emily over at Fine Linen and Purple for What I Wore Sunday, a new link-up where we can share what we wear to church! This is a really fun idea. I've always loved hearing about how women (and men!) used to dress up in their very best clothes every Sunday. Some people still do that, but I haven't really attempted to up until fairly recently. One reason was simply that I had no idea what people my age wore to church, other than the ones I saw, and most of them didn't dress up or wore inappropriate, trendy clothes. I think this is a great way to share ideas and remember how important it is to show respect by dressing nicely as we worship God.

On the front steps after Mass today.

There are a few significant challenges when it comes to getting dressed for church these days. One, I feel like it's more important to dress attractively, as we tend to get more attention because of the babies. Not that I didn't place a priority on dressing nicely before, but since I don't wear dressy clothes for anything but church, I could never really justify buying a lot of them. As a result, I don't have more than a handful of options (I'm currently working on that!). In addition, I have to wear a top that is nursing-friendly, so that narrows the field further still.

Today, I was able to create an outfit from clothes I already had in the closet: a blue and white striped blouse with a ruffled front, a gray pull-on skirt, and black leather ballet flats. I am on the hunt for new church clothes, but I want to make as much use of what I've got as possible, so this made me very happy!

The skirt is perfect right now because it is soft and stretchy and still fits over my tummy without making me feel self-conscious (see last week's modesty post for why this is so important). It doesn't keep my blouse tucked in as well as I'd like, but it definitely works for now. The blouse buttons up the front, so it makes it easy to feed the babies as necessary, and the ruffle detail at the collar makes it less stuffy than your average button-down. The shoes are leather and very comfortable, so I tend to wear them any time I'm dressing up and can't or don't want to wear heels. Leather shoes are essential for Oregon winters - in case you hadn't heard, it rains every so often around here ;) - so you can keep your feet somewhat dry on wet days like today. These have a knot at the front, which, like the ruffles on the blouse, makes something basic a bit less boring. I like clothes which accessorize themselves!

Speaking of accessorizing, I don't tend to wear much jewelry. This is partly because my daughters are in a grabby phase and partly because I don't think of it until we are about to walk out the door. I wore simple pearl stud earrings today, because they went with the white stripes on the blouse, and the silver cross necklace that I always have around my neck - I've only taken it off once since I got it. For this stage of my life, that's about as accessorized as I get! I'd like to get better at it, and I'm very much open to suggestions - leave a comment if you have ideas!

Head to toe outfit shot. (You can ignore the pump bag behind me!) Blouse, Gap (thrifted); tank, Target; skirt, Old Navy; shoes, Target; necklace and earrings, gifted.

Head on over to Fine Linen and Purple to check out the rest of the lovely ladies and what they wore today!