Dressing like a True Princess Part 2

As a bit of an aside from what I'm posting about today, I must start off with saying two things: A)I know it's been awhile since I posted last. My goal was to make a new entry at least once a week. FAIL. Not really an epic fail though, since I'm still getting used to this blogging thing and well, life happens too. I can't always live in this constant world of cyberspace (warning: inflicts major headaches and withdrawal from the "real" outside world). I do have a hubby to care for, and bake with (we made BOMB shortbread cookies last night!) and all that other real life stuff. B)I think I was going to brag about the shortbread cookies and maybe point out the fact that sugar is becoming quite the constant companion in my married life. At least two good things come from this new sugar craving/addiction/obsessive baking disorder: 1. I am spending time with my hubby doing something we truly both enjoy! 2. I think sugar helps fuel my thoughts (I've been having some very vivid dreams lately. I do love remembering cool dreams. Not so much the scary spider ones. So, I do think it jogs my brain for ideas. Or gives me a coma. haha.)

Dressing Like A True Princess:

Which "princesses" I admired then and Which ones I respect now

Part 2: Who I Respect Now

In my last post, I revealed that my original favorite princess figure was Jasmine from Alladin. I ended up failing her on the modesty scale, and I did promise that I would take a look at the princesses who I feel reflect modesty more evidently and who I hold a higher respect for now. I know this may sound funny, especially when it comes to fictional characters (can you really have respect for a cartoon figure?) Oh well, I'm sure I sound funny/ridiculous with about 80% of what I type/what comes out of my mouth anyway. ;) 

So, now that I am becoming a grown woman (kinda-I still feel like a kid frequently) and I can look at the subject of modesty with a more mature set of eyes (as far as judging what passes on the modesty scale), I am going to reveal two disney princesses who I do feel reflect a certain amount of modesty worth mentioning. 

The two disney princesses who strike me as exuding the greatest amount of modesty are

........drum roll..........

These two beauties: 

Belle

Cinderella

Let me first tell you a few reasons why I am sucker for both of these stories. 1)They both come from broken families (or rather, family members are missing/dead)and yet still seem very grounded and are strong, confident women who have dreams and aspirations. 2)Belle falls in love with a beast who ends up being a dashing prince (she falls for his character and not his looks which is a great lesson on its own...and honestly guys, I fell in love with the beast more than his human form at the end of the movie).3)Cinderella endures the cruelty of how her step-mother and step-sisters treat her as a slave, and she hardly complains. Plus, she has cool animal friends who are natural seamstresses! 4)Both their characters (personalities) and outward appearances reflect a great amount of modesty. 

The pictures I chose to add first show Belle and Cinderella in very plain, everyday "work" clothes. They are both modest dresses which don't attract an obscene amount of attention to themselves (no glitz or glamor). What's cool about these ladies, is that though they dress plainly (only to be princess-ified later) their true beauty shines outwardly. They are both kind, loving, and thoughtful. I can personally relate to Cinderella's character slightly better, as she has this quiet demeanor about her whereas Belle seems to be a bit more outspoken. Plus, I like Cinderella's princess dress a little better. ;)P.S. I must confess that I do like the Beast better than Prince Charming (he's too mysterious...like how many words does he speak?)

Now let's take a look at these two after they've been princess-ified (meaning, all dolled-up and ready for, you know, a royal ball).

Not my color, but I always thought Belle looked stunning in it :)

and mostly modest (maybe a tad low-cut?)

***And yes...this was probably one of my favorite scenes. 

I loved how nervous the Beast was- so cute.

Poor Cinderella's first dress ruined by evil step-sisters :(

***Cinderella is still pretty AND modest even in rags!

BAM! And henceforth every little girl wanted a fairy godmother... 

***This has always been my favorite disney princess dress-

 I'm a sucker for blues! And it's modest :)

Well, now I want to watch both of these movies! I hear the soundtracks playing in the back of my mind...ugh! I don't have either movies...plus my hubby might raise his brows if he came home and saw me sobbing over a disney movie. hehe...

Does anyone question the modesty of either of these princesses? For me, they totally pass on the modesty and "true princess" scales. They truly reflect modesty, both on the outside and inside. Additionally, if my future daughter wanted to dress up as either Belle or Cinderella I wouldn't have a problem with it. Whereas, if she wanted to dress up as Jasmine I would likely say no. 

Just for review:

Jasmine: FAIL

Belle: PASS

Cinderella: PASS

I haven't quite decided on the subject of my next entry, but I may either talk about today's "real" celebrities (meaning not cartoons)and judge them on the modesty scale or I may start my first entry on how to dress modestly/keys to a modest wardrobe. 

Please let me know if there are any other specific topics related to modesty that you'd like me to cover...I'm up for any challenge! :)

Cheers!

Anna

Dressing Like a True Princess Part 1

Intro: 

I am currently snuggled up on the couch with a "homemade" scone (hubby and I actually used a kit, but we still mixed it all up and did in fact make it at home...home-made?) ;) We did, however, make the whipped cream from scratch (which really isn't the hardest thing to make) and I couldn't resist sprinkling some cinnamon+sugar to top it all off. So, with some sugar to fuel my thoughts, I begin my next entry.


***As a forewarning, I am still new to this blogging thing and as my mind tends to flow in countless directions most of the time, my writings may not seem entirely cohesive. I do apologize for this, but hopefully my rusty writing...er... typing hand will improve with practice and time.

What I'm really Posting about Today:

Dressing Like A True Princess:

Which "princesses" I admired then and Which ones I respect now

Part 1: Who I admired then

At some point in their short earthly lives, almost every little (and big) girl all over the world has the hopeless dream of becoming a princess. Since most of us will never be a princess (in the sense of living in a castle and marrying into a royal family) we are truly tickled with conjuring up thrilling, alternative lives "if I were a princess..." and don't we just LOVE dreaming up our wardrobes (okay, and who our prince charming will be too!) What little girl doesn't like to play "make believe" and "dress up"? Come on...you know that's you... ;) I'm pretty sure I dressed up as a princess for halloween at least 3 or 5 times (after I got over the black cat stage haha). 

We must ask the (somewhat obvious) question, where does all the princess inspiration coming from? Maybe some of us heard it from our parents "You're our little princess" or maybe some of us were taught in Sunday school that we are God's princesses (which I do believe we are if we've accepted Christ!) However, the majority of our princess-knowledge and inspiration comes from the world of (secular) media. Some of my personal favorite princess movies are "The Little Princess" and "A Princess Bride". I must admit, however, that (hands-down) my favorite princess while growing up was Jasmine from the movie Aladdin. I just couldn't get over the beautiful, long, jet black hair let alone the pet tiger and handsome, thieving boyfriend (No wonder I went through a "bad boy" stage!) Genie and the magic carpet were super cool too, not to mention the gorgeous palace to live in! 

Well, since this is a blog on modesty, we of course must take a look at Jasmine's wardrobe (though most of you have already been picturing it, right?) Pictured below are the lovely colored genie pants and bikini-ish top Jasmine is known for, accented by a jeweled headband with some rather large gold earrings and a gold necklace to top it all off. Her hair and makeup is particularly flawless (isn't animation just SO forgiving like that?!) I suppose I could mention the genie/elf shoes too, since those are usually a sign of playfulness (in my opinion). To sum this princess's style up in just a few words, I would call it: Royal Playfulness. Post continued below....

Overall, the movie has a playful sort of theme, with a fairytale love story of two ridiculously good-looking characters (and how many days did they know each other??), set in an exotic land, with a cool lamp which holds a comedic genie who makes your dreams come true, and magic carpet rides which provoke couples to fall hopelessly in love (who have just met!!) and of course to break out in song (cue "A Whole New World"). And Aladdin even gets a kiss at the end of that night! Was it love or lust at first sight? More importantly, what happens after they fly off into the clouds at the end of the movie? Happily ever after, right? Forgive me for getting somewhat off topic, but I can't help but be a little skeptical with the messages Disney sends its viewers. It's more than just immodesty!

As far as the message of modesty goes, Jasmine's character does not exactly exude humbleness and modesty. Rather, she encourages girls that showing skin is okay, and I think she gives the message that outward looks DO matter. Like most disney princesses, Jasmine is free-spirited and likes to decide things for herself. She deliberately disobeys her father which shows a lack of respect for elders. In addition, I also believe she shows a lack of judgement (by falling for a thief and not really getting to know him very well). Maybe if she had had a mother figure, this rebellious and scantily-clad princess would have had a better handle on how to portray herself. Overall, however, I do believe she falls rather short of the model of modesty which I strive to follow.

Just some questions to ask yourself and to ask your daughters/girls you know: 

1. How would Jasmine's character be different if she dressed more modestly? Also, does Jasmine have any (inner) qualities that reflect modesty?

2. I recall a quote she says, along the lines of "I am not a prize to be won" but with the way she dresses,  does she seem like she is focused more on adorning her outward self as a representation of who she is or is she working on bettering her inner self/winning over a man by her character and not her looks/how she dresses?

3. Is Jasmine really a character worth admiring? 

4. If you could re-design Jasmine's costume, what would it look like? (If I knew how to draw, I'd totally sketch out my ideas here...but I'll stick to photographing as my artistic channel haha)

This wraps up my first scrutinization of one of my favorite childhood princesses, and really opens my eyes (and hopefully yours and others) to what I DON'T want to model as far as modesty goes. I do not believe she dresses like a true princess (sorry Jasmine-you fail!) In Part two I plan to reveal some princesses who I feel DO reflect how a true princess of modesty dresses and presents herself. Stay tuned :) Later, I will also talk about the models of this generation and I will judge whether they fail or pass my modesty meter!

Until then, go watch Aladdin and let me know which character (if any) you think reflects the greatest amount of modesty? Hint: Raja and Abu do not count :0)

Have a lovely Thursday!

~Anna

The "M" Word

Intro

Happy Monday! :)As my hubby(as of 3 weeks and two days!)pointed out to me yesterday, there seems to be quite the "blogging fever" going around lately. I tried to remain immune to this craze, but I must admit I've been feeling a strong itch again to share my feelings with the blogging world. I like the idea of having a space to lay out my ramblings and also discuss things that really strike into my soul as something I am and should be passionate about.

The Big "M" Word

One of the many areas I believe I've been given a strong desire to share and model to those around me is the big "M" word- modesty. Some may argue that this issue is rather minute, irrelevant, or even a gray area which can be difficult to translate and teach. I beg to differ! Modesty is truly (TRULY, TRULY!) one of the greatest gifts we (particularly women) can give to the world. 

We inhabit a world in which secular media is one of the primary sources of influence, and the need to be "unique" or stand out in the crowd is becoming frighteningly more important to children far and wide (Lady Gaga come to mind?). There are many "models" in today's society which entice us with messages that say "Look at me, I'm successful, I'm beautiful, I'm hot, I'm desirable and sexy, BE LIKE ME!" (etc. etc...)Our kids are told that they need to blend in and be a part of that "cool kids" grouping (meaning, "if the cool kids are dressing immodestly, then I need to do that too!") Well, I don't know about you but I want my future children to have a strong desire to stand out in all the right ways- including to reflect a modest, humble and God-loving character. 

In one of my future posts, I plan to further scrutinize the models/idols that society dishes out every day for our youth- From playful disney princesses, to seemingly innocent cartoons, to the red carpets with faces like Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and the Kardashian girls.

Eventually, I would like to post on how to dress fashionably modest because that IS possible! :) Maybe I'll even gain the courage to post pictures of outfits that I come up with which I believe reflect this. I think it would be neat to get some friends/readers to help post their modest fashions on here as well.  

I will leave this first post with the following bible verse which I strive to live by and which I believe is one of the greatest (if not the greatest) definitions of modesty:

^{1 Timothy 2: 9-10}

⁹  "...Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ¹⁰ but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."

And Until next time...remember this for the hotter summer days approaching: 

Modesty is hottest! :)

~Anna