the modest way to do "see through" lace that doesn't suck

Modest formals and modest wedding gowns that don't look the same are hard to find.  Lately, I've noticed the trend of store bought and custom made gowns that have this (unfortunately) trendy look.  so please,

STOP DOING THIS:

 

 

Take it off your wedding pinterest board!

Stop the "cap sleeve with sheer lace overlay" trend. 

please.

It ok at first, before we all knew better, but now it is awful.  I hate it. And i'm not sorry.  

If you love it (or did it), please reconsider.  

Although that second bride does look lovely (the first one in the stupid hat is just a model) I'm not a fan of this look. It's over-done forced modesty.  It looks like yet another knock off done via kate middleton's wedding gown.  Or the DVF lace shift that spawned a million forever21-ish knockoffs.  Don't be a knock-off on your big day. 


you are better than that.


Wedding dresses with the solid cap sleeve under a sheer lace just make me stare at the sleeve in horror.

something like this is less offensive, but it's still a DVF knockoff (which i'm sure what a knockoff of an even more expensive designer) but It's hard to tell with the Shabby Apple way of photographing their clothes.  You rarely get a thorough look at their dresses. 

Instead of doing a solid looking sleeve under the sheer lace that screams "ATTENTION EVERYONE: THIS PART OF MY SHOULDER MUST STAY HIDDEN. OK THANKS!"  Why not try a nude lining like Reem Acra in the 2013 Resort collection?  I know this neckline is a little plungy for some, but the idea is there.  Contrast lining for the fashion win.  If you don't feel like "baring it all" with a nude, why not try a darker cream lining to make white lace really stand out?  Or for colored lace, a lighter/darker lining to make the lace pop.

THE SOLUTION:

Reem Acra Resort 2013 Collection

A modest outfit I actually wore

7/6/2012 by s featuring a long pencil skirt

I wore this to dinner with my boyfriend's family this past weekend.  I have a lot of simple, but colorful basics and since I just bought those polkadot shoes, I was feeling adventurous with the harshness of black against pastels.  ...not sure i'd do it again.   The actual shirt was a scoopneck pocket tee by Stem from Nordstrom.  And the belt was really a black skinny from madewell with tiny gold studs.

Madewell long pencil skirt / Madewell ballet shoes flat / Thin belt / blue pocket v-neck tee madewell

Modest Dresses you can actually buy

Modest Madewell Cabana Dress

I saw this at Madewell in Austin, TX last Friday and fell in love.  It looks so much cuter in person than it does online.  Madewell has produced this dress in the madewell himalayan spruce cabana dress and the madewell ash and coral cabana dress as well.

(via Cabana Dress - waist defined - Women's DRESSES - Madewell)

modest grecian maxi dress with gold piping from topshop

Modest Dress by Malene Birger.

(via By Malene Birger 'Takinhi Stripe' Dress - Black White Denim - farfetch.com)

Ok so it's out of stock now, but I still love it.

Modest Dress from Anthropologie

Anthro's "Splayed Daisies" knee grazing dress by Anna Sui is on sale with an extra %25 off.  Ok so it's still not cheap, but it's also not trendy and you could get several years out of it.  I'm not sure what the sleeve situation actually is, but it could be easily remedied without compromising the design.  And please, for the love of Anna Wintour, don't put a white shadow-tee under it....swear to it that you'll go dark, or you had better put the dress back on the rack.

Splendid Maxi Dress with Woven Full Skirt
This dress has a faux two-piece look to it with the t-shirt style top with a loose crew neck with the contrasting maxi skirt.  It's hard to find a maxi dress that's not strapless or low cut, but here you have it!  You can easily copy-cat this dress with a full length skirt and t-shirt combo or change it up with some color-blocking.

Poppy and Grey

I wore this to work Monday because I went crazy at Madewell's 50% off sale this past weekend.  The pants were actually Madewell's Skinny Skinny ankle pants in "wild poppy" 

poppy black and grey by s

J.Crew short sleeve cardigan / Madewell t shirt / Current/Elliott skinny jeans / Madewell ballet flat / Madewell vintage jewelry / Madewell long necklace / Madewell leather belt / Madewell retro sunglasses