What To Wear: Formal Dinner

Hello Loves! I hope you are all doing great and starting off the week in great spirit. 

Today I am introducing another new thing on here: The WHAT TO WEAR section on the blog. Sometimes we have somewhere to be or something to do and we simply don't know what to wear and we need a friendly advice. Well loves, let me be that friendly advice! 

Let's get started: 

Last week I was asked about what to wear to a formal dinner party, I thought it was a good way to kick start this section given the complexity of the subject. As you will see in this and the following What To Wear Posts I have chose three different outfit choices to suit different kinds of style. It's every good stylist's job to present different options, so here we go:

1. The first option has as centre pieces the high-waisted and wide-legged red pants and the silt shirt with a bow. The accessories are all about white and ivory, keeping in mind a very classic and elegant approach with pearled jewellery with hints of gold. The scarf, a silk printed scarf keeping in tune with the jewellery. Clutches are a must for night outings and formal occasions, this one here is a mix of the color in the rest of the outfit. For outer wear (because I know the weather has been extremely cold and tricky lately) there is a simple ivory coat, the perfect touch for this outfit.
2. .The second outfit is for those who prefer a more daring approach, less classic and a lot more on the edgy side. The ensemble is centred around the gold and black dress, a velvet blazer and skinny black pants complete the look. As for accessories: Minimum jewellery but statement pieces in black and gold, burgundy shoes and a black, white and gold clutch. A simple black scarf tops the look to give it that touch of simplicity at the top.
3. The third outfit consists of a more simple approach, a little more low key and delicate. A simple black and white combination with a black lace maxi skirt and a white embroidered top make up the look. All of the accessories and the shoes are pink and the jewellery is kept simple with hints of rhinestones and gold. A very youthful and girly look 

Here we have 3 different options and choices for what to wear for a formal dinner.

 If you'd like to see a post on a specific occasion use the hashtag #WhatToWearStyleModesta on twitter or instagram, ask on the Facebook Page or email WhatToWear@stylemodesta.com to tell us what kind of post you'd like to see on this section, Style Modesta is always opened to suggestion. I'll try to cover as many different occasions as possible so that you can have the ultimate experience on the blog! 

xo and Style Your Life Modest!

Love, 

Kiki Gil

Runway to Wardrobe: Fluff & Warm

A little wile ago, a couple of readers of SM asked me to write about staying warm in the winter, so I went on the hunt for some of the most practical, fun and interesting runway pieces, perfect to be taken off the runway and on to your body to keep you warm, and the best way (that I found and thought of) to do it is fur (faux or not). Why? Because it really is something that will guaranty to make you feel warm and make you look good!

Pictures from Style.com

On the runway:

Fur, whether real or fake, is pretty much a staple in the fall/winter runways and a common sight on all of the Fashionistas on the street, what changes from season to season is the way designers choose to work with it. For this season fur steps away from just having entire coats made out of it, to becoming a complement to other fabrics as done by Roland Mouret, Jason Wu, BCBG Max Azria and others, who combined fur with wool, leather, and even cotton and plied touches and hints of it to different pieces. Aside from that, fur has also moved away from being a shoulder and upper body coverage piece, to become part of the rest of the body, as Mulberry and Rodarte did it. It is now used on dresses and skirts, and that means there are endless options to wear it and keep your body warm.

Take it to your wardrobe:

It is simple, you do not need to worry about how to make it happen, since fur accents look great on everyone and with almost everything. 

1: The full effect: The easiest way to do it is to buy a coat, a vest or a short jacket, pair with a great maxi skirt or a simple maxi dress and you are good to go.

2: The accents: The second way, and this one is for those who feel like an entire piece made out of fur is too much, just go for the modern way of doing it and get pieces with just an accent of it. A jacket with a fur hood, on the neckline of capes, or on the sleeves, and even just on patches placed on random places of each piece!

3. The accessories: The third way and probably the most discrete yet useful way to stay warm with a bit of fluff, is by using fury accessories. A great fur scarf, playful earmuffs, and even the ever so fun-to-wear Cossack hats are always a way to go for winter. Furry boots and hand bags aren't out of the question either! 

So stay warm and fluffy in style for the winter, you choose how to bring the fur into your wardrobe!

xo and style your life modest!

Love, 

Kiki Gil

Runway to Wardrobe: Outer-body Experience

Oversize, away-from-the-body coats made a big impact at Céline, Chloé, and Balenciaga, and so many others this season. And yes ladies, I am overly exited about the fact that tight is boring and loose is flawless! The clue item for this look is the ever-so-necessary piece of both fall and winter: The coat. Coat silhouettes are now convex, and strain away from the body; now THAT is modesty at it's best! 

Let's do a short runway recap, shall we? 

From left to right: Balenciaga, Chloé, Celine for fall

While Balenciaga kept it classic with a simple straight silhouette, shoulders reminiscent of men's coats and tones of gray with hints of white on both necklines and edges; Chloé took a more feminine approach with color, and aside from exaggerating fit and size also worked the neck making it bigger and unexpected. Color blocking was Celine's way of doing oversize coats, with leather necklines, giving it an edgier feel, to the outer-body look. 

Modesty's best friend: 

How can I put it...THIS IS MODESTY'S DREAM TREND!!!!!!!!!!!! And the excitement shouldn't doze off. Stores around the world now carry these type of oversize coats, and needless I say they are definitely the best and most appropriated thing for a girl looking to cover up a little more, simply because they will by no means shape your body, show off your beautiful curves or ever be too revealing. There is a certain apprehension and misconception about oversize pieces making you look funny or even bigger, but let's throw down the myth and if anything, keep in mind that the bigger and looser the clothes look on you, the smaller and skinnier you'll look. 

Ways to wear oversize coats: 

As with everything, and every other trend, it really depends on who you are as a person, what you are into, and what your personal style is. I came up with three basic way the oversize look works for the majority of people, you be the judge, pick your own or mix them up!

1. Wear a shorter coat and pair it with chinos or trousers, it is the definite, chic, elegant look.
2. Take a dark colored coat and add a bit of edge by wearing statement skinnies, either in metallics or printed, it will keep you looking incredibly dashing and fun. 
3. Keep it all loose by wearing a maxi dress underneath, but avoid the hobo look by keeping the maxi dress or maxi skirt in a straight line and slightly closer to the body than the coat.

It's a fun look and it is easily translated into your modest wardrobe. These coats are easy to find at Zara, ASOS, topshop or H&M (and similar). And if you do not want to spend money on knew stuff, check out what I've done: I raided my mothers "forgotten pile of clothes" and found some really nice vintage coats and jackets that happened to be oversize and/or a bigger size (oversize doesn't always mean it is an extra size) and there you go, that was my casual oversize look and I paid nothing. 

Oversize vintage jacket look http://instagram.com/p/RGbEz0LA_F/

So go ahead, dare to have an Outer-body experience and keep it oversize.

xo and style your life modest!

Love, 

Kiki Gil

Runway to wardrobe: Lace

Lace on the Runway

Lace is everywhere! From Valentino, to Lanvin, Zuhair Murad, Erdem, Nanette Lapore and many others, we saw lace strutting down fall runways and saying: "You will want me in your wardrobe!" And why not, at the end of the day, is there anything bad with lace? No there isn't! Lace is beautiful, delicate, lady like, and classy (when done the right way, that is). The versatility of this fabric is amazing. From being understood as an underwear staple in the past, to now being from and center of our outerwear, it has proven that it looks good on everyone and goes well in every occasion and on any piece of clothing.  

The lace skirt because why not!

Lace is and will always be the quintessential delicate and feminine fabric, and one of the vital essentials of the modern girl's wardrobe. However, given the see-through natural quality of lace, the use of layers becomes imperative and is the perfect way to wear lace, stay classy and keep a modest look. In this picture I wore black skinny jeans underneath my lace maxi skirt from Zara, and added a more casual feel with an open shirt over it. Black wedges, a black and white top and a black scarf finish off the look. I personally love lace, whether it is on skirts or other pieces like a jackets like once I've worn in previous posts like this one or this other one. 

Ways to wear and layer your lace: 

There are many ways to wear lace and layering it, these are just some. I've paired up some lace pieces and options of secondary pieces to layer them with and keep the look modest and covered. The go-to pieces are blazers for lace tops, skinny jeans for dresses and maxi skirts without underlining and jumpers for maxi skirts (with underlining). If you can't get enough of lace, wear a lace scarf or even a lace clutch, because you know, accessories are always the answer for everything! 

Source: mikmi.polyvore.com via Kiki on Pinterest

xo and style your life modest!

Kiki G. 

Runway To Wardrobe: Orange Splash!

The color is orange!
O.R.A.N.G.E

Orange, yes Orange please, and to go! This season the color setting the tone for what's to come is orange! Who said Fall had to be dull, how about spicing it up with the color of pumpkins, our juice in the morning and carrots? While in the summer, the only thing we see that is orange; are fake tanned people looking like Oompa Loompas (lol). But because in the fall everything looks better. this season the musts are blazers, dresses, coats and accessories in orange color. A total look could be too bold for some, but the runway trend can be taken in to your wardrobe in many other ways; it really depends on your personality and how you want to wear it. Don't worry, there is always a way to wear it!

For the conservative ones: 

Choose a darker shade of orange, and a simple design on the item of clothing with that color. Complete your outfit with neutral colors like clack and brown and you won't need to feel like the color is too much for you.  BCBG did it great adding orange on oversize tunics and jumpers combined with brown and geometric patterns. 

Tone it down

Becoming the center of attention:

If you are not afraid to go for the bold choice, and happen to love this color, why not go all out? Do a coat in a bright material, pair with metallics and you are guaranteed to make a big splash! Zac Posen used taffeta and a larger than life orange ball gown with big sleeves, to make an impact on the runway!

Attention Catcher

 Looking to make a statement?

Don't just go for orange, go for texture and for a key statement piece of the season. What a better way to do it than by wearing orange fur? Simply the best way to make a statement. Phillip Lim used high contrasted textures and this piece in orange with what seems to be an interesting take on faux-fur combined with leather.

Statement pieces

Add a little touch:

If for whatever reason an entire piece in orange doesn't do it for you, just add a little touches of it in your wardrobe by using accessories and of course your make up! Do your nails and lips in orange and wear rings in the same color paired with any outfit, you will still make a splash with it!Here is another way Zac Posen used orange, this way by simply adding a touch of it with a "belt" on a totally black outfit.

Accessories

Will you be wearing orange this season?  If you do or will do, let us know, link us to your pictures on the comment bit. Happy oranging! 

xo and style your life modest!

Love, Kiki G.

Runway to Wardrobe: Stripe me please!

Jason Wu's black and white stripes

Rodarte's delicate stripes on a dress

Marc Jacobs' stripped tunic

For a while now, stripes have become a fundamental part of our wardrobe. Normally, stripes make an appearance in the summer season, or so we used to think. Stripes have made a move into the fall, and are now threatening to flood our closets! The have been seen on the runway, amazingly showed-cased by several designers in different ways. While Jason Wu opted to keep stripes in black an white, thick and on jumpers, the ladies at Rodarte decided stripes should be delicate, have movement and be on dresses; but it was Marc Jacobs who took it to a whole different level and put super thick stripes in various colors on long loose tunics, simply TDF (to-die-for)

How To take it to my modest wardrobe?

There are many ways to go about it, one of them is to choose really thin stripes and buy pieces with such stripes on them, the picture on the bottom left shows a way thin stripes mix perfectly on a shirt and on a maxi skirt together.Another option is to do bold stripes and get an over-size top with stripes going in every direction, like shown on the picture bellow! Be careful, sometime the wrong kind of stripes can make you look bigger, know what you like and try different colors and stripe styles.

Left: Thin stripes
Right: Bold stripes

Will stripes be seen in your wardrobe? Comment bellow and let us know!

xo and remember to style your life modest!

Kiki G

Runway to wardrobe: Printed Pants

We have seen printed pants everywhere for a while now, there is nothing new there, but on a lot of Resort 2013 runways they prove they will be sticking around for a while!! Designers like Pucci, Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhullier and Givenchy all showed the printed pants look. 

Left: Givenchy
Right: Pucci

How do we make it modest? 

My personal favorite way to turn this look into a modest look is to use the ever-so-handy and ever-so-comfortable harem pants. This is actually a look of choice of noted hijabis an modest fashion 'Icons' like Dian Pelangi who has been spotted wearing the same pants I am wearing bellow. 

H&M Harem pants!

Why love them?

They are the perfect way to add fun to an outfit in an extremely fashionable way!

xo and remember to style your modest life!