Build it and they will come

No this is not a blog post dedicated to "Field of Dreams..." We are talking about building your missionary wardrobe!  I was in the store talking to a mom tonight about why it matters so much what her daughter takes on the mission.  It dawned on me that a blog post was called for!  So, here goes...

First of all, let's talk about what LDS Sister Missionaries are doing.  They are teaching the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are seeking to know the truth, and through this teaching, they are inviting people to change their lives and futures forever.

That is huge.

The church recently posted the following video that was so moving about what Sister Missionaries are doing.

Many people who join the church chart a new course in their lives because they are cast out of their families for believing.  In my mission, I saw people who had to change their professional careers to embrace the gospel.  Even harder, we saw people who had to make great sacrifice to be active members of the church.  In all of these specific instances, I have seen firsthand that these beautiful people have been blessed beyond belief for their faith.  Truly, not all who join the church find that they have to make such extreme sacrifices, but it is a big change for almost all of them.

Why do I bring this up?

Well, if you are going to profess to represent the Savior, Jesus Christ, you had very well look the part and be the representative that the Lord has in mind for you to be.

So often when we see sister missionaries come into our shop, they are just looking for the current fashions.  This is not a sin, but without fail, if we happen to meet up with them again after their missions their perspectives have changed.  Although it is important to look sharp, it is less about fashion and more about looking the part.

Now, to look the part, you don't have to be frumpy, shapeless, or dowdy.  No way!  We dropped that stereotype a long time ago!  The LDS church itself actually updated the guidelines for sister missionaries in August 2010.  The photo shoot that came later can be found on the church website.  It is a great example of how to be polished, well dressed, and neatly pressed--and these girls are invariably fashionable within reason.  So, in your shopping it is important to look for pieces that are easy to wear and care for.


Secondly, after realizing what you are doing as a missionary, realize that it takes a little effort to prepare temporally to serve.  This not only includes being physically fit, or able to serve, and keeping your finances straight so you can leave for your mission--it includes planning your wardrobe so it is hassle free and appropriate.

This is where we come in.  We have built a business on helping sister missionaries to serve better by providing a place where they can shop and get value.  What we mean by this is that our products may not always be the least expensive, but they are the most competitively priced for what we offer.  We work really hard to make sure that the garments we carry are appropriately cut, appropriately opaque, and washable.  We try hard to toss in a little fashion as well to "dump the frump" and keep our looks, colors, and cuts updated.

(we have a little bit of a lookbook that scrolls on the homepage of our website.  Check it out here. or just look online www.sistermissionarymall.org)


Finally, getting at the main reason for this post...I wanted to express that when you build your missionary wardrobe, you are not just travelling.

Missionaries do travel, but their main purpose is not travel.

They may take in a few sights where they serve, but they are not tourists.

They may fly in a plane to get to their mission, but they are not frequent flyers.

They are missionaries.

They are moving away and relocating for the time of their mission where they will live among other people, and preach the gospel.

So the temporary "travel" tips that one might think would affect how or what a missionary packs, is not the big concern.

The bigger idea is "How can I maximize my wardrobe, reflect my values, and minimize my efforts to stay pressed and polished as a missionary?"

The general guidelines for what to bring to each mission are usually decided by the mission president (with input most likely from his wife...)  I know this is true because I called the Missionary Department at Church Headquarters in Salt Lake and asked point blank.  The woman I spoke with said that each mission list is based on general guidelines, but that each mission president had it as his prerogative to determine what the missionaries would bring to their missions.  So, when you get your call, you may have very detailed information, or you may not.

This is our take on it.

How to Build your Sister Missionary Wardrobe

1.  Look in your closet for pieces that you already own that are mission appropriate.  This means that they are sufficiently modest to cover garments, new enough that they will last, and easy enough to care for.  Set these aside to begin to build.

2.  We start out with the skirts and dresses.  We suggest taking a minimum of 6-8 skirts if you are taking a couple of dresses, or the maximum of 8-10 if you are not taking any dresses.  The reason for this is that as a missionary you only do laundry once a week.  That means if you have any accidents that soil your dress or skirt (splashed by mud, dirtied by the children of an investigator, jumped on by a dog, spill at lunch, or issue of a personal nature) you are covered with backup.  You would need to plan to have a skirt every day for a week--which is 7 days--7 skirts.  Then, by having a couple more, you can plan for warmer or cooler weather by having a couple of seasonal skirts.  You also have enough to rotate for your whole mission so you aren't scrambling for clothing as yours wears out.

So, take the ones from your own closet, and see how many you have.  Then decide how many more you need to acquire, and whether or not you are going to take a couple of dresses

3. Make sure you have a blouse to go with each skirt.  Look through what you already have, and then decide how many more you need to acquire.  The rule on the blouse is that in order to make the cut, it has to go with at least 3 of the skirts to be "mission worthy" for your wardrobe.  Also, take note if everything you are choosing goes with just 3 of your skirts...that means you have to rethink what you are taking and make sure the skirts are similar enough that you can mix and match...  Make sure that if you are taking some layering shells that have to be worn under a blazer or cardigan, that they don't dominate your wardrobe.  They aren't bad to take, but they do limit how often they can be worn.

4.  Add in the cardigans, blazers, and sweaters.  Depending on your mission climate, decide how many cardis, blazers, and sweaters you will be taking and choose basic colors and styles that will compliment your blouses.

5.  Add a couple of belts and scarves, and jewelry to change it up a little.  With a few little accessories, you can really stretch your wardrobe.  Little accents like a skinny belt to wear over a cardigan, or a scarf to dress up your dress will make a world of difference to liven up your outfits.  You are living on this wardrobe after all!

6.  Always buy new shoes for your mission.  The one mistake that sister missionaries make is that they think they can get by with the little ballet flats they wore for the couple of years before their mission.  Truthfully, shoes are the one place where you should spend some time and money researching out what works for you, and spending the money to get the best.  If your feet hurt or you are getting blisters and can't work--it doesn't matter how darling you may look.   You are incapacitated.  If you have hard to fit feet, take the time to go visit a boutique that has people trained in fitting you (...shameless plug for our store...)  It is definitely worth it.  Women with very tiny feet that can wear children's sizes, please don't buy them!  Children's shoes that are inexpensive, but look nice, are not really built as sturdy as adult shoes because it is assumed that children will not wear them for long.  There are some shoe companies that do decent shoes for children, but you will also pay more for them. Be willing to spend the money.  You will not regret it.

The wardrobe math here is staggering.  

If you take 8 skirts and 8 tops that can be interchanged, you have 64 outfits.  Add to that the variables of 2 cardigans and 1 blazer, and you have increased the number of outfits from 64 to 192 unique combinations.  Now, add 2 scarves to the mix, and you have increased the number to 384 outfits.  If you add a couple of dresses to that, you could wear them with the scarves, cardis, or blazer and you can add another 12 outfit combos with the dresses, for a grand total of 396 unique outfits.  Considering that you only have approximately 540 days as a sister missionary, that means you won't even wear each unique outfit twice...  Plenty of clothing for you on your mission.

So, build your wardrobe to be low stress and hassle free, and the time and headache you save will help you to focus more on your missionary work and those you were called to teach.

Build it, and they will come...unto Christ.  What you wear does matter, so plan accordingly.

How Do You Make Fashion Modest?

So, this morning we were on a local morning talk show called "Good Things Utah."  It is a great local interest talk show that showcases not only happenings and products of Utah, but things that fit culturally with the population of Utah.  The hosts are moms, totally beautiful moms, but they try to be down to earth and just talk to the audience as if you the viewer are just one of the girls, or maybe a neighbor.  It was a fun experience, and I hope that we get the chance to do it again.  Click here to see our segment.

The reason for this blog post is that the hosts asked me a really great question today on air, and I don't think I completely answered it.  Here it is:

Niesha (host):  "I think it's tough though these days to look fashionable, and be covered up at the same time."
Me:  "You know, It totally is."
Niesha:  "So how do you do that with what you carry there..."

There wasn't enough time in the segment for us to talk more about how we do what we do, so I decided it would be a great topic for a blog post!  So, here goes!

The main three things we do to keep our fashion fresh and relevant is to do these three main things:

1.  Watch trends and build some of these trends into a more modest version.

2.  Stay current with popular colors and fabrics, but do them in versions that are more opaque, washable, durable, and affordable.

3.  Always fill in our styles with new cuts of classic basic pieces that will stand the test of time.

So, I'd like to address each one of these individually.

1.  Watch trends and build some of these trends into a more modest version.

We will watch what is very popular in fashion magazines, in big box retailers and boutiques, and also as fashion forecasts.   We even attend fashion shows, and trend watcher seminars from time to time to try and stay current.  What we find is that the biggest change we can make is to lengthen a garment to make it appropriate for our customer.  

(Ironically, this isn't always because our customer wears a religious undergarment that must be covered--we just have an average customer that is taller than most, and there aren't enough affordable places that cater to taller people.  Our average customer is about 5' 7" and that is almost two inches taller than normal.  So it affects how we build our pieces, which we often proportionally lengthen.)

An example of this would be doing a pencil skirt, but changing the length.  Most of the current pencil skirts skim the knee, but we did a version of it that extends past the knee to a more modest, wearable length.  Look at these two skirts.  The one on the top is from a higher end department store, and ours is underneath it.  (We do need to take a better picture of this skirt with a model in it, not just a dress form.  However, this is the skirt worn by one of the models in our segment above.)

Skirt from unnamed big box retailer. 
It measures 19", and is made of Poly/rayon/spandex just like ours.
Sells for $69.50

Our Edyn pencil skirt.
It measures 27" (and can be
altered for a shorter customer).
It is also made of Poly/
rayon/spandex.  It sells for $32.

Another example would be the Peter Pan collar. We have seen so many of these blouses on the market, but most of them are sheer and sleeveless, or have such a short cap sleeve that many women can't wear them.  We did a version with the trendy collar, but in a blouse that includes sleeves and can be more easily worn alone.  The one on top is in a trend forecast, and the one beneath it is what we carry in our store.

Blouse with the trendy Peter Pan collar.
The sheer yoke, sleeveless style,
and very tight fit in the body
body make this  top not only
inappropriate for a modesty
conscious person, it isn't very flattering on
most figures (unless you are tall and skinny : ).

Our version of the blouse.
It is in an opaque fabric,
has a sleeve, and is a more modest
cut in the body of the blouse.
It also looks good on a
variety of figures of "real" women.

2.  Stay current with popular colors and fabrics, but do them in versions that are more opaque, washable, durable, and affordable.

We try and plan our tops, and a fashion color or two of skirts, to reflect the popular colors of the season.  We favor solids over prints, but even with our incarnations of blouses and skirts we will include a print that reflects the color trends of the day.  Often there will be a style of blouse that we love, but it is very sheer.  Even though we carry sheer products from time to time, we try to always carry layering tees to wear under them for modesty--or even better, if we can put our own version of a blouse into production under our own label, we try to find new fabrics that are opaque enough they can be worn alone.  Often, what makes something inappropriate is the sheerness of the fabric, not the cut of the blouse.  

Sometimes designers make a beautiful garment that would even be opaque enough to be modest, but their pieces would go for $300 to $1000.  This is not just because of the design work, but because their beautiful fashion is made of real, delicate silk and hand sewn.  It really isn't practical for everyday folks to wear things like that, and the cost is absolutely prohibitive for most average consumers.  Changing the components, and making for a mass market changes the price quite a bit.  Ex: take a $300 beaded cashmere cardigan, and make a version in nylon/bamboo inspired by the original for about $45.  The feel of the fabric will be similar, but one is machine or at least hand washable and much more wearable and affordable.  

3.  Always fill in our styles with new cuts of classic basic pieces that will stand the test of time.  

Another way to keep things fashionable but classic is to produce basics.  This would be where really traditional skirt styles done in updated cuts would come in.  An example of this is our knee-length aline skirt.  The aline skirt in general has been a great skirt for women because it flatters a variety of figures.  However previous to 2000 it was more common to wear things on your natural waist.  In time, women have discovered that often it is more comfortable to let things simply rest on your high hip.  It elongates the look of the torso (sometimes) and you don't have something binding you in the middle.  So, the classic, traditional aline that sat upon the waist would no longer feel relevant to a customer used to wearing things lower.  Simple.  We redesigned our aline skirt to have a waistband cut on the bias so it stretches for the customer to wear high or low, and voila!  You have a classic, basic that has been updated and made relevant for new customers.

We also will always carry the basics in our skirts.  Black, brown, navy, taupe, wine, gray, charcoal...  These are the basics that will always be relevant.  We can add a couple of colors for variation, but the classic neutrals will always be popular and round out a wardrobe.

It is easy to re-dress a basic, old skirt from your closet with a new brightly colored top, scarf, or sweater.  So, the skirt doesn't need to be re-done, you just style it again with something new.  

So, how do we keep current, but stay covered up?  Bottom line, when we can't find something that works, we make up our own.

That is a little of what we do.  As always, we try to have something for everyone.  Come in and check out our new line today, or better yet, check us out online 24 hours a day! 

www.sistermissionarymall.org