How To Make It Modest
There are quite a few companies that sell clothing that is especially geared towards modest clothing, some of which we have reviewed on Is This Modest? (DownEast Basics, The Skirt Site, etc.). These are great companies to have access to, and to support with our money.
However, there can be reasons for not always or often shopping at modest clothing stores. Tight finances is probably one of the top reasons…modest clothing companies tend to be higher priced, since they are often small businesses. But even women who are called to dress modestly want some selection in their clothing! So that is where this article comes in. I am going to be pinpointing some of the more obvious modesty issues with modern clothing, and some ways that we can adapt it to work for us ladies who care what we display for the world!
Low-cut tops:
*Wear a high-necked camisole or tank-top
*Try one of the many “neckline fillers” that are on the market today
*Wear a sweater over the top and keep it buttoned all the way up
*Use it as a jacket/top over a dress
Short skirts:
*Wear it for your husband around the house (if you’re married, of course)
*Use it for a quilt
*If it’s not too short, you could wear it with pants or leggings if you like this look
*Add a ruffle or strip of hemmed fabric to the bottom of the skirt
*Add a knit waistband to the top of the skirt
Tight pants:
*If they are just tight through the upper leg, wear a dress or longer shirt over the top.
Sleeveless shirts:
*If you feel that your shirt needs a bit more in the “sleeve area”, there are undershirts you can find that are snug with sleeves, for layering purposes
*Wear a sweater or jacket over the top
*Layer with yonder above “low-cup top”
Long slits in skirts:
*Sew it up part way (or all the way, if you still have room to walk)
*Add an insert (using matching or coordinating fabric) in the slit, so there is fabric in it but you still have the room to walk.
*Shorten the skirt (but keep it modest…) Then you shouldn’t need the kick-pleat anyway
Short shirts
*Use a long tank or camisole
*Get or make a “half undershirt” (this pattern is for maternity, but it is the same principle)
*Wear it over a dress (I have a few of these shirts and I wear them over this nice knit black dress from a thrift store, and it looks so nice!)
Tight tops:
*Wear it just for your husband at home (see note above…lol)
*Wear a sweater over the top
*Give it to someone smaller than you
Gaping Button-Front Shirts/Necklines:
*But a bigger size and have it tailored to fit you without gaping
*Wear a camisole or a half-camisole
*Sew small snaps on the shirt placket in between the buttons, so that the gaps are closed.
Do you have tips and hints for “modest-fying” your clothes? I’d love to hear how you do it…
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These are great suggestions Erin! I really like the one using fabric in the slit of a skirt – I never thought of that!
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Great tips! Thanks. :) I have always wanted to try sewing a ruffle on the bottom of skirts that are just a few inches too short but haven’t gotten around to it yet! I will definitely have to try it someday though! :)
Tank tops are my most used piece to make things modest! My favorites are the fitted ribbed knit with wider straps (like 2, 3 inches), I find those to be the nicest looking under shirts (well, at least mine lol) and they usually work better than spaghetti strap tanks.
And actually I use a lot of belts too! Most of my skirts are too big for me and hang really low on my hips obviously making my shirts seem to short and well you know what happens! So if I don’t wear a belt to keep my skirt up I am in trouble. lol. :p
arielles last blog post..My newest treasure…
I agree about belts- I have a particular plain brown one that I am quite partial to. :)
I have tank tops that I WOULD use for layering, but they have some problems. They are cut a little too low in the front for my comfort, and they are too short, except for one, to wear to lengthen my other shirts. I keep them for wearing under button-front shirts. I also hope I can go shop for a few men’s tanks because I know those are longer and higher cut.
On the button-front shirt tips, what’s a placket? Is that just the place where there’s a double layer of fabric for the buttons to be sewn onto?
These are the tanks I use:
http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=42249&CatID=50647&GrpTyp=SIZ&ItemID=1609dc4&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=42249%7c42445%7c50645&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=3&CmCatId=42249|42445|50645|50647
I have a wide variety of them, this is just an example. :) Only problem I come across with them is sometimes they are too short. Where I live though long shirts & tanks are really popular though so I can usually look around and find one that will work!!
arielles last blog post..My newest treasure…
Ooo, I love Penney’s! I’ll have to remember that next time I am there. I was there a while ago and got several polo shirts for cheap. :)
I have gotten a lot of nice tanks at Sears too!
arielles last blog post..My newest treasure…
I really found some good tips on here. I like the idea of adding fabric in the slit of skirt. Last week a lady at church wore a skirt that was above the knee but had sewn fabric to make it an ankle length skirt. It was probably one of the prettiest skirts I have ever seen. If someone is short like me than this would be a good way to make knee length skirts (which are easier to come by for us shorties)into a more modest longer skirt that you can make to fit your length.
Great tips! Another fun idea is layering skirts. I have a couple of too-short skirts that I couldn’t resist buying for the style and color, so I just pair them with a longer, white skirt and it looks great AND modest.
These are very good tips! I love the look of a denim skirt with another colored fabric sewn in to make it more full! You can also do something like that if you want to convert a pair of jeans into a skirt.
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