Not So "Typical" Fashion for Sister Missionaries

One of the big issues I had with the mission thing was the whole stereotype that sister missionaries had of being frumpy, plain, and boring. Because that is so not me. If you don't know me already, I love fashion and clothes and shoes and red lipstick and that is one of the big things that people laughed about when they heard I was going to the Philippines! I am not going to be able to have all of the usual things I wear, so I am going to have to get creative. 
Finding clothes for the mission has been the hardest thing ever! The rule is is that skirts/dresses have to be below your knee, but above your ankle. Being 6 ft. tall made it even more hard to find stuff that would work. Along with finding the right length, it had to be cute! Duh! Boring was not an option, so my mom and I had to do some searching. I hope that some of the skirts I show you will give you some ideas for things to wear whether you are a sister going on a mission too, or you are just looking for some fun new modest skirts to have! All of these are going with me on my mission and I am pretty happy how my missionary wardrobe turned out.

Home-Made Heaven

These two skirts are definitely my two favorites, and they are the ones I know I will wear the most on my mission. Aren't they adorable? I LOVE GINGHAM. I can thank my dear friend Shauna Cleverly for hand making these beauties! Because of how hard it was to find cute skirts that would fit me length wise, we resorted to getting them hand made so they would fit me perfectly! I recommend that for anyone having a hard time finding skirts. My mom and I went and picked out the fabric and then she sewed them in the pattern I wanted! They are the perfect old-style vintage look that I love and they will go with any shirt I decide to put with them! Not to mention the fabric is so light and hangs so cute. So perfect for the Philippines! 

Okay, I HAD to have a denim skirt. Just one that I could literally just throw on and wear with anything I pull out of my drawer. There were no stores that sold the one I had in mind, so I had the amazing Shauna make me this one too. I love the tie on it that gives it a different touch. Most all of my skirts I have go around my natural waist. I just think it makes them look so much more feminine and cute. 

This skirt was made by my friend as well. Yeah, it is just a basic looking skirt, but it had to be with the random fabric I chose to have it made in. Like really, who makes a skirt out of this fabric? I DO and I love it! It is just random and out of the ordinary. The fabric is just the basic cotton so it will be easy to wash and dry.

Alright alright, before you start thinking how absolutely crazy I am for having this skirt just stop and ponder about it for a while haha. It grows on you right? IT IS SO CUTE! I can't wait to wear it. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they said it was too weird to wear, but that won't make me stop loving it! So yeah, I obviously love dogs. And am going to miss my little Gracie while I am gone, so this was a MUST. Now if you still think I am crazy, it is okay. My mom still thinks I am too.

HUGE thanks to Shauna Cleverly for making these skirts! I love them and am so glad I got to personalize them the exact way I wanted to. They will go to great use on my mission! 

Favorite Store + Luck

So, just like many many other girls, my favorite store in the whole world is Anthropologie. Everything in that whole store is so unique and fun and just adorable. There has yet to be anything I don't like from there. The only issue is, it is so expensive! So when we shop there, we most of the time try and find things off of the sale and freshly cut section whether online or in the store. Obviously when I began looking for skirts for my mission I looked there and found a few I fell in love with. My mom and I just watched them until they went on sale. If you want to go this route, start looking early so what you want will go on sale before you leave! All of the skirts below we got on sale. We didn't pay full price for any of them! Pretty good right? Not only did we get them for a good price, but they fit the missionary expectations! THANK YOU ANTHRO.

Adorable High-Low Skirt on sale now here

Simple pencil skirt

Sail Away skirt on sale now here

Cute Ruffle skirt for more nice dressed meetings

Another reason I LOVE Anthropologie is because of the amazing quality of clothes they have. Everything is so durable and well-made. I know for a fact that these skirts will hold out throughout my whole mission. 

Quality Time

Almost always, when you are just waiting to leave on your mission, there is A LOT of free time to fill. Well, my mom and I found a good way to fill it! We decided to make a skirt on our own. My mom is pretty dang good when it comes to sewing, so I am giving her most of the credit. Sure I did the surging, ironing, and sewing on the buttons, but we all know there is a lot more to it to make a skirt. Especially one that is as cute as this! The same company that made the dog fabric makes this ADORABLE cupcake fabric and I had to have it when I saw it. We made an extremely basic and easy skirt pattern and it is still as fun and cute as ever! Though my mom and I are buds are already, it was just another activity for us to do together. This isn't the "typical" sister missionary skirt right? I love it!

Grandma's Closet 
So, I am a sucker for old-vintage clothes, and when my dad told me he was going over to my grandma's house to look for some old clothes in their closets, I jumped on the opportunity. Every girl has got to raid their grandma's old closet at least once in their life, and now was the perfect time to! I love that clothes from the old days were always modest and long. As I was going through her old old skirts there wasn't one that would have to be altered in any way! They were totally missionary appropriate. These were my favorites that I found, and they will be going with me on my mission! How cute are they?! Thanks for the good style grandma! 

Navy and white pleated skirt

Bright lightweight floral skirt

The Bottom Line

I will be washing all of my clothes in a bucket with soap and water. So as I was picking out skirts, I had to make sure that they would be able to handle that! I love all of the fun prints I ended up with because though some may be weird, any solid color top I put with it would work. 

I may put a post together with some of my other missionary attire like shoes in the next few days. Many girls, just as I did, had a hard time finding the right shoes to wear, and I might have some ideas for ya!