Least in the Kingdom: November 2009

~Today's Mod Modesty Monday post will feature the lovely company Shabby Apple, a company that capitalizes on dresses and accessories to make the perfect outfit. They run a little on the high end, but perhaps these pictures might serve as inspiration for your own creations. I love the vintage look Shabby Apple has managed to capture with their lines!

~The following are my three favorite Shabby Apple dresses.~

Shabby Apple by Least on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Shabbyapple.com clothing, $72
Shabbyapple.com clothing, $72
Save-on-crafts.com decor, $3.19
Black Pump, $159

Shabby Apple 2 by Least on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Shabbyapple.com dress, $74
Shabbyapple.com dress, $74
Save-on-crafts.com decor, $3.19

Shabby Apple 3 by Least on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Shabbyapple.com dress, $76
Shabbyapple.com dress, $76
Modcloth.com hat, $50
Save-on-crafts.com decor, $3.19

~Please excuse the brevity of this post! I am preparing for Thanksgiving and do not have much time to do my research. On that note next weeks Mod Modesty Monday post is canceled since I will be busy. I will be back the following Monday! Be sure to check out Shabby Apple for yourself, they have soo many beautiful dresses! (Do note that not all of the dresses they sell fit my standard of modesty! Perhaps they fit yours, or perhaps not, I just wanted you to be aware that I am not promoting all of their products as modest!)

~Sing a song of celebration
Lift up a shout of praise
For the Bridegroom will come
The glorious one
And oh, we will look on his face
We’ll go to a much better place~

~Dance with all your might
Lift up your hands and clap for joy
The time’s drawing near
When he will appear
And oh, we will stand by his side
A strong, pure, spotless bride ~

~We will dance on the streets that are golden The glorious bride and the great Son of man From every tongue and tribe and nation Will join in the song of the lamb ~

~Sing aloud for the time of rejoicing is near
(Sing aloud for the time of rejoicing is near)
The risen King, our groom, is soon to appear
(The risen King, our groom, is soon to appear)
The wedding feast to come is now near at hand
(The wedding feast to come is now near at hand)
Lift up your voice, proclaim the coming Lamb
(Lift up your voice, proclaim the coming Lamb)~

David Ruis

~And its Mod Modesty Monday! Today I'm taking inspiration from three sources, the highly anticipated new "Alice in Wonderland" directed by Tim Burton, an oil painting of a young lady from bygone Victorian days, and a dress that I made last year out of a vintage table cloth and wore to the beach with my dear friend. (Yes! you read that right! A tablecloth...)

~The challenge? How to incorporate these looks into something that the modern girl could wear and not feel too conspicuous in, and yet invoke the same sweet whimsical qualities of these lovely outfits.

~Personally I adore the dress I made, but it does lack certain modern sensibilities... Its not a dress to wear to the market any more for example. Although, to be completely and entirely honest, I have :) Yes, it generated the kind of looks you may be imagining!

~There is nothing wrong with standing out or making a fashion statement. Personally I would love to bring back the old vintage styles! But there are those days when you go to your closet, sigh hopelessly, and wonder, "do I really want to look like a late nineteenth century reject lost in the twenty-first century?" Its hard to be "different" all the time. So how do we fit ourselves in a less that romantic society?

~Here is a proposal~Click on the image below if you would like to view it in detail at Polyvore~

Quixotic Relapse by Least featuring Citizens of Humanity jeans

~White blouses trimmed with an abundance of lace may seem stuffy to many, but try pairing one with a pair of skinny jeans and modern accessories. The look is too quixotic to be true! A blue sash or scarf can be worn 'round the waist, letting it fall to a swinging length at the side. Blue or black converse shoes are comfortable, practical, and look whimsical with this outfit. I adore gold lockets, don't you? The large one I found at Mod Cloth looks just like something the white rabbit might carry around, only without the time :)

~Last but not least, my favorite part of this outfit is the black and white fingerless gloves~ Take a close look at Alice's hands in the next picture~

~Black and white fingerless gloves! So quaint! Alice often wears these gloves in the movie, if you go back to the first picture and look closely you will find she is wearing another version of this same glove, only with this time they are transparent!~ Below is a close up detail~

~Skinny jeans. Are they modest? I think this partly depends on the tightness of the particular pair and the body type of the young woman trying to wear them. It also depends on the shirt you are wearing with the jeans, is it shorter or longer? I've seen many people wear skinny jeans very modestly but this is, of course, a matter of personal conviction.

~Personally I love the classic look of jean/leggings or the skinny jean. It reminds me strongly of Audrey Hepburns style.

~Here is a tip that will save you time, money, and enable young ladies to be more modest while wearing skinny jeans. Alter them yourself. It is actually an extremely simple process. I recently altered some skinny jeans and, when I get a chance, I will do a tutorial of the process. The benefit of altering your own jeans is that you can control how tight they are, in, the ummm, nether region. If you take a pair of straight leg jeans in your regular size and alter them beneath the knee, it leaves the rest of the jean looser - and modester.

~And finally, here are some more pictures for inspiration!

~Well, that's all for today! Don't forget to check back for next weeks ~Mod~Modesty~Monday~!

~When He comes I'll know Him,

And exactly what I'll say,

He won't be imaginations whim,

But real shining like the day.~

~Here in this tower,

The fortifications weak,

I'm captive to the power,

Of Dragons that speak.~

~They grant me my desires,

The follies of my heart,

With images that aspire,

Yet are each a deadly dart.~

~When they come,

There's a rasping at the door,

I know they've won,

Before their footsteps touch the floor.~

~For my towers frail!

My windows barred with straw,

Compared to the iron nails,

That adorn each dragons claw.~

~Then upon the horizon,

There springs a shining star,

I see coming with dawn a Holy One,

I feel a grasp from afar.~

~See how the bar holds fast?

I'm safe inside,

Perhaps dangers past,

Then something flies by - jaws open wide.

~Running to my window,

I feel the dragons fire,

"Come to me" he roars, "lest ye learn woe!"

The white knight is riding cross the mire.~

~The dragon turns to face Him,

Fury written on his face,

"I'll rip you limb from limb",

He declared, beginning to pace.~

~"This one is mine,

I will claim her now,

So twas written before time,

No longer to you will she bow".~ (So the knight sayeth...)

~The brave words rang true,

From my knight and Lord,

And quickly the reigns He drew,

While in his hand was naked sword.~

~The fearsome clash of battle,

Louder than an oceans din,

Made my tower rattle,

As I cowered within.~

~There had been other knights,

Each arrayed splendidly,

Yet none had won the fight,

Or taken from the dragon my towers key.~

~In my heart I truly knew,

That this was finally He,

Come, to run the dragon though,

And set my captive spirit free.~

~~Ride on to victory!

May your sword stike true,

I have perfect faith in thee,

And in all that you do."~

~Three hours they fought,

And as evening drew near,

A mighty blow my knight wrought,

And His victory was clear.~

~Bloody and stained, with heaving chest,

He stooped over the slain beast,

Taking the key he had gained,

From around its ruby red chest.~

~The knight turned and looked up,

Straight into my watching eyes,

He mounted and stood in stirrup,

While urging His horse forward past the rise.~

~The key turned in the lock,

And gently He came in,

"Come to my castle, I am its rock

I have thrown down your stronghold of sin."~

~I wept at His feet,

"Thank you dear Lord God,

Come in and take your seat,

Be crowned with glory and laud."

~Note; This is not a depiction of Christ the sacrifice for our sins, but in fact is an allegory of how strong sin can take root in us and only Christ can fully crush it - sanctifying us in the process. I wrote this a few years ago while struggling with sin and feeling very oppressed, it was a cry to my Savior to rescue me.

Copyrite of Lauren East 2006

Some of the dragon images used in my artwork were from http://www.freedragonpictures.com/. I cannot vouch for all the artwork on the website, (some may not be good!) and only clipped these particular images for use. Thank you!

~~~~You'll find out very soon!~~~~

...Its been awhile since I offered some free blog deco to the world, and my resources have improved so much since the last time! I now use a variety of different sources to create headers, side bar links, ect...I created everything on my blog. What do you think? Do you like it?

...I thought it might be fun to give you some tips, tell you which websites to go to, and offer things I've already made. Below are a selection that you may use on your blogs/websites! A link back would be nice but is unnecessary, especially if you want to use the images for link purposes! Most of my creations were made on Scrapblog, but I also use Polyvore and personal editing software.

...To use these images left click with your mouse and select "view image". The picture should open in a new window. Click with your mouse again and select "save image", this will save the picture in your preferred folder. When you want to put them on your blog go to the "layout" option, and add picture.

...VERY IMPORTANT!

...These images do not need shrunk if you have a Minima Stretch or other Stretch template! They are already the right size so make sure to unselect the "shrink to fit" option before uploading the image!

...IF you have a normal template these images do need to be shrunk. Make sure the box is checked before uploading image. They will appear smaller than their stretch template counterparts, but I checked, and the quality still seems good!

~~Note, I have tried these out on various blog templates and backgrounds and they work well, however I cannot test every single template that is out there! My apologies if they do not work for you. Feel free to edit and play around with the original image to make it work for you, or go to Scrapblog and create some yourself! Or change your template... So many options...~~

~This is the first image I'm offering; how many times have you heard the phrase "its just a kiss"? I've heard it one too many times, it has come down to this - a kiss is not just a kiss. Make a stand for purity with this lovely side art!~

~~~Enjoy, my dears, and have a lovely Thursday!~~~