You read that right!
Cupcakes, we’ve all had our moments in RidiculousLand, haven’t we? For PeaceBang, it was officiating at a wedding on a little ship in Baltimore Harbor and trying not to tip over in her wedge sandals as she pronounced the happy couple husband and wife … and then realizing to her great dismay that she was stuck on the Love Boat until the entire reception was over. I almost jumped overboard and swam for it!
For Stephanie, it was being asked to offer a blessing at a car show in her town (or perhaps for her congregation? I wasn’t clear, but we all have our nutty traditions).
She sent me these photos to provide a perfect example of What To Wear At Extremely Informal Events.
(We had to include this photo for the optical illusion that, in Stephanie’s own words, “I have an American flag growing out of the top of my head.”)
Stephanie has a very chic short haircut. She looks lovely overall. My only recommendation would be to switch up the blue jeans for a pair of black jeans. YES, even for a car show, I think the blue denim is too casual and that the whole effect of the military-style jacket (which I LOVE!) and clerical collar would be better served with a pair of darker pants.
I think the untucked, form-fitting clergy shirt and form-fitting jacket are young and fresh and decidedly unfrumpy. The boots are great. But because the elements of the outfit are quite modern and youthful, Stephanie needs a bit of balance, which I would suggest come through her pants choice. I would have put her in either a pair of dark trousers with a wider leg (not “too big on her” but something with a bit of a bootleg quality or wider leg) or in a pair of black jeans.
A good general rule for the young hotties out there: wearing an outfit of all fitted garments can be a bit de trop. Because you have this TERRIBLE PROBLEM of being SO GORGEOUS for which we ALL HAVE GREAT PITY AND COMPASSION (*cough*), do add some professional balance by adding a bit of volume either on top or on bottom. This isn’t to say that you should obscure your figure, and this isn’t just a clergy recommendation: it’s about elegance and polish. If you’ve got a really fitted skirt, make sure your tops aren’t that snug. If you’ve got really fitted top, add some volume at the waistline and below. It creates a really great sillhouette and is actually a great trick for all of us.
Another basic BTFM recommendation for women is to never wear jeans to any blessing, no matter how informal. It makes the rest of the outfit that much easier to choose. Guys, I would say that you can generally wear jeans with a sports jacket but not without one. That’s just how PeaceBang rolls. I mean, if you’re blessing a Harley rally or something, knock yourself out, but you know what I mean. Stephanie is a young, mainstream Protestant pastor. If she was doing a biker ministry or blessing cars on a regular basis, I’d say that she needed bigger-badder-a** boots with chains on them. But she’s not, so she doesn’t.
Stephanie, thanks for sharing your beautiful self! I hope the cars are all sufficiently consecrated now for whatever their work in the world is.
