When You Just Don't Understand

So grab a seat (you probably already have) and let's have a talk. This is something that's been weighing on my heart for months (years really), and I just need to confront it. There's something I don't understand about fashion. *Gasp* I know, I know. Please don't fall out of the chair I told you to grab. It's now "why is this considered fashion" (I think for the person obsessed with christmas trees it would be great) or "why is this considered fashion?" (if you are trying to avoid hugs this would come in handy). No, no, no. It's "why are you not supposed to mix neutrals". Who in the heck decided that you can't wear black with brown, or navy with grey, or black with navy, or brown with grey? Well I'm here to put an end to that ridiculous misconception because this is America and you CAN. While we're at it... consider stripes, cheetah print, and polka dots all neutral as well and feel free to mix them all together to your heart's content. 

Well. I'm glad we had this little chat. I hope everyone feels much freer to live their life and wear all their neutrals at once. Have a fabulous weekend and thanks for reading! 

(tying a scarf is very hard ok.)

Jacket: Kenneth Cole ; Skirt: Target;  Boots: Nordstrom ; Earrings: Handmade by some lady; Tights: Old Navy 

I'm super excited to talk about where my scarf is from, because if there's one thing I love more than fashion (there are actually lots of things).... It's fashion for a cause. Here's a (long) exert from my sister's blog talking about the scarves. 

"A friend pointed me to this project, based out of Indonesia (where I’ve BEEN–isn’t that crazy??), that empowers women to provide for their families while staying at home and enjoying them. I read the stories on the website, about these women with their warm, soft hands that touch cheeks and pour milk and sew beads and lace around other fingers. I could scroll down and see every face. Read every story. As a story-oriented person, my heart tightened and then overspilled with love for these women in homes eight thousand miles from mine. I wanted to see life like they did. What would it be like to live on less than $120 a month? To keep the children home from school because you couldn’t afford to pay for a test? To go to a stranger for money because your baby was crying and you didn’t know where the next bottle of milk would come from?

We spend so much money and time and effort looking nice. But for what eternal value? Whose lives are changed by the Target sweater you’re wearing? What will your Old Navy boots mean to someone else in fifteen years?

This is important to me. This is a way–a small way, almost tiny enough to cup in the palm of my hand, but a way nonetheless–to make a difference. To invest in a person, not a company. To place money in the hands of women and families with lives and futures.

Ayu is the Javanese word for beautiful. Not just because of the rich batik silk. Not because of the white smiles against tan faces. Not even because of the lovely concept of empowering women in another country.

This is beautiful because God filters all this through His hands. Because something as simple as a strip of silk wrapped around your neck can put milk in a bottle and pencil lead on a test paper. We give not because of what we think we can do, but because of what we know He is capable of doing. It’s beautiful and grand and humbling that the dollars we skim off the top of our paychecks can fill the gaps in someone else’s life."