15 Ways to Wear a Scarf - Lilith Moon tutorial

I know how much you love to look at ideas for tying a scarf. Scarf-tying posts are among Boutique Narelle's most popular. A scarf is such an easy way to add a touch of flair or femininity to an outfit, or fix a lack of modest coverage.

I love them too, so again, here's a bunch of styles for you and I to enjoy experimenting with.  Lilith Moon has created for us another fabulous tutorial demonstrating 15 different ways to wear a scarf.


Share this video: http://youtu.be/3wyfgypQIII

Do you have a favourite scarf shape or tying style? Do you like a particular look but struggle to make that look sit well on you? Please share with us in the comment section below.

What is beauty? Can I be beautiful? How do I do it?

Boutique Narelle is excited to signpost for you a webinar that’s not just skin deep, seven one-hour sessions with Anna-Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin which you can watch at your convenience.

“Reclaiming Beauty: A New Look at How to Glorify God in Your Body” covers topics ranging from such practical issues as skincare, fitness, posture, voice, modesty, home-made beauty products, and color analysis…to subjects as penetrating as personal identity, insecurity, comparisons, worldliness, vanity, idolatry, our attitude toward others, and the state of our hearts before the Lord.

Click here for full details.

When Closet Calamity Overwhelms

Did you ever come across a fashion journalist whose own wardrobe was in a state of calamity? Narelle comments drily, "At least you can be sure that journalist understands your need for practical solutions."

Narelle has a serious clothing problem. She makes more than half of what she wears, but she's too sick to sew. She hasn't been able to find suitable ready-to-wear options for purchase, and last winter's closet selection of one wool skirt (the one with the split lining) has yet to be resuscitated. A solution must be found before the frosts arrive.

Something's got to give, and for the moment, that includes Boutique Narelle's regular Friday posting. Once she and her wardrobe are on the way to recovery, she plans to resume with random posting.

All the HELP features are still available here on Boutique Narelle. Comments are open and Narelle will respond personally. If you don't want to keep checking for a new post, we recommend you sign up for automatic email notification (see sidebar). The emails don't look the same as the website, but one click will get you online for full benefits.

If Boutique Narelle's service is useful to you or has encouraged you in some way, please leave a comment!

Narelle on modesty and femininity:

"Know what you believe, understand its relevance to your life, then keep that conviction fresh in your heart that you may from thenceforth stand strong and courageous without wavering, a woman of honour and dignity who will draw others by her inner radiance and outward grace.
May God bless you as you seek to represent His beauty."
Narelle Worboys

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Note: We are very sorry about the missing images in this post. They were tragically and irreversibly gobbled by Google+.

Conquering the Modesty Monsters

As a fashion entrepreneur and journalist of four years, I have observed that the greatest challenges to dressing modestly are:

WHERE TO BUY...?

• swimwear that looks like clothing
• formal/bridal wear providing beauty without enticement
• cleavage-covering, non-transparent, non-clingy tops
• ankle-length skirts
• drapey maternity options in colours other than black

WHERE TO FIND...?

• other girls and women who have the courage to model modesty as a lifestyle and will support me as I seek to do likewise

The purpose of Boutique Narelle is to help you resolve these challenges. There are hundreds of articles and videos on this website. We have worked hard to find solutions for your needs.

Let us know if you can't find the answers you need, but please do look first. It may be that the post you need is logged some way back in Boutique Narelle's history. Use the topical Labels on the sidebar to help you.

Our quick-stop best shop list of Recommended Stores is in the upper navigation bar.

If you need super-cheap, do-it-yourself solutions, check out the side-bar labels Sewing Tips and Shopping Tips.

If you have or know of solutions to any of the above-listed challenges, please post a comment below, especially if you or they are in Australasia!

Shopper's Guide: Why Shop Recycled [Thrift]?

 Recycled clothing. Is this a phrase that turns you off or fills you with joy?

I grew up in a home that often didn't know where the next meal was coming from, but we did not shop at secondhand clothing stores. We were dressed from gift bundles or my mother sewed what we needed.

There were two secondhand clothing shops in my small town, and in my teenage opinion, only desperate people shopped there. The selection was small and the quality was poor. Just how desperate people could be was demonstrated to me by a friend who excitedly modelled her 'bargains' for me. She had found two tee shirts for 50 cents each. They were so thin that she had to wear both of them at once. To my mind, they were still too thin.

I was therefore of the opinion that ladies couldn't shop at secondhand clothing stores. However, I began to doubt this theory on my 21st birthday when my aunt came up from the capital with a navy blue wool suit for me. It was beautiful, expensive-looking, tailored, modest, in fact everything that a lady would delight to wear. My aunt had been given first pick of a new shipment at a secondhand store, and this is what she found. It cost about NZ$10.

About 3 years later, I took a trip to Mount Maunganui with a friend to meet up with my sister for a long weekend. We explored this fairly exclusive beach destination, and my friend pointed out a chain store I didn't know about: SaveMart Recycled Clothing. I was dubious about wasting time in such a barn, but her enthusiasm convinced me to give it a chance.

An hour later, I was converted. I came out with several dresses which became closet staples. One in particular has been a consistent, adaptable favourite, my Red Roses Dress (worn below at an English Country Dance) which has drawn many admiring comments and has continued to adapt to my shape without complaint. Carrying the label American Weekender, it cost me just NZ$8.99, even though prices on the Mount were higher than at any other SaveMart I visited in the couple of years following.

Following our Mt. Maunganui adventure, I explored SaveMarts in Wanganui (huge and excellent), Nelson (wasn't impressed with the selection available that day), and Palmerston North (closest to where I live). I hadn't been for several years, so recently took my camera along to see what I could see.

The Plastic Bag Says It All...except for the website: www.savemart.co.nz

Although I always keep an eye out for modest tops and skirts, my specific wish list was short: warm corduroy or moleskin jeans (not tight between hip and knee).

Did you laugh? Yes, these are few and hard to come by. Once or twice a fortnight, trousers are required apparel, but I've lost weight in the past year and the trousers I've been wearing don't have belt loops. I've been using a pink plastic clothes peg to keep them up.

I figured I could improve on this solution, but the cost of new jeans from mail order companies like Victoria Hill (NZ$70) and Ezibuy (NZ$50) was more than I felt was justified. The local Postie store has corduroy jeans but they are low riders and have that peculiar bleached wash that draws attention to butt and thighs.

What's the difference between these 2 Ezibuy styles: Capture bootleg corduroy jeans (above) and Emerge bootleg corduroy jeans (below)?

Notice the leg width at the thigh and knee. If you need to wear trousers but are worried about modesty, choose a style that doesn't hug your upper legs. Try before you buy and CHECK YOUR REAR VIEW!


Ogden Nash wrote, and my dad frequently quotes this quatrain:

Sure, deck your limbs in pants.
Yours are the limbs, my sweeting.
You look divine as you advance.
Have you seen yourself retreating?

My haul from that trip was six garments. Lessons learned were twice that number. For Boutique Narelle's Top 12 Tips for Thrift Store Shopping, click here: http://www.boutiquenarelle.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/shoppers-guide-to-recycled-clothing-top.html


Note: We are sorry about the missing images. They were tragically and irreversibly gobbled by Google+.

Shopper's Guide to Recycled Clothing: Top 12 Tips

At SaveMart New Zealand, over 3000 fresh items of recycled clothing come into each store every day. If stock hasn't sold in 4 weeks, it goes to charity in Papua New Guinea.

For you, that means there's always new stock generated from diverse sources. Provided you remember Boutique Narelle's shopping tips below, and barring sticky trolly wheels, raucous radio, cramped dressing rooms, and staff-only toilet facilities (not all stores are thus adorned but certainly Palmerston North's SaveMart), your shopping experience should be a happy one.

Top 12 Tips for Thrift Store Shopping

1. CARRY A LIST AND/OR A COLOUR SAMPLE of what you're looking for. Be wary of being sidetracked by an apparent bargain you don't actually need.
2. In good lighting, CHECK GARMENTS FOR FLAWS such as rips, stains, loose stitching, snagged fabric, missing buttons, and other problems. Be aware of tag positioning -- removal of the staples may leave holes. (These labels are best removed using a staple remover.)
3. TRY ON EVERY GARMENT AND UNDER THE CONDITIONS YOU EXPECT TO WEAR IT (i.e. over a camisole or t-shirt). Shrug, bend, wriggle, and crouch to check all aspects of fit.  When trying shoes, wear the denier of stockings or socks you would wear with them. Walk in them.
4. TEST ZIPPERS several times.
5. WEAR GARMENTS AND SHOES THAT ARE EASY TO REMOVE for try-ons, such as zipped sweaters, button-up shirts, and slip-on footwear (not lace-up boots!). Don't wear your best duds -- SaveMart is a dusty place.
6. BE AWARE THAT SAVEMART BUILDINGS ARE NOT HEATED OR AIR-CONDITIONED. Plan your trip accordingly.
7. READ GARMENT LABELS for laundering surprises and to check for extra buttons.
8. READ PRICE TAGS CAREFULLY. SaveMart tags are hand-written and not always neatly. Don't rely on colour codes.
9. DO NOT RUSH. Give yourself time to think. If you need the toilet, go, and return to your thinking unpressurized.
10. If the garment has flaws, consider what it will cost you in time and notions to fix it. IS IT WORTH IT?
11. If it isn't right and you can't easily fix it, LEAVE IT. And...
12. COME BACK SOON for another hunt.

Note: We are very sorry about the missing images. They were unexpectedly and irreversibly gobbled by Google+. 😱😭

Links We Like: 6 Ways to Tie a Scarf

After all the posts BN has done on ways to tie a scarf, we're still finding new styles!

This Cold Water Creek link provides detailed sketches of 6 different ways to arrange a drapey scarf around your neck. Most of the examples use wide widths of lightweight fabric, but summer or winter, see how easy it is for one low-cost accessory to add both modesty and a punch of class and colour to an outfit!

Note: We are very sorry about the missing images. They were unexpectedly and irreversibly gobbled by Google+. 😱😭