Clothes n' Stuff, but Mostly Clothes

So, I'm not going to lie, one of my very favorite things about mission prep has been shopping for my clothes. I'm usually really thrifty (really thrifty, I've turned my nose up at a dress before because it was $8), but since I don't plan on spending an overabundance of time shopping while in Mexico, I've let myself spend what I need to for good stuff. And since I am working full time and have more than one calling, I don't have the luxury of shopping all over the place finding the very best deals possible, so I turned to the loverly world wide web.

Since a number of people have asked me about stuff  that I've bought for my mission so far (OK just about clothes), I thought it would be helpful to pass on some sites that I love. Sorry, gents, not much on this post for ya.

OK, to start off, the standards for Sister Missionaries are here, In case you didn't know, a few years ago they changed the rules on what we girls can wear (hallelujah), but it's still not a free for all, so check out the rules. And I say you should make sure something fits according to the standards, or that you can return it if it doesn't, before you buy it. But if all else fails, you can save it for when you get back!

Note: I haven't been paid or asked to endorse any of these sites, these are just one's I've enjoyed and found helpful, and I want to pass them on, one sister missionary to another.
Also, while I love all of the for my mission, these are all great options for day to day modest dressing!

Sis-Miss Clothing To be honest, I definitely might have spent too much on this site. There are all sorts of wonderful and cute missionary things! The only thing I was a little disappointed on is that a lot of the items are recommended as hand wash only (grr!). So we'll see how that goes over. But seriously, so much of my wardrobe has come from here, and I have this skirt in three colors because I love it so darn much.

Red, Green, and Gray, I love this skirt!
You can find my shirt there as well!

Another lovely Sis-Miss skirt

eShatki I love, Love, LOVE this site! It is such a cool concept! You can customize your dress, skirt, shirt, or jacket to YOUR measurements. I used stock measurements for all the dresses I bought, and it worked out great, but with the custom measurements there's no worries on if your clothes will fit or not! Plus they love sales (like, a lot, and for things I've never even heard of), and they give discounts for first time users! Plus, you can customize the dresses-change the neckline, sleeve type, and/or length of the dress! Just be warned, that not ever dress has every customization option (that broke my heart on a few dresses. I just wanted some sleeves, for heaven's sake!)

Latter-Day Sister Missionary This website is just for skirts, but the cool thing about them is that they're reversible! Since you'll be living out of 2 suitcases for a year and a half, space savers like this are awesome. But so you know, I bought a pencil-ish skirt from them in my regular size, and it was too tight on the booty and hips, so I exchanged it for a size up, but non pencily skirts should run pretty true to size (I hope! If, not, the exchange was really quick and painless)

Mikarose If I had found this one earlier, I would have spent sooooo much here. There are a lot of pieces that are a lot like, if not identical to, ones on the Jen Modest Clothing website except a little cheaper. They also have this super neat-o section called "Willow Styles," where they show you these really great outfits, then link you to all the different parts of it, so you can stop coveting the models outfits and just have one of your own.

Jen Modest Clothing This one is not a "sister missionary site," but it was created by an LDS woman, so all the clothing is modest, or really easy to make modest (i.e. put on a cami under and you're good to go). I love shopping this one on holiday sales, since it's pricier than I usually shop, but they have so many darling things!

Jen Modest Clothing skirt

Sweet Salt I'm pretty sure that this one is a fairly well known vendor, but I figured a shout out and a link wouldn't hurt. Also an LDS store, there's all sorts of cute modest things here. I am a fan of their classic tops, which are nice enough for a mission, but not overly fancy for day to day work.

Sister Missionary Fashion I don't remember if I actually bought anything here, but there are a TON of really great patterned, colorful, and cute skirts here. Oh, and I just found these demi tees, there. Guess what I'm buying for the ever hot Mexico once I finish this blog post.

Kohls While I am not really  a fan of their website, I love shopping here. Being thrifty, I usually just hit up the clearance rack or go in on sales or go with a coupon in tow, but their clothes are usually pretty reasonably priced even without those things. Plus, most of their stuff is just darn cute.

This cardigan was on the Kohl's Clearance rack!

Sorella Bella Another one of those places I would have shopped extensively if I'd found it sooner (but I'll be honest and say that I still might). Some products on here are identical to those on other websites I've put up, but they also have some really unique and adorable pieces that I haven't seen anywhere else.

Modest Pop One more of those not a "missionary" site, and it reminds me of Sorella Bella in the sense that while there are some items that I have found on other sites (like that skirt I have three of), it also has some distinctive stuff of it's own.

A MAJOR Walmart win!

Walmart. Yep. I went there. Multiple times. Believe it or not, it's not just for people watching! One of the best investment's I've made so far was a pack of 21 earrings for $7.88! I bought two of them and called it fabulous. Also, some of my favorite button ups came from there, and I feel zero shame in saying that.

Also Walmart

Thrift Stores- OK, so I couldn't give up thrifting (you can take the girl out of the thrift shop, but you can't take the thrift shop out of the girl. Wait, what?), but missions are expensive, and I can always stand to save a little (or a lot) of green. By the time I got around to this, I mostly just needed tops, but it's a great place for lots of things you'll need-skirts, shirts, sweaters, blazers, scarves, belts, cardigans etc., etc. I hit up my usual places-Good Will and Arc-but I also went to consignment shops like Plato's Closet, since they won't even buy your stuff if it's not cute, and My Best Friend's Closet. And don't you dare freak out just because it's something someone else has worn because that's the great thing about fabric-it's washable. This is an AWESOME blog post that gets more in depth on thrift shopping for a mission.

Found this necklace at My Best Friend's Closet!

Shoes While I am nothing short of an avid online shopper (just ask my family, it irritates some of them how many packages I get), mission shoes are something feel are best to be bought in person. I'll be spending too much time in them to just hope that the expensive shoes I just bought will fit well and be durable.

Bird scarf (Charming Charlie's) and
mustache earrings (Walmart), for the win!

Other tips and thoughts:

• On nearly every blog and website I've looked to for advice about mission shopping or on making the most of what you can pack in a suitcase, the advice has been to A) think carefully about what you want to bring, and B) bring versatile clothes. You won't have a lot of time to pick your outfit in the morning and not a lot of room in your suitcase for things that don't look good with anything.
• To go along with that thought ACCESSORIES! Bringing things like necklaces, scarves, and belts will let you change up your look so you don't hate wearing the exact same 8-10 outfits again, and with minimal effort and minimal suitcase space.
• And finally, bring clothes that are you!! You still have to follow the standards, but there are so many different styles you can have and still feel like your self, instead of a cookie cutter missionary robot.

  

  This shirt is from my favorite charity site, Sevenly.org
  It's a personal mantra of mine, and my goal for
  my mission; to 'Do Everything In Love'

Happy shopping!

(Oh, and only 34 days!)