Girl Talk: Laura’s Closet Tour | Professional, Confident Fashion Tips for Christian Women

Hello, ladies! Thank you for spending a little girl time with me today If we have never met before, Hi! My name is Laura Gabriele and I'm the facilitator of an online group called "Ambitious Christian Women

" You can find us on Facebook The easiest way to find this is just to go to AmbitiousChristianWomenorg and there inside the group we have like Bible studies, we have opportunities to gather, we have things like challenges and stuff all designed to keep you following after the Heart of Jesus And our motto is "Follow God's Signs, Not Dollar Signs" So I brought this idea to you guys a little while back

I said oh my goodness I lost all of my business attire! I have been traveling, I went to Guatemala for a year and when I did that with my husband we sold and gave away like 99% of our belongings and I had kept just a few pieces things like blazers and stuff like that in a bag and unfortunately somehow it got misplaced and so I was faced with this challenge of needing to totally get my stuff back in order, like I'm starting from scratch! So I asked you would you to go on that journey with me, would you like to talk about what it means to buy clothes and talk about things like fashion as Christians? And you said a unanimous yes! So I'm excited for that because to me I just think this is fun girl time and while fashion is not my forte, it is something that I know is important I think that how we present ourselves in this world is really important I have some personal things that I adhere to as a Christian, having been changed from the inside out by the love of Christ I definitely look at the way I dress differently, and so I thought, I'm going to show them behind the curtain! And this is actually my closet! We are living in Santa Fe New Mexico and we are renting a house It was a furnished home, so I also have over here like a little vanity area with a mirror

Over here is a little stack of drawers and inside those drawers are things like undershirts and unmentionables and things like that And then I have my tea within arm's reach, and a few little things for makeup and all that stuff! So I can't wait to give you this little tour because I feel like we've been getting to know each other and I think there comes a time in every friendship between two women that you kind of, you kind of share a little bit more, um things things that you only show friends So today, my sister, welcome to my bedroom Welcome to my closet I can't wait to show you what is in here and why

I think it matters! So let's get started are you ready? Um, first and foremost, I want to point out one thing Now clothes don't matter too much to me The way that I'm perceived matters a lot to me as a Christian So, it's a tool, it's not a thing that owns me I own the clothes! Right? So I also tend to think about things this way – like, God when He created the world, and the Garden of Eden uh He – clothes were not part of the, that picture

Like, clothes were not part of God's plan In fact Adam and Eve were naked in the garden! And it wasn't until sin entered in that they were even aware that they needed some kind of covering, or, they felt naked and so now they need to cover themselves! So when I think about clothes I think they're not evil by any means, I'm not gonna become a nudist! But I'm not gonna let them rule over me because I think a lot of um, I think that Satan uses clothing as a way to make women feel bad about themselves and what they don't have, feel bad about their bodies, I think Satan uses clothes to try to make women think about money and status

Um, so basically, what I'm saying is is that it really depends on your relationship with God, um how clothes are gonna enter into this equation Are they gonna be, are you gonna let clothes be something like a stumbling block in your life, or are you going to um, be pragmatic and be wise about what you're doing through clothes So! All I said, let's get started! I'm gonna open this finally! I know I set it up because I think like it's not a good idea to talk about it even without talking about God So, alright! Are you ready? Like – I'm really building this up ladies! It's really not that big of a deal But here you have

my closet! On this side, you will see this half and a little bit back that's all my husband's clothes, okay? And he has this little thing for his folded clothes But this tour is not about his side! This tour is about mine! So let's let's, let's pony up here and see what's what's in my side Whadda you say? I'm gonna actually put this down here

You're on my laptop today and I just want you to be able to see nice and clearly Is that good? I feel like that's a strange angle for you It's like you're sitting on the floor But oh, I feel so tall! Let's get started Okay so my clothes here, I have kind of organized by like

these are kind of neutral colors and then over there we're gonna get more bright And in the back corner, the dusty back corner of my closet, are my dresses which I rarely wear So I kind of keep the things that I'm wearing more frequently right easy reach

And then I put the special occasion things in the back And then behind all this I kind of have a shoe rack going on Okay? You see that? There's some heels, I have my sneakers, and really most of my clothes are secondhand finds from like Goodwill which I love, I just love shopping at Goodwill because, that or Salvation Army, because when you buy there it goes to a good cause And often I find some nice, pretty high quality stuff there, you know that I might not even be able to afford brand-new

And then I do a couple of other things, so I go to Ross sometimes and I got this at Ross And I think it was only $15 and it's just a jacket So I like to go shopping at those kinds of stores And this, it has some faux leather on here, nice I can just button it up across the top I look so modern in it! I look so fashionable! But the point of this is just to show you like you don't have to spend a ton of money to get a few things that are really going to be super useful for you

And this jacket in particular I think it cost me !15 and then I looked it up online and it's still for sale online for $120! Can you believe that? So I just felt like that was a great find And I love, I love things like that! So I would tell you about every little piece of clothes, but I'm not gonna do that Like ,if you ever want me to I will, but I think that's a little much Instead, I just want to share with you like – the places I shop and what I look for when I shop there So, another thing I do I love these, they're just like throw over your shoulders

I'll try this one for you I love things that are just easy This is a just a shawl kind of thing and both of these come from an online service called LeTote And LeTote, I can give you in the, in the description below this video put a link so you can try it free! But it is a monthly clothing rental service and on LeTote I find a lot of higher quality pieces of clothes and especially things for work This, this tunic here is from LeTote

Um, let's see, I know that I rented this dress, it's from LeTote and you pay, like one monthly fee (for unlimited monthly boxes of clothes) you wear it, it's probably easier for you to see this thing You wear the clothes, this is fun, it has little bows on it

And then you send it back in the bag and they wash it and clean it, so it's meant to be worn Another service I use is called StitchFix and that one's really popular And I have a code for you too – there – I think it's, I think it's like they waive the styling fee or something like that? I'll look at what the code is But StitchFix is a really good place to start if you don't even know anything about style and you just feel overwhelmed by it You can kind of tell them your style woes, and one of the things I really like about StitchFix is you show them your Pinterest and so if you're like me and you like to use Pinterest to kind of collect things that you think look pretty and you would want to emulate, then StitchFix is a great option because those people, they actually assign a stylist to you and they, that stylist will look at what you've pinned on Pinterest and read what you wrote about what you need that it's missing from your closet

So I told them that I was just coming back to the states and I just needed some nice-looking bright things to wear for around the holidays And so this is one of the things they sent me And I just love it, and it's really high-quality embroidered and stuff like that So I love StitchFix for that reason So let's see, yeah um this I got at Goodwill it's just a nice little shirt

So I just have a bunch of stuff like that, that I've pieced together Um another great place to shop is a store called Savers Okay and this dress was from StitchFix black, it's hard to see black This dress was from StitchFix It has a nice scalloped edging

So I wrote to them about like different occasions and then instead of me having to go all over the place, they sent me things, which I love! I love getting mail! I like to be surprised! StichFix is awesome Yeah so that's kind of like where I get my stuff This shirt under here was also from StitchFix

Can you tell that I like StitchFix?I really do Um let's see Shoes wise I get almost all my shoes secondhand It's like really rare you'll see me, it's really rare that you'll see me, like buying brand new shoes These I love

I love shopping second hand So these boots, these fun cowgirl boots I actually found in a secondhand store in Montana where I used to live I used to live in Missoula, Montana Oh you can see there! That's weird, in the mirror you can see Yeah so I have this mirror just stashed down here It's not for any purpose, um these I got at Savers just a couple days ago These black boots And then in this whole closet I really don't have any shoes that I bought new

Except for these ones they're so dirty! So basically when it comes to style I used to dress when I first wanted to start being stylish, I used to dress in really bright colors Which I think was fun for me and matched my personality maybe, but for me being such a petite girl and having such unique like textured hair, it was kind of overwhelming for other people And I didn't realize that I wasn't thinking about how I'm being perceived You see what I mean? So I think that when it comes to style it's really good to just start with neutral colors and things like cream and white and black and gray These colors flatter everyone

You don't have to worry, and you're never coming across as too crazy bold I think that we can easily add in fun colors with things like scarves So I'm gonna show you my scarves, okay? So this is my towel, please ignore Okay so these are my scarves, and they're kind of just hanging Let me see if they

I just kind of stuff them in here My hat, um, I have some goldenrod, I have some blue with a fun pattern, bright red, here's a bright orange, and then I have a nice high-quality cashmere scarf which was a gift, and then this I don't know, it's soft I think it's chenille

So I pull in colors with scarves which i think is less overbearing So if say I wanted to incorporate some color in what I'm wearing now, I would just maybe do this! Right? And I would just take a little more time I am NOT a style person! I am just showing you as a friend what I've got going on So yeah I would just add in color like this So really I think that the way we dress doesn't have to be too overwhelming, right? We can have fun with it, but it doesn't have to be like silliness where we're looking really bright and crazy

Um, we can just take it easy So okay I mean, I could show you more Do you want to see more? Do you have time? If you have time, I will show you more Um I have some jewelry that I like I like, I like things that are more natural like little, um earrings with you can almost see them actually from here like anything that looks like from nature I like

But as we close here and I show you the final things, I just want to remind you about something kind of cool that's found in first Peter and first Peter verse – er- chapter three, I'm I find this verse that says your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, but from the inner disposition of your heart Mm-hmm! The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in God's sight So, as you begin to approach your wardrobe and just try to maybe tone it back which is what I'm recommending to you, like go more natural go more neutral, be less intense with your clothes, be less patternsy and more, you know, basic! I think you're gonna take a lot of the pressure off yourself when you start to do your shopping secondhand and find these like neutral, easy kinds of pieces that flatter you rather than trying to make yourself look like someone you're not, or make yourself look rich, and things like that, which I don't think are pursuits that are becoming of a woman whose heart is after the Lord Also one last thought here before I close is just that for centuries and even to this day clothing is has been used to control and to relegate women into positions of being subjected being used or abused even one example would be the way that even little girls clothing now is so skimpy like short shorts on a little girl, and things like that that really play to, unfortunately, a growing prevalence of people that are just I hate to say this, it sucks to have to say, people that are really after young kids in a sexual way It's very sad and also on the other side we have women who are forced to wear black full coverings with just a little slit for their eyes in the heat! You know, and it's very sad to me I think we're fortunate if you're watching this you you're likely in the United States and most of my viewers are in the United States, and we're fortunate to have freedom of choice over what we wear and we're fortunate to have the Holy Spirit with us to help us discern how we're going to dress ourselves in a way that's pleasing to the Lord without being over-the-top without drawing too much attention to our curves which I don't have very many !I don't have to worry about that! And just dressing even our children in a way that isn't going to subject them to people looking at them in the wrong way out of their inner darkness, you know? So I just think ladies that clothes can be fun but we also need to guard ourselves and be vigilant So I hope this was helpful to you and I hope that it felt like fun because that's what I meant to do, just to have some girl time with you and talk in the way that I would if we were friends in person So thanks for your time and I love you so much And I really hope you can join me inside the Ambitious Christian Women group

Again its AmbitiousChristianWomenorg and our motto is follow God's Signs not Dollar Signs! Remember God would rather you be naked! But since we can't be naked, let's just relax a bit I know that we can pursue God in clothes that don't distract, detract, or you know dominate our thinking or other people's thinking for that matter Alright! Have a beautiful day! Thanks! Bye!

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