Royal Minute

I don't know why I haven't talked about this yet, but can we please take a moment to recognize a new style icon?! Kate Middleton. Or should I say, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. 

Since the announcement of their engagement, where she wore the iconic blue Issa dress, Kate has shown to have beautiful, simple style that I adore. 

Since then, her public appearances have been nothing short of incredible.

Even Pippa is catching my eye, especially with her her very stylish day to day outfits that flow seamlessly. 

 Together they make an incredible statement in fashion that should be patterned after when we go to our closets.

Look at this bridal duo. Perfection!

Some other long time royals I've enjoyed are the once incredible Princess Grace Kelly. She had beautiful style and a poise that carried it off. 

Another Royal that I've been following for sometime now is Queen Rania of Jordan. She is an amazing icon of womanhood, strength, and grace.

 The ultimate working mother and Queen to boot. I love her modest style saturated in confidence and beauty. She carries it all off with grace and humility.

 I would love to design a dress for her someday. Until then, I'll follow her around like a puppy, picking up tips of how to exude lady-like womanhood. Thank you for your example Rania!

Close, but not close enough.

I came into this venture thinking, "there has to be someone who gets it." "Someone who is making and selling modest, beautiful clothing at the whole sale markets." Between LA and San Francisco, there are over 3,000 wholesalers of women's clothing. The odds are there right? Wrong! After this last market week that my sister Whitney and I went to in San Fran, I decided it's time to move onto Plan B: Making my own designs.

Here is my beautiful sister Whitney outside of San Francisco Fashion Market

These are pictures of dresses that we really liked but weren't quite the modesty level we need to cover ourselves up. At least this will give you an idea of what's in store for with grace. But with some added modesty. This brown dress went down too far in the front and was to shear in the chest area.

 This one was actually at Anthropologie but they buy a lot of their stuff from the markets as well. A beautiful maxi that was also too shear and went too low in the front.

 This is part of the trend we are seeing for fall. So many things had leather on it. This was a beautiful skirt with leather trim - therefore pretty pricey for retail. But I really liked it.

 I loved this dress. It flowed beautifully, I loved the color and the cute pin tucks. But alas, it went too low in the front slit and it was a little pricey.

Now to begin Plan B. : )

It is possible!

If you get a chance, check out Carolina Herrera's Fall '11 collection. Carolina is always good for a beautiful dress, but she is also incorporating longer hemlines and contrasting fabrics to make each piece versatile. Here are a couple of my favorites:

 I love this floor length skirt with the sequined top. It transitions well from day to night.

 Carolina has also designed some beautiful coats for the Fall season. I love that they look like dresses!

All I want to wear in the spring are beautiful, easy going maxi dresses. Here is one of the rare ones that might actually be modest!

Modest clothes are out there ladies! You just have to battle the fashion world to find them!

Trends for Fall

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up on the trends for fall. Just one of the perks of seeing everything before it hits the stores. Here is your own personal preview of fall:

1. Silk - there will be a lot of silk blouses and dresses.
2. Florals - there are surprisingly a lot of florals for fall this season.
3. Contrasting fabrics - there are a lot of fabric mixes. My favorite and one that I saw a lot of was leather. trim. Be on the lookout for wool and tweeds with leather trim and details.
4. Bright Patterns - there are a lot of bright patterns on skirts, dresses, and blouses for fall.
5. Maxi - ankle length skirts and dress are hot for fall.

That's all I remember off hand. I'll probably find some more trends as I start going through look books in which case I'll add more so everyone can freshen up for fall!

Fashion Week in LA

I had the opportunity to go to Fashion Week in the Garment District in LA to find vendors for the business. Here are some pictures from my trip to give everyone an idea of what its like.

I got there really early one morning so no one is in this picture but these halls were packed an hour later.

The set up for a fashion show later in the day. I was going to go, but ran out of time. Maybe next time.

A beautiful dress that was way above my price point but gorgeous none the less. This is just the back of the dress. 

 Some clothes that I wanted to buy for with grace. So cute. 

Just one of the 4 buildings I went to. Every floor was full of showrooms. It was so fun to see all the new lines for fall.

Me with my official buyers pass to the market.

One of the many hallways of show rooms. Some of them were very beautifully decorated.

This is the CMC, it is the main building for the fashion district market week.

Here is the inside of the CMC when it starts to get busy with designers and buyers.

Teaser

So if you go to the site, all you'll see is this beautiful teaser...

http://www.wearwithgrace.com/

I know you all can't wait till its active, I'm right there with you. Keep checking back, when time gets closer, to see an official opening date! Don't worry, it'll totally be worth the wait!

Why is it so hard?

"Add an underslip", "put a t-shirt under that", "wear that with a cardigan over it", "put a long cami underneath that".

 The creativity in layering that women have to put up with these days have to be commended. For taking the extra effort, for making the extra purchase, for making the decision, to leave the house fully clothed. 

Why is it so hard to find modest dresses? Or modest clothes for that matter?

My graceful find today:

Elie Saab

In the beginning...

Here we are at the beginning. I'll try to keep this blog updated so that you all can be informed at the click of a button. I'm so excited to finally be starting the company I've been building in my head for years now. To fill the need of women everywhere in offering dresses that are not only beautiful but that are modest, which is a hard thing to find these days. 

I welcome all comments and suggestions of what you would like to see on this blog and I hope you enjoy the items I post. I'll post happenings, ideas, thoughts and inspirations in relation to the ideals and tastes of with grace. We are all lovely, confident women who are capable of anything; let's show it in our style!