The Reasonably Prudent Law Student

One last outfit for my friend @redheadedgirl on Twitter, whose roommate is headed to Palestine and Israel on a trip with the Nobel Women’s Committee. While Reidan is concerned about her roommate fitting in with a more conservative manner of dressing that is typical in most Muslim/Arab countries (note: the two are not synonymous; remember, just because a person is an Arab doesn’t mean that he/she is also Muslim – there! I just saved y’all from sounding like know-nothing douches), I’m actually more concerned about the heat.

Because it is freaking scorching in Israel and Palestine.

This post was written at 12:30AM CST on Friday morning, from the suburbs of Chicago. That was about 8:30AM in Tel Aviv, and it’s freaking 82F. AT EIGHT THIRTY IN THE MORNING.

>:(

Anyway, it’s hot there. So when I was putting this outfit together, I knew I had to assemble something modest, but also in fabrics that breathe. That’s why I stuck with cotton. Not cotton blends – 100% cotton. Nothing else was acceptable because of how fricking hot it gets there. And I certainly didn’t want the unnamed roommate drowning in the humidity and her own perspiration. Bleh! Bleh, I say, bleh!

So that’s why I put this together.

Sheer Woven Shirt ………. $17.80
Breezy Animal Skirt ………. $44.99
Lardieri Flats in Cognac ……… $19.98
Rose Alligator Clips ………. $3.99
Ringed Velveteen Strand Necklace ………. $10.97

Let me explain this a little.

I just felt like going with a fun animal print skirt. I love the combination of white, brown, tan, and black! They’re just so fun and tribal and I love them sometimes.

I wanted to keep things very basic, not that bold or risky. This is a Nobel Committee after all. So I went with a button down cotton shirt in white. It’s sheer, but that only means (in this case, not every case) that it’s very very lightweight cotton. I have a supposedly sheer collared shirt like this from Forever21. I usually toss it on over a tank top when I’m weeding in the garden, and I tie up the long dangly ends at my midriff, and I roll the sleeves all the way up to my elbows. It’s not see-through or anything, although you definitely don’t want to wear a bright red bra underneath it!

It’s very light, very breathable cotton that wicks away sweat very well. I’d throw on a cotton tank underneath it because that will wick away sweat before it gets to the shirt. Gross that I’m talking about sweat like this? Whatever. It’s the Middle East. You’ll be sweating buckets. I used to be squicked out by sweat, but then I joined a Bikram yoga class, and when you’re doing the stick pose with an actual trickle of sweat descending from your big toe, you get over the squickness pretty fast.

Anyway, the shirt is from Forever 21′s Love 21 line, which offers a more modest and sophisticated fit, and is great for women who are no longer 21 and do not wish to dress as if they still are. Forget the tight little fits of normal Forever 21 stuff – this is just a little longer, a little bigger, and pretty great for these Modern Muslimah posts. Check out the size chart for the Love 21 line if you want to see for yourself.

I could have added a pop of color with the flats. You still can. But I saw these tan ones at Aldo and just liked them a lot, so I had to use them. Aren’t they adorable? But then again, I’ve always loved Aldo shoes: never had a bad experience with them. They’re pretty and they’re of good quality, so pretty durable. It’s one of my first stops when I need to do some shoe shopping. And yes, I said NEED to do some shoe shopping. I’ve been slowly but surely weaning myself of the habit of buying shoes for the heck of it (or for the sake of the pretty). Now I buy shoes if I kind of need them, like if I need black pumps for formal law-related affairs or black flats to walk to and from school every day, or new sneakers because the puppies at the shelter chewed mine to bits.

Puppies. Acting like they own the joint.

>:(

(They do own the joint. How can you ever get mad at those little faces?!)

And I felt like the outfit needed accessories, mainly because I had about $15 left over and I wanted to put that to use.

I wanted to go with a scarf, but opted against it mainly because I couldn’t find any like the one I wanted for this outfit, and also because with the flowy skirt and the button down, I didn’t want to add layers to it. It just didn’t feel good, so I stopped myself.

Instead, I went with a necklace from Old Navy with pretty red sateen ribbons to add some bold color up top, and found some cute barrettes you can use if you want to, if you don’t like the necklace or whatever. Eh. I’m not married to the idea. I just found red rose clips, and wanted to craft an outfit that fell in the far range of $90. Sue me.

And there we have yet another outfit for what sounds like an awesome trip to the Middle East – and hopefully, a safe and enjoyable one.