If Karl Lagerfeld, Janie Bryant, and Christian Dior had a baby... or made a collection

Karl Lagerfeld, chief designer of the most famous and historical couture houses, Chanel, sent models down the runway last week for his Fall 2011 Couture show. The most interesting looks were the cropped tweed/other material jackets with a peplum bottom. I'm quite partial to peplum ever since Janie Bryant (Wardrobe gal for Mad Men) brought them onto the show, so clearly I was in love with the looks. (And the fact that I love the Chanel classic tweed jacket) But these looks got me thinking, why do I recognize these looks? A few hours of ponderment led the next idea to dawn on me: THEY ARE MODERN DAY "NEW LOOKS" by Christian Dior, circa 1947. Think about it, the overly dramatized peplum jackets? Similar to those of post WWII Dior. NOT that I dont love these looks, they are interpretations of two classic designers combined into one. 

These looks are modest as well. Perfect for the living it up at the office or sprucing up your dog walking attire. You know what I'm talking about... those women who practically wear ballgowns to walk their dogs. 

Aside from the fashion aspect of the show, the beauty aspect also caught my eye. And no, I'm not talking about the intense smokey eye, rather the mesh masks worn over the models' eyes. It seemed a tad reminiscent of the masked dude on the Bachelorette. 

Best Comparison by Far!

Christian Dior "New Look" 1947

Chanel Fall 2011 Couture Looks:

Reminds me of when we had to make gowns
out of garbage bags in sleepaway camp!

  

Urban Outiftters Employee

I've always wanted to work at Urban Outfitters; they have such a cool, laid back style that has always enticed me. Yet, there was a problem, how would I make these crop tops and tank-tops modest? I searched and searched the internet with no results, then I remembered to check the website Chictopia.com and found an answer! Here's my (modest) interpretation of an Urban Outfitter Employee uniform:

 Chictopia  

    

                                                              

Urban Outiftters Employee by SaraShabtai featuring beading necklaces

Sparkle Fade printed top

$42 - urbanoutfitters.com

GAP long maxi skirt

$60 - gap.com

Ciao bella shoes

$33 - shopruche.com

TopShop satchel bag

$70 - topshop.com

Dorothy Perkins bangle bracelet

£13 - dorothyperkins.com

Miss Selfridge beading necklace

£10 - missselfridge.com

Grungy (yet tznius) ball gown collaborations

Grungy ball gown styles? What has the world come to? On paper it seems weird, but as we all know, not everything perfect on paper and you must look at the person and their actions before judging them. Same to with my latest post. I started to notice a trend where cheap, grungy tops were being paired with elegant ball gown-esque skirts. I first noticed it on Manrepeller.com, where Leandra (yeah, we're on a first name basis... not), one of my favorite bloggers next to http://shidduchscene.blogspot.com/, who is also equally hilarious, wore an H&M grungy sweater, long American Apparel skirt, and a Hermes belt. Then I noticed this trend again on Jack and Jill.. here the girl looks like a working woman... with a ballgown underneath her yeshiva day school skirt.. And then last but not least...there's Mary Kate Steinmiller a cute Teen Vogue fashion editor. Here she wears a classic denim jacket with a sequin dress underneath.

Mary Kate Steinmiller Refinery29

Found on JakandJil

Leanda Medine

Mischa Barton in Teen Vogue October 2007

Now you must be wondering where Judaism ties into this... well let me tell you..All the grunge looks incorporate long skirts and pretty covered up shirts, showing that you dont have to look like a total shlump to complete this look. (plus there's a reference to shidduchscene.blogspot)

Yarlmulkes, Tzizit, and Talleisim, OH MY!

The newest trend this season is tassels and fringe, as if you couldn’t tell by the title. OKAY, OKAY! Yarmulke doesn’t really fit in, unless you call a Moroccan party hat a Yarmulke (BTW it’s called a FEZ, and yes FEZ as in that short Mexican-ish guy from That 70’s show). Anyway, back to the trend, it all originated from Jews; unless you count the shlumpy snieus (modest) trend which never made runways but only Boro Park store window displays. 

Unless your Rashi’s daughters, or an extremely liberal gal, these clothing items don’t really affect your everyday life. But think about it, tassels originate from the Torah as this Wikipedia webpage says so: “The Torah states in Numbers 15:38: "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, that they shall make themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they shall put on the corner fringe a blue (tekhelet) thread." Wearing the tzitzit is also commanded in Deuteronomy 22:12: "You shall make yourself twisted threads, on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself." BOOYAH! We started a modern fashion trend.

Attached are some images that assist you in your inspiration of wearing fringe without looking like an Indian or a Hippie or a, GASP!, Indian Hippy!

Indian Fringe

Tassel Collage done by WhoWhatWear

Even Refinery 29 Gets Modest

I was so excited to find Refinery29's post about midi-skirts. In Yeshiva world, a midi skirt is doody length skirt. Why on earth has this come into style? We can thank Louis Vuitton for popularizing this. If only he had come up with this style back when I was in high school..........Would've made finding skirts a LOT easier. 

Although we yeshiva girls have a preconceived notion that doody length skirts are the devil, we should really take a second look at them. 

Refinery 29's midi style

Louis Vuitton's version of the midi skirt

So....why compare fashion to Matzo?

Matzo, like fashion, can come out good or bad. Shmura Matzo (watched Matzo) is universally agreed upon to taste better than the regular Manischewitz boxed Matzo. But with added ingredients (cream cheese), or accessories, even a bad cardboard-like Matzo, or a doody length skirt, can taste/look good. I Like Matzo is dedicated to guiding fashionable tzanua ladies to an even more fashionable life style. And to add a bit of humor to this whole process, as c'mon, my blog is called I Like Matzo. 

Cardboard like Matzo

What is Matzo?

You might be wondering, "why on Earth would Sara call a modesty blog, 'I Love Matzo.'" It is a bit weird I agree, but sadly, "Covered Girl" was taken and quite dorky. Now dont be confused, this is not a blog dedicated to making Matzo Brie, rather to fashionable modest street styles.

For the rest of you who may not know what Matzo is:
Matzo or matzah (Hebrew: מַצָּה‎; with many other spellings in English, plural matzot) is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday, when eating chametz—bread and other food which is made with leavened grain—is forbidden according to Jewish law.
Wikipedia
Otherwise known as cardboard.