LDS/Mormon Fashion Bloggers

[samurai_sarah 12,190]

@Witherwings
 asked about Mormon fashion bloggers in another thread. Some examples of blogs are: Barefoot Blonde, Pink Peonies....

In its corner of the internet, Mormon modest fashion blogging is huge, as are sites that sell LDS standard approved fashion. Here's a place to discuss the phenomenon.

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Coconut Flan

[Witherwings 410]

I have recently discovered this phenomenon. My understanding is that some live completely off their blogs, with Barefoot Blonde being sponsored and having vacations all around the world paid in full. Neither seem to dress incredibly modest, or at least they are both seen wearing bikinis and sometimes skimpy clothing. 

Pink Peonies

Barefoot Blonde

Love Taza/Rockstar Diaries

Hey Natalie Jean

i believe in unicorns.

There are more. They all seem so shiny and polished. 

@samurai_sarah, Thanks for starting this!

[Howl 61,963]

OK, so I looked at Pink Peonies.  All of the commenters are women who have links to their own blogs/fashion blogs.

Perhaps the Mormon contemporary fashion deal is that these women are Mormon but normal but Mormon, with adorable (white, mostly blond) children named Atticus and Samson and Eleanor, adorable young husbands already making a good living, leading ultra photogenic normal adorable lives.  I've lived in the corner of a state adjoining Utah; reality doesn't seem to be like that at all.  However, my area was primarily rural; these women look fairly urban or suburban. 

They are also early in their childbearing careers.  Who knows what things will be like when they reach the recommended 5th kid. 

Edited May 1, 2016 by Howl

[Clementine 633]

I used to read Nie Nie's blog before her accident and if I remember correctly, one of the Mormon elders had encouraged young mormons to start blogging to show the  world what it was like to be a mormon and, as a result, to protelyze (a bit covert). That must have been around 2005.

 

[Witherwings 410]

1 hour ago, Clementine said:

I used to read Nie Nie's blog before her accident and if I remember correctly, one of the Mormon elders had encouraged young mormons to start blogging to show the  world what it was like to be a mormon and, as a result, to protelyze (a bit covert). That must have been around 2005.

 

Oh wow. I forgot all about her! 

[Witherwings 410]

6 hours ago, Howl said:

OK, so I looked at Pink Peonies.  All of the commenters are women who have links to their own blogs/fashion blogs.

Perhaps the Mormon contemporary fashion deal is that these women are Mormon but normal but Mormon, with adorable (white, mostly blond) children named Atticus and Samson and Eleanor, adorable young husbands already making a good living, leading ultra photogenic normal adorable lives.  I've lived in the corner of a state adjoining Utah; reality doesn't seem to be like that at all.  However, my area was primarily rural; these women look fairly urban or suburban. 

They are also early in their childbearing careers.  Who knows what things will be like when they reach the recommended 5th kid. 

I don't have a problem with the way they look. I think Barefoot Blonde is really pretty and I like the way she dresses. I like to photographs. I agree it all seems grossly fabricated. I didn't notice that the comments were women who have their own fashion blogs. So strange. 

Today I am wearing a star wars tee, overpriced yoga pants and a messy ponytail with absolutely no makeup. My son is having surgery in a couple days and I am a nervous wreck. I would have major anxiety if I felt the need to blog about that within the confines of worrying about fashion, a pretty house and keeping that in the confines of being a perfect and beautiful Mormon housewife. 

[Howl 61,963]

Comforting internet words and hugs as you wait for your son's surgery.  Nerve wracking for sure.  Sending wishes for a good outcome. 

[samurai_sarah 12,190]

@Witherwings

Sending you good thoughts. I hope all goes well with the surgery!

[Witherwings 410]

http://www.latterdayhome.com/

This was linked on i believe in unicorns. Do people really decorate their houses like this?

I also find this to be so strange. I know it isn't really, but what is with all the entrepreneur LDS stuff? I always think of Jamberry, Lularoe, DoTerra (my nightmare) and so on. Even Yo Gabba Gabba. So many things! 

Thanks guys. It is outpatient (strabismus surgery) so I am reminding myself that if it was something I needed to worry about more, we would be inpatient. I know he will be okay, but the idea of him going under general anesthesia is scary! He is only two and my first kid to have any kind of surgery. 

[Clementine 633]

@witherwings: hope everything goes well with the surgery!

NieNie used to promote an LDS fashion blog written by a friend of hers: http://cardiganempire.com/ I haven't read it in years, but she is still blogging.

When I used to read mormon blogs (pre 2010), their style was usually lots and lots of Anthropologie and retro style stuff and lots of colour. Now it seems to be more hipster/Brooklyn/white scruffy interiors.

[mango_fandango 34,316]

The "I Believe in Unicorns" woman has a quote by "Ronald Dahl" on the homepage. Oh God. How can she not know how to spell the name of one of the most popular children's authors ever?? 

These houses all seem so minimalist. It seems to be the done thing to have an entirely monochrome house with a few "pops" of colour. Screw that. When I have a house of my own- which seems unlikely in the near future because our housing market is fucked- it's gonna be COLOURFUL! It's especially depressing when a kid's nursery is really plain and boring. My kids' room(s) are gonna be awash with rainbow colours. Babies need stimulation, why deprive them of that just so their nursery can match the rest of your Pinterest perfect house??? 

 

[Clementine 633]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

The "I Believe in Unicorns" woman has a quote by "Ronald Dahl" on the homepage. Oh God. How can she not know how to spell the name of one of the most popular children's authors ever?? 

These houses all seem so minimalist. It seems to be the done thing to have an entirely monochrome house with a few "pops" of colour. Screw that. When I have a house of my own- which seems unlikely in the near future because our housing market is fucked- it's gonna be COLOURFUL! It's especially depressing when a kid's nursery is really plain and boring. My kids' room(s) are gonna be awash with rainbow colours. Babies need stimulation, why deprive them of that just so their nursery can match the rest of your Pinterest perfect house??? 

 

I googled her and she is the sister-in-law of NieNie. They both are married to a Nielson brother.

[Funwithfundies 914]

Just checked out Barefoot Blonde - gah, it's just all so twee...

Granted, I only spent a few minutes, but I wouldn't have known she was a Mormon blogger without the heads up here - no mention that I could find, and some of the bathing suit photos aren't what I would categorize as 'modest'.

[nastyhobbitses 57,307]

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

The "I Believe in Unicorns" woman has a quote by "Ronald Dahl" on the homepage. Oh God. How can she not know how to spell the name of one of the most popular children's authors ever?? 

These houses all seem so minimalist. It seems to be the done thing to have an entirely monochrome house with a few "pops" of colour. Screw that. When I have a house of my own- which seems unlikely in the near future because our housing market is fucked- it's gonna be COLOURFUL! It's especially depressing when a kid's nursery is really plain and boring. My kids' room(s) are gonna be awash with rainbow colours. Babies need stimulation, why deprive them of that just so their nursery can match the rest of your Pinterest perfect house??? 

 

I actually really like the minimalist with pops of color look. Easy to customize and change stuff out when you want, and I like the crispness of it. Right now my home decor Pinterest is full of stark white Scandinavian/Mid Century Modern-style living rooms with super-bright modern paintings and Oriental rugs. I'm taking the Foreign Service exam next month, so I'm staring down the barrel of international moves every two years for the foreseeable future, so minimalist-with-pops-of-color is also just a very practical aesthetic. Neutral, simple furniture matches everything, and you won't damage walls if you limit the color to stuff you can take down and pack away.

[Kitcae 110]

Here's a few more:

The Freckled Fox

Em Fillerup (Barefoot Blonde's sister)

Watch out for the Woestmans (much for realistic, and more of a mom blog than fashion blog)

 

 On a different note - What do you all think about the mormon vloggers on Youtube? (This might need to be a different thread if it goes anywhere.)

Edited May 7, 2016 by Kitcae

[Howl 61,963]

I'm intrigued that the general look of these blogs is so similar.   There must be a hip Mormon mom blog template somewhere.....it's all so "beautiful people"  

Edited May 8, 2016 by Howl

[nastyhobbitses 57,307]

Freckled Fox is heartbreaking right now. I usually just follow her on Pinterest because her hair is so enviable, but apparently, her husband has stage 4 melanoma and it's spread to his liver. They have five kids, one of whom is still a baby. I really hope they have tons of support, and I hope blogging is helping her get through this.

[Kitcae 110]

On 5/8/2016 at 6:57 AM, Howl said:

I'm intrigued that the general look of these blogs is so similar.   There must be a hip Mormon mom blog template somewhere.....it's all so "beautiful people"  

Haha, yes!

On 5/8/2016 at 9:33 AM, nastyhobbitses said:

Freckled Fox is heartbreaking right now. I usually just follow her on Pinterest because her hair is so enviable, but apparently, her husband has stage 4 melanoma and it's spread to his liver. They have five kids, one of whom is still a baby. I really hope they have tons of support, and I hope blogging is helping her get through this.

Oh, I know, it's so sad! I hadn't looked at her blog in a long time and then recently went back and saw everything about her husband's melanoma. She's said that the blog has been good therapy and an outlet for her and that they receive lots of support from the blog as well.

[Ungodly Grandma 3,640]

On 5/8/2016 at 7:57 AM, Howl said:

I'm intrigued that the general look of these blogs is so similar.   There must be a hip Mormon mom blog template somewhere.....it's all so "beautiful people"  

Stepford Sister Wives?

[Geechee Girl 2,233]

On 5/7/2016 at 3:01 PM, Kitcae said:

On a different note - What do you all think about the mormon vloggers on Youtube?

This article immediately came to mind about how the church encourages the faithful to keep a lasting record of their lives.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mormons-journaling-youtube_us_55b1538ce4b07af29d580672

[Kitcae 110]

8 hours ago, Geechee Girl said:

This article immediately came to mind about how the church encourages the faithful to keep a lasting record of their lives.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mormons-journaling-youtube_us_55b1538ce4b07af29d580672

I hadn't known that's the main reason they do it, but it totally makes sense as to why there are so many mormons on Youtube!

[NakedKnees 6,744]

Yaaay, I'm so glad there's a thread on the fashionable Mormon blogs!

Something that always strikes me is how much they seem to downplay temple life in these blogs. Being a pretty family and homemaker and making modesty more palatable is all over the place, but most devout Mormons I know (and I know many) are involved in the temple and similar organized activities 2-4 days a week, and aren't typically any more secretive about it than other protestant churchgoers.

Are they really just downplaying the religious aspect to attract folks to the lifestyle? Or are some of them just not that religious? The swimsuit and belly pics do strike me as a bit odd.

[Kitcae 110]

7 hours ago, NakedKnees said:

Yaaay, I'm so glad there's a thread on the fashionable Mormon blogs!

Something that always strikes me is how much they seem to downplay temple life in these blogs. Being a pretty family and homemaker and making modesty more palatable is all over the place, but most devout Mormons I know (and I know many) are involved in the temple and similar organized activities 2-4 days a week, and aren't typically any more secretive about it than other protestant churchgoers.

Are they really just downplaying the religious aspect to attract folks to the lifestyle? Or are some of them just not that religious? The swimsuit and belly pics do strike me as a bit odd.

I know, this confuses me too, but I think it sort of makes sense. Let's take Barefoot Blonde for example. It's a fashion/beauty blog, so she has decided that she'll only share fashion/beauty. On social media it's really easy to come over wrong or not share everything that's important to you. I've only shared one photo on social media about my church/religious activities, so maybe my friends think I'm actually not religious. On the other hand, I still don't know why Mormon's don't want to share their religion if that's why they're blogging! It does seem like some of them are not very religious for sure. It's probably easy to say "I'm Mormon", but at the same time not have the actions to go along with it. Or maybe they just don't want to share the religious part. 

It's the same thing for vloggers. There are some that very openly share their beliefs and what's going on within their religion, but then there are some that just hang out with other mormons but don't act and dress like a mormon. There's one vlog channel I watch that I'm sure is mormon, but they never ever talk about it or go to church. 

[Evangeline 5,645]

On 5/1/2016 at 11:47 AM, Howl said:

OK, so I looked at Pink Peonies.  All of the commenters are women who have links to their own blogs/fashion blogs.

Perhaps the Mormon contemporary fashion deal is that these women are Mormon but normal but Mormon, with adorable (white, mostly blond) children named Atticus and Samson and Eleanor, adorable young husbands already making a good living, leading ultra photogenic normal adorable lives.  I've lived in the corner of a state adjoining Utah; reality doesn't seem to be like that at all.  However, my area was primarily rural; these women look fairly urban or suburban. 

They are also early in their childbearing careers.  Who knows what things will be like when they reach the recommended 5th kid. 

The church recommends five? Can you say more about this? A Mormon friend told me the large families thing was mostly cultural. I always suspected this was bullshit, but I never knew there was an official number.

[NakedKnees 6,744]

16 hours ago, Evangeline said:

The church recommends five? Can you say more about this? A Mormon friend told me the large families thing was mostly cultural. I always suspected this was bullshit, but I never knew there was an official number.

I've never heard of there being an official number either... although an ideal of 5 sounds about right from what I've seen 

Something that I have heard a lot from Mormons is that purity/marrying young is generally much more important than childbearing decisions... birth control, child spacing, and whether to have kids or not (although encouraged) are entirely between the couple and God, figured out via prayer. But maybe that's a more liberal view within LDS. I have no idea.

In any case, the women running these Mormon blogs don't seem as obsessive about procreating as most of the fundies we follow.