Interview with Shari Braendel

In October, I had the great privilege to interview fashionista Shari Braendel! This women is the ideal modest women in my eyes. She encourages modesty and fashion and explains how they can go hand in hand. I bought and read her book "Good Girls Don't Have to Dress Bad" many times and I got more out of it after each read. I highly suggest you check it out! Read this interview with Shari and I'm sure you will love her as much as I do!

Love Always, Haylie Gregory


1)     Why should women dress modestly? Women should dress modestly to honor God, themselves and the guys around them. God’s Word instructs us to NOT trip up our brothers in Christ and immodest dressing does just that. The Word also instructs us to honor God with all our hearts and minds and by dressing modestly we do that. But understand that I believe that modesty doesn’t mean fuddy duddy, it can be stylish, fashionable and fun!

2) What inspired you to write "Good Girls Don't Have to Dress Bad"?   I never planned on writing a book but I started getting invited to churches all across the nation to speak and afterward women and girls would ask for a resource to take home so the book was born. Zondervan saw it as a great resource for Christian women and took a chance on publishing the first ever (and still only) Christian fashion guide for women in the marketplace.

3)What is your favorite fashion season? Fall, for sure. I wear warm colors all year round due to my coloring and having a plethora of hues to choose from that suit me is this fashionista’s dream!

4)What should every teenaged girl have in her closet? A great pair of jeans, lots of long cami’s and a pair of ballet flats.

5)What would you tell every girl who wanted to be more modest or live modestly? I would tell her to remember that fashion meets faith the minute she decides what to put on her body each day and that her clothing choices are going to show the world who she is and what she believes.  Society will try to teach her that dressing modestly isn’t fashionable and it absolutely can be. I would advise her to be creative with her clothes and show her personality thru her style but never compromise her values.

6) Who are your fashion icons? Why? The only book I keep in my living room (besides my bible which seems to travel from room to room) is a coffee table book called A Matter of Style . It’s a portrait of 10 women who changed fashion and so many of those women shaped my views of fashion and the industry. My favorites are Coco Chanel for her classic style, Katherine Hepburn because she was unconventional in her dressing by stepping out and wearing pants way before anyone else and Mary Quant because she had so much to say about style and the way it affected people. I read and re-read that book.

7)What is one of your fashion weaknesses? Only one? LOL. That would have to be handbags. I have a rule that when I buy a new one, I give one away, otherwise there would be no room for my clothes. I just bought a fabulous (I mean FABULOUS) Michael Kors classic huge bag that I’m planning on carrying for a very long time. However I just caught myself in the purse department the other day and made myself leave before I bought another bag.

8)What NEVER goes out of style? Hopefully my Michael Kors handbag!

And also, a classic blazer, ballet flats, silver or gold hoop earrings, jeans and a simple white t-shirt. Put them all together and you’ve got a great outfit.

9) What is one thing you cannot live without? I must have at least one cat at all times. Right now I have three, Belle, Lily and Olive. A girl’s gotta have limits, right? Okay, my husband limited me to three, but I will probably be the little old woman in my nineties who lives in a cottage by the lake with a dozen little furry friends! I just love them so much because they have amazing beauty and such individual personalities.

10) What are some tips you would give to a girl who wants to be a junior fashionista? Be true to who you are and don’t be afraid to show your style by wearing clothes the way that only you can. Only a fashionista would understand what I mean by that. Also, read every fashion magazine and style book you can get your hands on. I would live in the library if I could, just reading all the books on style, beauty and fashion that I could. I still do that on occasion.

Random Questions:

1) You never leave the house with/without...?  I never leave the house without my sunglasses. I never leave the house with: my cats! They have to stay home.

2) Would we ever catch you in jeans and a T-shirt? Jeans, yes; T-shirt, no

3) Muffins or Cupcakes? Cupcakes for sure, hopefully with lots of frosting!

4) Sour candy or Sweet candy? Sweet, especially white chocolate

5) Photographs or Paintings? Paintings