As I was thinking about shopping for mission outfits I was thinking that maybe being an "Elder Hannah Call" wouldn't be too bad. I could walk into a store find a white dress shirt that I like, get 10 of them in my size, find a pair of dress pants that fit, buy several in each color, get two different colors of dress shoes, find some ties at the D.I. and call it good. But apparently I didn't think about the shopping part before I sent the clarifying letter that I was in fact a SISTER to the mission home. So I guess I have no option but to dress and look like a sister missionary now.
I have never been the kind of girl that loves shopping. On rare occasions I get in the "shopping mode" and enjoy shopping, but for me this mode wears off in an extremely short amount of time. So most of the time I dread going shopping.
But if there is one thing that I love, it is a comfortable t-shirt with shorts or a pair of jeans and I am found wearing these items approximately 90% of the time. This past summer was the best! Because if I wasn't in a swimsuit at the pool, lake, or ocean, I was in a pair of shorts and a comfortable shirt every day except for a couple hours while I was at church on Sunday.
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with wearing a t-shirt and jeans everyday of my life, but it doesn't quite fit the guide lines for what sister missionaries are supposed to wear. As a missionary I'm supposed to wear a skirt or a dress and look professional every day for the next 18 months. Oh and just a side note we are supposed to pack everything we need in two suitcases. Slight problem, my whole wardrobe is basically t-shirts, shorts, and jeans with a few outfits for Sunday, and I don't want to be wearing the same seven outfits every week for the next 18 months of my life.
Luckily my cousin, Cristina Cragun Johnson, came to the rescue! Shortly after I received my mission call, I got a phone call from Cristina congratulating me on my call and wondering if I would like her to help me with choosing my outfits for the mission so that I could have the most amount of options for outfits with the least amount of clothes. Exactly what a missionary needs! Of course I was ecstatic that someone with the wardrobe knowledge that Cristina has was going to be helping me pick clothes for the mission.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was in Salt Lake and went shopping with Cristina. It only took us a couple of hours and we had most everything I needed clothes wise for the mission. But before we headed home for the night Cristina wrote down the items that I still needed to get to maximize the options. So last week when I was back in Salt Lake I was able to find the items that Cristina had written down for me to get, and then with her help we took pictures of all the different combinations I can make with the items of clothing I am taking on my mission. We made a spread sheet with all the pictures so that I can remember the different combinations while I'm on my mission. Since we took the pictures I have added two shirts and 1 skirt and if we count all the options, without the different belt and accessory options, I easily have over 150 different outfit combinations. Which means I shouldn't have to repeat many of my outfits throughout 18 months of dressing up every single day. The best part about it all is that all of my clothes fit into 1 suitcase and so my other suitcase is being used to pack all the other items I need for 18 months!
Cristina was amazing in maximizing the use of my wardrobe and thanks to her I will not be wearing the same 7 outfits for 18 months straight! So if you are interested in having Cristina help maximize your wardrobe email her at visageim@gmail.com.
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