Why Girls Should Dress Like Girls
The short answer is: it’s Biblical.
Often, as young people move towards finding their own personal style idiom, they either experiment or rebel. While rebellion can often be avoided (IMO most rebellion can be avoided by not forcing kids to wear polo shirts), I consider experimenting to be rather a normal part of this stage of life.
And experimenting can get into some androgynous looks: men wearing makeup, women with short hair, and so on. The dangers in these things are, as I see them:
- people really not being able to tell if you are a boy or a girl.
- portraying the wrong idea regarding your *interests*.
So, while I encourage experimenting to develop your own style, it seems best to take care to maintain your God-given gender identity. In other words, make sure that it is obvious you are female.
Some ideas that might help:
- Carry a purse. (This works for all kinds of things - like being able to distinguish between the workers and the shoppers in a store.)
- If your hair is short, wear girly earrings. Or a scarf.
- Buy girl fit shirts, rather than wearing men’s.
More suggestions?
Related Posts:
Fashion Lab: Sarah Palin’s Skirt Lengths
Mom wondered what we’d tell Sarah Palin about the length of her skirts. 
Did anyone watch the resignation speech? We couldn’t find a good picture; Mom, I think, thinks her skirt was much too short; I think, at minimum, her ensemble offended the golden mean proportion, looking boxy (as explained by Imogen at this link).
What would you like to tell Palin about the length of her skirts? Which of the four shown here do you like best?
I’ll leave my answer in the comment section.
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Tube Tops for Modesty
No, I haven’t lost my mind. The following suggestion was sent in by new reader Amanda:
… going back (or forward?) to the “V-necks are out” post, I agree, except in the case of white V-necks. Last year, all I could find in the way of basic tops were tube tops (I bought four or five from American Eagle for a total of $20) and have started wearing them under a white V-neck. The tube top provides a little more coverage than a regular tank or cami, but it’s still a cute pop of color.
My younger daughter has worn a variation of this theme: a mid-thigh length strapless dress, topped by a belted white blouse, with leggings under. Ordinarily I would just pass by short strapless dress when thrifting, but combined with the other pieces - she’s fully dressed!
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An Elegant and Affordable Bridal Gown
Where would you look for bridal gowns if the consignment shops, thrift stores, and craigslist all turned up nothing?
My daughter, who had every intention of buying her own wedding dress for around $200, thought to head to David’s Bridal. When asked the upper limit of her budget, she truthfully told the consultant that she would not go over $400. And look what she got!
Now a word on modesty. See the little cap sleeves? This dress came with them, but it’s good to know they can be added to any strapless dress!
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Scarf Wrapping
Chatting with dcrmom about accessorizing with her new boots (Ugg - Swell Tall (Brunswick) - Footwear), I realized an observation about scarf styling which may be helpful.
A young lady who tends to be tall, modest, and busty (like dcrmom) is flattered by a scarf worn like this:
I, on the other hand, generally wear my scarves, if I wear one at all, lariat style:
Since I’m not an accessory person, I’m not sure why this works. Thoughts?
If you’ve posted on scarves - tying and wrapping, please let me know and I’ll add your link to this post.
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A Sad Little History
Speaking of conversations, you may have noticed that the comments aren’t always about the topic of the post. Like in this previous post, where the comments ended up being primarily about the blog girl talk (which, by the way, has no comment form, a blog characteristic I am not fond of).
As I was reading through their very thorough treatment of the subject of modesty, I came across this statement:
Now let me set your mind at ease. Adorning ourselves in “respectable apparel” doesn’t mean we must restrict ourselves exclusively to cheap, out of style, unattractive clothing. Paul is not saying that gold or pearls or braiding are forbidden. In fact, you will find other places in Scripture where godly women wore fine clothing and jewelry.
The reason this post is called a A Sad Little History is because when I first became a Christian, as a young mom in my 20s, I immediately pulled out all my out of style clothing and began wearing it again! Where did I get the idea that a Christian must necessarily convey a dowdy appearance?
The good news is that God isn’t like that. And I guess that’s one more reason to keep on blogging. Yay!
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What’s Wrong With This Outfit, Mom?
Admittedly this is a lengthy article, originally from the Washington Post and then condensed for the Spokesman Review. But I think it especially worth reading for parents (both fathers and mothers) of young ladies. Allow me to rephrase that, I mean girls. When you still have control over what they wear is the time to help them develop their own discretion.
Quote:
Parents lack confidence in their instincts and in their judgment. Previous generations had no trouble making hard and fast rules. Parents in those days looked like and conducted themselves as adults and role models; kids and teenagers wanted to grow up and get the perks of adult life as soon as possible. Therapists see the inverse today. There are lots of parents who are uncomfortable with their grownup role and want to be young again; their kids don’t want to grow up, or wish to postpone it as long as possible.
I have found it helpful in training two young ladies, who are actually more modest than I am, to give them the tools to enhance their natural beauty artistically, rather than provocatively. My daughters truly exhibit a quiet confidence, a different kind of glamour (1 Peter 3:3-4).
Particularly in this day and age when both the culture and the church work to keep older women and younger women separated from one another, what can be done to encourage parents to be parents? And what do you see successfully influencing young ladies to dress modestly?
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Can Wearing a Certain Brand of Clothing Be Immodest?
Can what you wear possibly be immodest, or otherwise (morally) inadvisable, simply because of the brand?
While at first blush the question may seem ridiculous, allow me to ask, “Have you ever actually been in an Abercrombie & Fitch store?” It’s been a long time since I have, but afterwards my brain needed washing! Which makes me wonder, although I have never actually been in a Hollister store, why La Kettra Bennett wanted to work there anyway. (Bennett is the former Hollister employee suing the company for firing her for refusing to wear trousers or an above-the-knee skirt.)
Biblically speaking, I believe this issue is governed by the principles outlined in Romans 14. In other words, if there is nothing immodest about the garment, we are certainly free to wear it, HOWEVER … if it would cause offense of conscience in another, we are advised to choose something else. And don’t we have an abundance of choices?
The problem, in my view, is often that we are naive to the connections in the mind of other people. And naivete isn’t always bad. If you’ve never been in an A&F store, an A&F t-shirt isn’t going to pull up images of half-dressed young men for you. (Or Victoria’s Secret … women.)
Are there things you would never wear, out of sensitivity to the conscience of another? (For me, the answer is “yes. Fishnet stockings”.) Things you wouldn’t allow your child to wear?
- Brands: SouthPole, Hollister, University of Pink?
- Looks: gangsta, goth, preppy, biker?
- Investment: luxury or welfare?
- Embellishments: piercings, tattoos, unnatural hair coloring?
Related Posts:
Just Linking, September 2008
Coming soon, by MInTheGap, Is This Modest?, a site all about modest clothing. Check out the about for how you can participate!
New blogs to check out:
- Of A Certain Age, suburban Southern California mom determined to enjoy fashion in her 40s.
- Work That Wardrobe, picturing outfits, but not buying any new clothes for a year.
New incoming links:
- Killer Heels, a celebrity style blog
New commenter(s):
- Mrs MK, who writes a lovely inspirational blog
- Keira H at My Beauty Match (I may need to talk to her more soon!)
- Christopher Hopkins, the makeover guy. Did you know he also writes a blog?
And the big news: Imogen has her own blog now! Check out Inside Out Style.
Aeropostale: Labor Day Sale! Free economy shipping on all orders with code FREESHIP
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Modesty in Living Color
Updated from August 2006.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
2 Corinthians 10:5, New American Standard Bible
Recently I ran across a blog discussion of Biblical modesty where the question of the appropriateness of dressing in bright colors was raised. (After pondering the topic overnight, I am unable to find the exact post to link to. I think it was somewhere over here.)
The concept of Biblical modesty as prescribed in 1 Timothy 2:9 and elsewhere is to be orderly and not draw undue attention to oneself.
How does this relate to the colors one chooses to wear?
- Color is one of the most notable aspects of any outfit. Any outfit which is markedly different from what people in the culture around us are accustomed to seeing is going to draw attention to itself.
- The face should be the focal point of every outfit. Color is a tool to accomplish that purpose.
- Conversely, color which doesn’t support your natural coloring, or worse - clashes with it, draws unwelcome attention to itself. (People muttering to themselves or their neighbor, “she’d sure be pretty if she’d wear better colors”.)
- Above all, color selection should support your personality and make you feel like yourself.
Some of my previous posts on finding and combining your personal colors:
Find Your Colors
Combining Colors
Combining Cool and Warm Colors
Posts about my own use of color:
Previous posts on color theory:
Characteristics of a Color
My Mental Color Wheel
More Fashion Color Resources available at The Runway Scoop.
