Saturday, December 3, 2016

I Love Dresses and Skirts!

If you've ever looked at my public Instagram account, you already know how much I love dressing up—especially in modest dresses and skirts! Yet modest fashion hasn't always been what it is now.

I remember when I was a teenager, it was difficult to find modest dresses and skirts that were also cute and stylish. Thankfully, our modest fashion world has improved dramatically, and I'm ridiculously happy about that fact! :)

The fashion industry, in general, has become so much more open to every type of style, so people don't stick out like a sore thumb anymore if they wear modest clothing. I'm so grateful to all of those wonderfully artistic clothing designers who imagine such beautiful and modest pieces for women of all ages!

Obviously, I love wearing dresses and skirts to church and special occasions the most! But I definitely don't need a special occasion to wear my dressy-best! I try to wear my lovely dresses and skirts as often as possible. :)

Yet sometimes in my daily stay-at-home-mom life, dresses and skirts aren't always the easiest choice for all the housework, organizing and running around that I do. There are many days when only skinny jeans or stretchy exercise pants will do! :)

The only problem with modest fashion I've run into is not having enough money to purchase all of the amazing clothing I love! Ha ha. :)

But in all seriousness, there is one teeny little problem with modest-dress fashion that exists within my beloved church's social structure: judging. Because my church has scripture verses that include thoughts about not "being lifted up in pride" and not "wearing costly apparel"—i.e., we're not being as humble as we could and should—some people find it their unfortunate business to judge what others choose to wear to church.

It's interesting because, over my 19+ years of marriage, and my family's many moves (11), I've seen two ways that Church members view church clothing: 1. The nicer and fancier the better, in order to show ultimate respect for the Lord when going to church. They believe we should wear our very best clothing for Him. In other words, we wear our best clothing when we go to the best places. (I fall into this category.) 2. We shouldn't wear costly (i.e., fancy/high-fashion) apparel because we're not being truly humble enough if we do so. We should put our extra money to better use by helping others. There might be other ideas about church clothing, but those are the two veins of thought I'll be focusing on for this post.

In regard to those different ways of fashion thinking, I've come up with the following:
  • We shouldn't spend more money than we can absolutely afford for appropriate church clothing.
  • It's most definitely not our business to judge what anyone else wears to church, or how much it cost.
  • The term "costly apparel" can mean something totally different to different people with different budgets. One woman's $40 dress is another woman's $400 is another woman's $4,000 dress.
  • I love the idea of showing respect for our Heavenly Father, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our congregation by wearing our very best clothing to church and the temple.
  • We honor the bodies we've been given (by our Heavenly Father) by dressing well and taking good care of ourselves—physically, mentally and spiritually.
  • We create a world of loveliness and possibly inspire others when we dress up. That idea might sound absurd to some, but I believe everyone honestly appreciates beauty! :) And I love remembering how classy everyone looked and acted back in the old days—before the 1960s came along. *By the way, I found a most-interesting article about how our clothing style as a society has changed. "Why and When Did Americans Begin To Dress So Casually?" is a great read!
  • When we dress well, we subconsciously want to behave better. That might sound too basic to some people, but I believe it's true.
  • Clothing shouldn't be the main focus of our church-going experiences. You might laugh at that, but I've seen a few women more interested in their fellow ward members' latest fashion statements than the sacrament.
  • We can positively contribute to our economy by buying nice clothing—for church, or otherwise. Think of all the people who share and strengthen their talents by creating beautiful clothing! Think of all the families we support when we buy their amazing clothing creations! :)
  • We can donate older clothing to charity that we don't wear anymore. This helpful habit benefits both the giver (less stuff) and receiver (beautifully clothed)! :)
  • Dressing nicely isn't bragging, even though some people view it that way. Many people genuinely want to look their best for church—it has nothing to do with showing-off or being prideful.
  • It's always better to be over-dressed than under-dressed! :)
As you can tell, I feel strongly that dressing our best makes such a positive statement and can only benefit us! :)

Finally, here are my favorite fabulous quotes I found about dressing well. I wholeheartedly agree with and love them all! :)

"Looking good isn't self-importance, it's self-respect."
– Charles Hix

"Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered."
– Giorgio Armani

"If you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good." – Georges St-Pierre

"People will stare. Make it worth their while."
– Harry Winston

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."
– Oscar Wilde

Stay tuned for my modest fashion companies reviews—photos included! I can't wait to share!! 😊

P.S. As you can see from my previous sentence, I just realized that Blogger added "insert special characters" to its functionality! I'm so excited for smiley-face emojis! 😍


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