Thoughtful Dressing

Why do we wear what we wear? Out of my five daughters, there are five different reasons. There is the one who is all about style; the outfit must be the most stylish she can get into. Of course, there is the one who insists on comfort alone, it has to fit absolutely perfectly and feel good too. Then there is the one who wears what fits her mood for the day and everyone knows the mood. Next is the girl who wears the outfit that looks the most like what her sisters would wear. Then, last but not least is the princess type who thinks she's the princess of the family and must dress accordingly.

Besides being appropriate for the day, the most important thing I look for when choosing my clothes is modesty. Then I consider what Ray likes. I love it when he is impressed with my clothes. I love dressing for him and I know that's dressing for success.

Our society has all these images of what a woman should look like. There is the business woman in the pants suit or the sexy model type who must show as much skin as is legally acceptable. Teens are sold jeans that are too low and shirts that are too short and everything is too tight. We have a kind of blanket rule for clothes for different settings, but generally nothing provocative. By provocative I mean it shouldn't be off the charts in any direction. Not too flashy nor too drab. The outfit shouldn't be a "look at me everyone, I'm in the room" type nor "I don't care what I wear". Not a Hollywood red carpet nor bargain basement.

So just a few thoughts on dressing your daughters and yourself:

• think modesty - Clothing should not be too tight, low or show your underclothing. If the imprint of your underclothing shows, it's too tight or needs another layer. Does your clothing bring the eyes to a certain part of the body?
• consider your husband and their father - Certain types of shorts, skorts, skirts or tops bring to mind inappropriate images for some men. Ask your husband what he thinks. If it's great for you to wear for only him, then save it for the bedroom. Would he want his grandmother to wear it in public?
• consider the event - Just as you don't wear flip flops to the White House, consider if you should wear them to church. (Side note - sometimes we do. The point is to be thoughtful.)
• enjoy what you wear - Read Proverbs 31:22. She dresses in pretty clothes of the day.

When talking to your daughters about clothing, ask them why they are drawn to certain outfits. Often young girls don't see the reason to dress modestly and may need to learn a little about how the minds of men work. It seems to be better to protect our men and boys than for any of us to be unthoughtful.

The picture above is Lydia's 4th birthday. She dressed like a princess and had her cousins come over for a tea party. Aunt Amy thrilled all the girls by dressing in her wedding dress too. Timothy made a great Prince Charming.