Garments and Modesty

Since the way we dress and groom ourselves is a sign of keeping our covenants I guess the Lord won’t have much difficulty separating the sheep from the goats. It’s too bad we don’t have a distinctive style that is easily recognizable to others. The Lord told us that our garments (dress) should be plain, and I believe that doesn’t mean unadorned, rather it means that the way we dress sets us apart from the world as followers of Jesus Christ. He also told us that our clothing should be the products of our own hands; not that homemade clothing is inherently better, but that when the fashions of the world are incompatible with covenant people we should be making our own clothing and not following the fashions of the world.

@ Rozy, I agree with you, but it is currently far more expensive – in time and money – for me to make my own clothes. I have the skills, I just don’t have the time, or the money for good quality cloth. Instead, I wear workwear most of the week – overalls, mostly, with T-shirts. I strive for ‘neat and comely’, though I also garden daily, so *clean* is a bit of a stretch sometimes.

I hate BYU clothing and hair trends. They tend to be either ugly or rebellious against the dress code in small ways that become large ways once people leave BYU. Thankfully, most of my contemporaries in my area understand modesty and have more freedom to choose, thus less of a tendency to push that particular boundary.

Of course, there’s the other way ’round: my dad and youngest brother dress and groom like hobos, despite all efforts by us women to keep them presentable. They have a lamentable tendency to wear clothes far past holey. A few weeks ago, my dad was wearing a shirt that had the elbow ripped out from nearly the wrist to his bicep, which Mom forcibly retired after he wore it in public the entire day.
*sigh*

For the record, I dress modestly and I attempt to dress well.
And my hair is not ‘skanky’.

But then, I am not at BYU.

@E.C. Overalls and T-shirts sound like the perfect uniform for garden work! I hope you understand that I was speaking to things like Sunday dresses and special occasion dresses–when it’s almost impossible to find something modest in stores. Don’t give up on those men, just quietly replace some of the worst pieces (“The washer/dryer chewed it all up.” “Gosh I haven’t seen that around at all, did you leave it in the garage/barn?”) and replace them with wearable pieces from the thrift store. Since I do/did all the laundry, things I didn’t like would disappear from time to time. Of course you can all say you are putting it in the mending/ironing pile and just never get around to it.

@ Rozy,
Ah yes, the old disappearing trick. Unless we cut them up first, somehow my dad finds them and continues to wear them. We have replacements available, believe me. He just prefers to dress like a hobo. My brother infamously has a ‘lucky’ jacket he’s owned since he was 8, which he maintained he could still fit into until he turned 23.
Oh, yeah, I actually love my overalls, especially Duluth brand, since they have good pockets and last well. Special occasion dresses, now that’s trickier.

I’ve been wondering what’s going on. How it happened. Made no sense. But suddenly it makes sense why I keep seeing it. I blame this thread for why my Instagram algorithm started showing me reels of sleeveless Mormon women telling everyone they are wearing “the new garments.”

Very unfortunate

Out of compassion for you I have indefinitely delayed our next thread on homespun Amish bikinis

@G You gave me my needed laugh for the day!