Modesty and the Good Old Days (Is There Such A Thing?)
Oh the good old days. We all like to talk about them. Back when things were simple. You know, horse drawn wagons, living off the land, making your own clothes time period.
And best of all? Everything and everyone was so pure and virtuous. We didn’t have things like Playboy magazines, affairs in marriages, immodest clothing to attract attention, or filthy language being used to describe how great a woman’s body looks.
Seriously? I jest.
It feels like the modesty standards are constantly being pulled backwards. If we could only dress like the ladies did in 1950’s, the world would be a better place.
But what about the ladies in the 1910’s? They would have considered the 1950’s clothing to be horribly immodest, and the ladies to be sinful. They were showing more legs and more arms in the 1950’s!
Scratch the 1900’s altogether, we need to dress like the pioneers did in the 1800’s! Admittedly, this was a more modest time period. But think back to the Regency time period of the 1700’s. If you have watched the classic Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, you know the dresses might have been maxi length, but plenty of cleavage is spilling out of those gowns!
We don’t need to go back in time to dress modestly. Decent clothing standards weaves in and out of time, going back to the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve made garments from leaves. Is that the most godly way to dress still, since it was done in the Garden of Eden?
Cultures dictate clothing.
Styles change, and sometimes it’s not always a sinful thing. They just change style.
Don’t overthink it, and don’t over spiritualize it.
Find what is modest in today’s world, and wear it. Don’t feel like you have to dress like the prairie days, or the 1950’s, or the victorian time period to be modest.
We live and breath and move in in our times. Some people were alive when they first used horse and buggy as a child, and then died with an automobile in their garage. The world changes, and we change around it. We need to seek the Lord, find out what our own modesty standards are going to be, and not base it on modesty standards of 200 years ago.
If you wore a victorian swimsuit of bloomers and a swimming hat to the beach today, you would draw so much more attention to yourself than if you wore a cute swim skirt and a top. Or board shorts and a shirt.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking that history is always best. What you will end up doing is attract a lot of attention as you walk around in your prairie dress, and people will think that’s what Christianity is all about.
Live in the world, but not of it. Live in the culture, but not immersed in it. Live in the present time, but always hoping for the future, the return of our blessed Lord and Savior. Don’t go backwards. Keep your feet firmly pressed on the straight and narrow path, and walk on in your Christian life!
Practical Tips On How To Dress
This might sound great to you, but you might need some practical tips on how to dress modestly for the current time period!
Here are some easy combinations.
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This floral dress combined with this boyfriend Halftee would be super cute and modest for Spring and Summer!
This sleeveless floral dress could be worn with a Halftee Tank and then a denim jacket over it. So adorable for Spring!
This maxi dress comes in solid or print colors and looks so cute with a tassel necklace and sandals.
Those are just a few combinations to help you see how easy it is to dress modestly!
The femininity embraced throughout the “old days” up until the present is important, though. If a woman is covering everything up but dressing like a man, then she is missing the mark.
– It’s also true, however, that recent modern, innovative designs in fashion have been just plain ugly. (The same goes for modern “art”, architecture, etc.) Whenever modern clothing designs are good, they are usually drawing inspiration from beautiful aspects of styles from the past. It requires a clever and delicate selective balance to adapt to the current trends while still keeping within the boundaries of what is classy, tasteful, and timeless.
Good overall point. It’s definitely more “modest” to dress from your own time period, and not in costume.
Yes, I totally agree that up until very recent times, it was important for women to be feminine. That concept is sadly lacking in todays culture.
This is the best post about modesty I have ever read. Thank you! There is far too much over-romanticizing the past.
This is exactly what I needed to read as I come from a plain church who dresses very much like prairie times. I stopped, we left the church and now I’m convicted even over simple things like nail polish or a trim to my hair. This entire week I’ve made a point to put on simple makeup and make myself look nice. My husband loves it. I still feel somewhere in my mind that I will go to hell for it. It’s so difficult to be so much like everyone else and still feel Christian when you come from such a different back ground. Thank you thank you for posting this!
I come from the same background, tho for me wearing simple makeup and pretty clothes is part of healing. It’s a journey for sure. Hugs from one who understands ?
Very well said. Because we are in the middle of summer many women are parading around in very immodest clothing. The super short shorts need to go! 🙂
This may be my favourite article you have ever written Caroline. I think this is a great, balanced, Christ-centered perspective. I’ve been corrected before for my attempts to imply that modesty is a cultural thing. Certainly there are some aspects of modesty that transcend culture, but for the most part we can’t just pick a time period and go there 😉 God made us for such a time as this, and it’s our job as women to serve him here and now!
This is so good Caroline! Very well balanced.
I think this is so true. I think that adding bra cups to workout clothes and swimsuits that are so thin is another way to practice modesty in clothing. Read my tutorial on how to do this here: http://www.thelostapron.com/2016/01/workout-modesty-the-sports-bra.html
This is such a beautifully written post and is just spot on. I my self as i am getting more grownup- now 21 i have been more aware of modesty and what it means into days world and at times i think how i dress is not enough. This just hit home for me as i do dress modestly by today’s styles and fashions for my age group but i have always been like that as thats how my mum brought me up. I am modest but don’t stand out and i think thats the best saying you can think instead of rules and guilt of how you feel you should dress.
becci
Great post. Modesty is such an important thing to teach to our boys and girls. Teaching my boys to respect a womens body is getting harder and harder with such much pornography and immodest women around.
It is okay to stand out as the group that dresses modestly. Your post reminded me of something I recently read by a leader in my church:
“May I say to all of you, and particularly to you young people, that as the world moves further and further away from the principles and guidelines given to us by a loving Heavenly Father, we will stand out from the crowd because we are different. We will stand out because we dress modestly. We will be different because we do not use profanity and because we do not partake of substances which are harmful to our bodies. We will be different because we avoid off-color humor and degrading remarks. We will be different as we decide not to fill our minds with media choices that are base and demeaning and that will remove the Spirit from our homes and our lives. We will certainly stand out as we make choices regarding morality—choices which adhere to gospel principles and standards. Those things which make us different from most of the world also provide us with that light and that spirit which will shine in an increasingly dark world.
It is often difficult to be different and to stand alone in a crowd. It is natural to fear what others might think or say. Comforting are the words of the psalm: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”7 As we make Christ the center of our lives, our fears will be replaced by the courage of our convictions.”
My church actually as a pamphlet out called “For the Strength of the Youth,” it is such an amazing resource. Here is the section on modesty: https://www.lds.org/manual/for-the-strength-of-youth-fulfilling-our-duty-to-god/dress-and-appearance?lang=eng
Thank you for such a great post.
“Teaching my boys to respect a womens body is getting harder and harder with such much pornography and immodest women around.” I know this is a late comment but you think because some women show skin they can’t think of being treated with respect? becuase it’s our job to keep men from stumbling, it’s our fault when they do, becuase hey there men you shuld’ve covered up.
Wholeheartedly agree! : )
Sometimes it is hard to find current style with feminine modesty. But right now I don’t feel like that’s the case, with all the maxi length skirts and dresses everywhere.
I like how you said don’t overthink it. Some say it’s hard to find skirts, and it can be for young girls, but there’s plenty online if you look. Or if you’re frugal like me, frequent the thrift stores or make your own! Find a cute pattern and modern material…even homemade doesn’t have to equate prairie or frumpy.
Great post! I remember I used to daydream about living in the past time periods as you mentioned where things seemed much more simple. But they had very hard times as well. And I was told that God puts us where he wants us and when he wants us! If he meant for us to be born and live in a certain time period, than that’s His will and His will is perfect. He’s sovereign and knows what He’s doing, even if we don’t always understand it. Better to accept it then waste time wishing we lived in a different era. I remind myself of this whenever I start to wish I had lived back in the 1950’s, or 1900’s, or 1850’s, or whenever. I’ve even decreased the number of books I read that take place back then because they sometimes leave me feeling jealous and discontent about having to live in 2016 (**please note that’s just me personally and my conviction, not saying at all anyone else has to do it. There’s beautiful literature and old classics out there that I absolutely love, I am just saying for me I need to be careful how much I take it in as I can start to almost idolize those time periods). God has me here NOW for His reasons. And he knows best!
I do like the styles more from the past, though. I think they were prettier. Happily, the vintage look is in right now. 😉 I’ve even seen Victorian inspired looks in the stores. However, the frustrating thing to me is that anything I look at in the stores at the mall, etc. has to have something added or layered to make it modest. And that gets so hot this time of year! It’s all fine and well in Winter, but I’ve been very over heated this Summer just from having to wear tanks under things.
Also, 100% cotton clothing for ladies seems to be hard to find these days. It’s so much cooler!
Can I point out that the regency period was not in the 1700s? You lost me for a minute there, but I did manage to carry on and I appreciate all you had to say in the rest of the article.
I looked up several articles on what was considered the regency time period. Here is one thing I read: “The Regency period in England lasted from about 1790 until 1820 and we use the term to refer to the reign of the Prince of Wales who took to the throne when his father George III was deemed unfit to rule.”
So it looks like the time period started in the late 1700’s, and went into the early 1800’s.
Spot on! I will be filing this one away as I speak with my growing daughters!
This is exactly been my thoughts lately. I am a pastors wife that wears only skirts and so do my 4 girls (I have three boys). We are sickened by everyone’s opinions on skirt length and t-shirts styles, etc. I don’t set anyone else’s standards and I listen to God for mine. But this is so true. We know people who dress in 1980’s fashion from Goodwill but critique our fashion! HA I just want to glorify God in my life.
Ah yes the good old days when most of the women were very normal back then compared to today. And Lol, for many of us single good men looking for real love these days.
Just a small point: It is probably not reliable to base opinions on period dress from entertainment (Hollywood.) These sources are motivated by appealing to the tastes of a modern market. It would be better, perhaps, to make judgments based on classic artwork of a period. This will not always give a representative sample of “dress” from a period, though, as often portraits were done almost exclusively of the wealthy.
I always enjoy and appreciate your perspectives on family and homeschool matters. Thanks for your hard work.
That is a great point! I’ve seen lots of art work from these periods with the same type of dress on, which I guess is why I went with an example that many will know of. But you do have a good point!