This post was originally from January 20, 2009.
In attempting to answer the question, "What is feminine dress?" I had to go back in history just a little bit. Well, actually I began a few years ago with the Bible and found 1 Timothy 2:9...
"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
...and 1 Peter 3:3-5...
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful."
So when I study the Bible, I conclude that my clothing should be modest and that I shouldn't be worrying myself with fancy and expensive attire. I do not believe that these verses say "thou shall not wear jewelry or braid thy hair"! This is not a command against those things mentioned---just a reminder that our beauty should not come from these things. We should be far more concerned with our inner beauty.
That's it. That's all I read.
So where does this idea to dress more femininely come from?
Well, to begin with, I truly believe God intended for there to be a difference. I spoke about that here. I also touched on it here. At no other point in history have women had to worry about "trying" to dress like women! The unisex, blending of genders concerns me.
One reason it concerns me to see men and women's roles and clothing become indistinguishable from each other is that it severely breaks down the family. The Bible speaks of the order of things in Ephesians 5:22-23 and also in 1 Corinthians 11:3. When things get too blurry between a husband's and wife's roles...the order doesn't work so well. I think the way we often dress today also encourages/enables women to behave more masculinely than ever before. And when women behave more masculinely...men sometimes behave more femininely (metrosexual anyone?)...and it all really goes against God's creation.
So, who tells us how to dress? Well, the most important source is God's Word and we have discussed that now. Tomorrow we will explore the other influences on women's clothing.
Any thoughts so far?
Besides being modest (as in hiding cleavage, etc.) and knowing true beauty comes from within, I never thought much about dressing in a feminine way. I enjoy shows like What Not to Wear--which help me identify ways to look good in my clothes by helping me to make wise choices the first time around. Hmmm...interesting series. I'll have to stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteLove it! The lines between the roles of genders are often blurred. I am interested to see where the rest of this goes!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up Brenda.
I'm listening...
ReplyDeleteI dont know how I feel yet, but I am listening.
I do know that I want to be more feminine....
You know, all of what you have said makes sense to me. However, I never really sat down to think just *how blurred* gender roles and the way we women dress are/can be so masculine. And your mention of metrosexual? That's so true!! Never gave it thought!
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Brenda, making me think! :)