I came across part of an article that had a section on the subject of modesty, and I thought it had some wonderful wisdom and insights that I think we could gleam from.

Modesty
I Timothy 2:9-15: In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Later on you see some of the same things written in the book of I Peter. I think that it’s wonderful that God put some of the same instructions in the Bible written by two different people. That’s because he knows human nature—someone may say, “Paul looked down on women.” I’ve actually heard people say that! God, knowing that, chose to speak these same things through two different writers! Also, don’t ignore the teaching of holy dress because you already practice it! You must understand it in order to teach it to your girls. You must understand it in order to teach it to your boys, so they can find godly wives and teach these things to their children. Also, if you think you can overlook this simply because you already practice it, then soon you won’t practice it.

There are two meanings for modesty. Number one is not revealing the body, or not enticing men to wrong thoughts. That’s very simple—the Scriptures say to not cause your brother to sin. It’s very simple to know that you shouldn’t dress immodestly, meaning you shouldn’t entice any man. Many might think that the believing men aren’t going to be enticed, but that’s not always true! We want to spare our brothers.

The second part of modesty means being quiet and not seeking to be the center of attention. Once, I took my little girl Lydia to the doctor, and they left her in panties for a long time without giving her a gown. Lydia complained that she wasn’t modest! That was exciting, but the nurse’s response nearly bowled me over. She said, “I haven’t heard that word in twenty years.” Sadly, the concept of modesty is gone, so we must be doubly diligent in not seeking the center of attention—and teaching our children likewise. Children automatically like flashy things. If you don’t curb this early on, you’ll have a big problem with they’re older. What is nearly every little girl’s favorite color? Red! They even want to paint their rooms red. If you take them out to the fabric store, they’ll pull out a big piece of fabric that has lions and tigers done in purple and orange and say, “Mom, this would look great on you!” But we as believers don’t want to look better than the other person. But oh, how our flesh screams to be noticed by others!

Bold colors and bold prints are often worn by someone with a bold spirit. Yet Paul lifts up the virtues of shamefacedness and sobriety. Don’t think of this as law, but know that he is wise, and knows that clothes reflect the heart—he’s trying to help us out here. Many women think of this as bondage, but if we could only learn to trust God on these things, we wouldn’t have a struggle. Sadly, many employees are more willing to please their boss than we are to please the God of the entire universe! Employers realize that dress reflects the attitude of the person. Think about it—doctors and nurses wear white (sterility), those in the military wear dark, serious colors (no soft pastels!), bank tellers wear nice clothes (to reflect prosperity), and these are just a few. The whole world understands that your dress reflects your heart. What do you want to reflect? Fashion? Prosperity? Sensuality? Young girls, simply being “cool”? Be a stranger and pilgrim, and delight to draw attention to Jesus Christ, not to you. Let good works adorn you. Don’t be afraid to be “weird” in the eyes of a wicked world.

To read the full article, here is the link: http://charityministries.org/theremnant/theremnant-March2006-godly-woman.cfm