Friday, November 24, 2006

Getting Used to Dresses

I came across this article a couple days ago and found it to be a blessing. Surely wish I knew of LAF when I first was learning about modesty!
"If you'll take some time just to look at old photographs in antique shops or on the web, you'll see women who spent their lives wearing dresses. No one ridiculed them. Everyone wore dresses or skirts, and they were able to do a wide variety of work, even farming, in them. The few who dared to dress like men were considered unfeminine. Today we have strayed so far from feminine dressing that women who have grown up in pants and sports shoes feel awkward in dresses. In this confused modern society, women feel uncomfortable wearing dresses in public and even at home. Who would have thought that a woman in a dress would be such an unusual sight that people would stop and stare? How far we haven't come!!
One of our problems is that we have been convinced that our first priority is to be comfortable. We hear that said over and over in the name of slovenly, immodest and unnattractive dressing. One thing we can learn from our Victorian forbearers is the attitude of putting others first and avoiding embarrassing or shocking behaviour. Our forebears were more concerned about appearing rude than almost anything. They were concerned about how people would remember them.
These days we are supposed to be so politically correct that when older people like myself see something totally shocking and inappropriate, we are forced, in the name of politeness, to act like we didn't notice. Girls can come to church in their pyjamas--or less--and no one has the nerve to say anything for fear of being accused of something untoward. If our great-grandparents saw what we are seeing today, they would certainly speak up about it, and it wouldn't always be pleasant. We need to think of how our way of dressing is affecting others, and work to dress in a non-offensive, yet pleasing, manner.
Modernists mock the old Victorian stays and corsets, while wearing spandex and jeans that are just as form-fitting and even tighter than the undergarments of the past. One reason women feel uncomfortable in dresses is that they are used to wearing these tight clothes and feel rather unprotected and cold when they wear a dress. Their tight jeans make their figures feel pulled together, well-shaped, and firm. If you have difficulty feeling trim and neat in a dress, invest in foundations that will make you feel well-dressed and comfortable.
You won't enjoy dresses if they are uninteresting, uninspiring and dull to you, so don't wear fabrics and styles that make you feel depressed. It wasn't too many years (or decades) ago that a new dress helped lift women from a bad day, sadness, or depression. New clothes, if they are the right color, pattern, print, or style for you, can make you feel energetic, optimistic, and creative. And you don't have to spend a fortune!" Read the full article here: http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/artman/publish/article_649.shtml

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This article makes some good points, but corsets were abused with tight lacing to such a point that bodies were permanently distorted in their shape during the Victorian age as well as some other eras. Everything we do has to be weighed in light Scripture.

Cheri said...

Thanks for commenting! I personally don't think tightly laced corsets were very smart either, but I just appreciated the articleas a whole.