“Girls do not dress for boys. They dress for themselves, and of course, each other. If girls dressed for boys, they’d just walk around naked at all times.” -Betsey Johnson
What do you think, friends? True, or untrue?
I think that we dress, in large part, according to what we personally like and how we want to be perceived. I know that my personality comes out in what I wear, though I can’t define how or why. It’s not that I consciously ask myself, “What can I wear to show what kind of a person I am?” I doubt you do, either. But nevertheless, we like the things we like for a reason. Three friends, all appreciative and admiring of each others’ dress, can look at the same clothing catalog and all pick out totally different things that they think are absolutely fantastic. Crazy, right? Who we are comes out in what we choose to wear. It’s really kind of fun when you think about it. There are so many different outlets in which to express our God-given personalities. We reveal ourselves in what we create. That kind of self-expression points to a Creator who designed us uniquely and individually, and with a natural longing to communicate –to know others and to be known by others. Yes, we dress for ourselves. And, in many ways, it’s a wonderful thing. In its purest form, how we dress is yet another outward example of our inward desire for beauty –a desire that humanity, created in the image of God, possesses because it reflects who God Himself is: a God of order and perfection, of limitless creativity, a God who is not only the Creator of beauty, but the definition of it.
Sometimes, in our Christian circles, we get so caught up in debating modesty and encouraging women to let their adornment be “not merely of the outer person” that we forget that word “merely.” God doesn’t give us a dress code. He doesn’t tell us to wear plain black suits and dresses, veils and caps, boring shoes. He certainly could, and we would certainly be called to obey. But He simply doesn’t. When He commands women to adorn our hearts and not just our bodies (because it is a beautiful spirit that He sees as precious), He is not limiting our fun or our creativity! Instead, He is setting us free from the kind of materialism and objectification that defines so many cultures; that attitude that expects little more out of femininity than ornamentation, that a standard that judges us first and foremost by what the eye can see. Christianity, enslaving? Never. Christianity is the greatest women’s lib movement, because in Christ we are liberated from judging ourselves through the eyes of men, and now we are free to see ourselves through the eyes of a Savior who loves us unconditionally, and calls us beautiful not because of what we look like (though He created that and calls it very good), but because of what He promises to do in our hearts.
So what do you think, friends? Is there a place for fashion in the Christian life? If so, how big of a place? Is having an interest in dressing beautifully and artistically just conforming to the world, or can this, too, be transformed by the renewal of our minds into yet another avenue for Christ’s glory (Romans 12:1)?
Something to think about. I wish I had the answers, but I’ve been wrestling with these things for a long time myself.
S K Y + B L U E 
These are good thoughts. I, too, have often considered the place of fashion in human culture, and especially as it’s related to women. Funny how a thing that was originally intended by God to cover our shame has now become a mass market, and something that we take pleasure in. I wrestle with that idea: should I be concerned about what I wear, when clothes are just another reminder that I stand morally naked before almighty God?
Like you said, though, in many ways fashion is also a reminder of Christ. We’re told that in the new kingdom we’ll wear white robes, the simple symbol of His righteousness “on” us. And in Him we are liberated from shame and can in some sense “redeem” what we lost or perverted in the Garden.
I think that fashion is important. I think that we should take care in the way that we dress. I think that modesty is first and foremost an issue of the heart: a woman’s modesty does not solely depend on what she wears outwardly, but what she believes in her heart to be true of herself. Her confidence either in her own beauty or in Christ’s beauty will shine through.
I love clothes. I love experimenting with them and using them to express my personality. But I don’t ever want to forget that they’re another reminder of Christ’s work on my behalf.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Kara. As usual, I learned a lot from your thoughts and insight! (I check your blog just about every day by the way, it’s one of my very favorites.)
“Funny how a thing that was originally intended by God to cover our shame has now become a mass market, and something that we take pleasure in. I wrestle with that idea: should I be concerned about what I wear, when clothes are just another reminder that I stand morally naked before almighty God? ”
I thought about that too…it isn’t as though clothing was part of God’s original creation. It’s really more of a reminder of our sin, and what we COULD have been. But I also know that God glories in redeeming what has been broken through the Fall. Every Christian is an example of that. And, as you mentioned, we will wear white robes in Heaven. I think it’s interesting that we won’t go back to our pre-Fall state of nakedness. Maybe it’s because now we are no longer innocent, and we do need to be covered with the righteousness of Christ. We can’t stand before Him on our own, we need Him to cover us. He died to dress us in white.