Sack Cloth and Ashes no longer in Style

I don't care what you say about me; even bad publicity is good publicity 

1 Timothy 2:9 ESV 

    "Likewise, also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire."  It seems Target is taking this biblical passage literally. Have you seen the dresses Target is selling lately? It looks like Little House on the Prairie up in there. Who is buying those dresses? 

    The Bible holds so many rules and regulations for women. For me my style is an expression of who I am or at times who I am striving to be. I have said, my apparel speaks to others, including strangers, long before I utter a word. How many times have you heard a man complain how long it takes a woman to get dressed? How many times have you changed outfits when getting ready for an event?

    Social media has joined in the STYLE game with men and women posting pictures of their outfits. The people go wild hitting the like buttons on cutting edge fashion. The outfits alone do not draw the masses. It is a combination of clothes and attitude that sells the onlooker on the clothing items.

    Photographers and models get in various twisted positions to get the perfect picture. And when everything falls into place you have a perfect picture selling anything and everything to the populous beginning with just the right clothing items. Need a family car - put the people in the pitch in everyday general outer wear. Need to sell a sports car - put the people in the pitch in classy upscale clothing. Need to sell a motorcycle - leather clothing items required.

    What do the style described in the Bible passage tell you about the person? I say it screams PAY ME NO ATTENTION. I know others will argue it is modesty, purity, or humbleness. I say invisibility is the goal. How invisible must a woman be. She has also been instructed not to speak in church 1 Corinthians 14:34 "Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says".

    What is self-control clothing items women are instructed to wear in the Bible? Are there clothing items that MAKE you lose control when you wear them? I know you are saying there are clothes that say HERE I AM AND I AM SEXUAL, but is demonstrating sexuality being out of control? I would argue people who are color blind and mix the wrong colors or patterns together can be someone who lacks self-control, and I would be wrong. What about people who have no style at all. I mean come on how hard can it be to not wear clothes that clash? I believe lacking self-control is adding another piece of jewelry like Mr. T. That is showing a lack of control to me and that was the idea behind his signiture style.

    How do you avoid costly attire? Inflation has taken the price of everything through the roof. I remember when I was a child, and my family would go shoe shopping for back to school. Back in the day my mom could find a nice pair of shoes for me costing $5.00. Now, shoe prices do go to the extreme. Should the woman wearing designer shoes be seen as sinful? Do her shoes tell you of her sins? Is the woman in the $20.00 pair of shoes a modest, self-controlled woman not in costly attire as the Bible requires of the Christian woman?

    Gold and pearls belong to the wicked? Are we supposed to use the guidelines of biblical attire to judge the person's character and heart by a gold ring or string of pearls? It would seem we should. If I am to decipher this passage on face value, it would seem wearing poverty is an outward symbol of how religious one may be. Is the look of poverty, what we who believe Scripture, should be clothed in? Should our street style be "I choose not to draw any attention by fashion but to draw attention for the lack of fashion?" No matter what you wear a statement is being sent.

    I have become jaded with these outward appearances because everybody is trying to pitch (sell) something to the masses through clothing or style. What is being sold is completely vain. Clothing manipulates whether it is for good or evil. A person can be selling a fantasy or lie with clothing. I find it strange the clothing code is not for both men and women. It is the woman who must put forth the effort to use her body as her billboard. It is not self-control through clothing choice but power through clothing choices. A person has the power to say who they are through clothes.

    My mind begins to wander when I see the dressed down look of lack of color or accessories on a woman. I wander what impression she is trying to make with her style. Yes, my impression jumps to religious connections when I see a woman without makeup and wearing orthopedic shoes just to make me want to steal her shoes and burn them. I also wander if she is abused or have been abused in her life to want to hide behind drabness. Modest clothing makes me wonder what scar is being hid.

Oh, stop pretending that when you see women in prairie clothes you don't assume they belong to a cult.

    I have to search my bias and ask myself do I recoil at this biblical fashion statement because I myself am not a woman who desires to wear biblically acceptable clothing or am I offended because my respectability does rely on my outer garments, but I don't want to be invisible as the Bible say I should be. This verse from the Bible makes me face the truth. I do want some attention and I choose my clothing to match the amount of attention I want from people? Either way, just as I am judging other's appearance, I am being judged for my appearance. It all boils down to there is judgement based on your chosen style and if you are going to base your expression of self through your clothing choices then be prepared to be judged and labeled.

    I also must add I do recognize there is a thot style many women do wear. You know the style. It is barely there clothing lacking coverage in specific areas of the body. That fashion sends a clear message to onlookers. Barely there, tight, skimpy, boldly colored fashion will not give the impression of modesty and may very well indicate the woman does not have self-control. Drama and chaos may be a constant in this particular woman's life. Men are attracted to this style and marriage or taking this particular woman home to meet momma is not on their minds.

    So, we are faced with two extremes. One bland, pass me by, I belong to God style and the seducing come over here where the action is style. 

    There is a horrible trend of mothers dressing their toddlers in little girl slut clothes. Yes, I went there because it's ridiculous. Babies should look like babies and play and have fun and do baby things before becoming adults. We have adults acting like babies because they were never encouraged to be a child when they were young. They had weaves, manicures, and designer clothes, at age two, and never went through the stages of growth and development. They were born and went straight to being equal to adults, immature adults, never leaving that too early stage of growth. Playing grown up is fun. Being an adult, not so much.

    Sorry, I got off topic a bit. So, if a woman wants to be respected, she will choose respectable clothing. If she wants sexual attention, she will choose the clothes that will get attention. You have heard people use the phrase, "She's out there." A phrase that indicates she's displaying herself, not modest, and she "turn up" meaning losing self-control having fun to the highest.

    People will always make assumptions about a person, and we know that. People get offended and say don't judge a book by its cover. But as an author, I choose the cover for my books for just that reason. It gives the reader an idea of what's inside and you should want to buy it. The book cover is everything in the book world. It draws or repels a person. Women spend a lot of time and money on their appearance, and it would be a HUGE lie if you believe your style does not tell or give a glimpse of your character.

*****side note: In biblical times prostitutes were recognizable because they braided their hair and wore jewelry and that was the reasoning behind the Bible passage. *****

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