Some Thoughts on Feminine Dress

Dear friends,

It's been almost one year since I (and my girls) started wearing skirts full-time. Here's how it all began......

 Last spring, I was really encouraged - and challenged -  by reading Amy's posts @  She Wears Skirts Series, and Caroline's posts @ The Modest Mom.
(You can read my post about skirts here.)

But even before I had stumbled upon  their  blogs,  the Lord had already been dealing with me about what I was wearing, which I call the "The Uniform of the Day" :  jeans and t-shirts.  I knew that, as Christians, we are to be "set apart" from the world (Psalm 4:3) "not conformed" to it (Romans 12:2), and that we were "to keep oneself unspotted" from it (James 1:27).   I had to admit to myself that  what I was wearing was not separate from the world because I looked exactly like almost every other woman when I went out in public. Not only did I consider myself not separated from the world, but I just didn't feel feminine in what I was wearing. However, I  felt very feminine in my Sunday clothes.

As I read the posts in the series, the topic came up at lunch one day. I asked the children, "What's the first thing that pops into your mind when you see a lady in a long skirt?" My then 9 year-old son summed it up well.   His answer was," I would think, 'Wow! There's something different about her!'"

Exactly! We are supposed to different from the world - even in how we dress.  And  in our society, with the gender lines blurred, or sometimes non-existent, it's hard to distinguish  male from female these days.

So I found myself looking forward to each new post and loving what I was reading.  And  I felt the Lord tugging on my heart even more. I knew what He was trying to tell me:  make the change..literally - to embrace my femininity, to love being the woman God created me to be..... and to be more modest at the same, (which is a topic for another  post).  : )  The Lord made it very clear to me and I knew what I had to do.
 
But there was the question about how to afford practically a whole new wardrobe. I had Sunday clothes, but no skirts to wear around the house, or  to run errands, etc. And I would need some shoes, too.  The Lord graciously provided exactly what I needed from thrift stores, and also material to make skirts for me and my girls.

 I must tell you that I  feel much more feminine in a long, flowing skirt than I ever did in a pair of jeans or even capris. And for the record, my hubby says, "Dear, you look really nice" much more now than he ever did when I wore jeans.  :)  My daughters act more feminine in their skirts, too.

 I also find that I can do anything in skirts that I could do in jeans..from cleaning the house to weeding the garden.  My sweet daughter-in-law gave me an apron a couple of years ago, I use it on a daily basis to keep my skirts clean.

So it's been a year since the switch and I have yet to be questioned by family or  friends about why we wear skirts. Maybe it's because they're thinking, "They homeschool and wear skirts. Typical weirdos."  ;) 

There's a quote from Kim Brenneman in her book, "Large Family Logistics" that was a wonderful encouragement to me while switching over to skirts. She said, "Our foremothers settled this land, built houses, planted gardens, and tended animals in long skirts and beautiful dresses. Even their aprons were wonderful to behold! Surely in our day of microwaves, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners, we can do our chores with as much feminine flair as they. Personally, I feel it is uplifting to the spirit to go through each day in womanly attire. Let's dignify our work by dressing appropriately and beautifully for it!"

Now obviously, I realize that there are people who would call me legalistic, but I disagree. I 'm not legalistic.  I'm  liberated  -  in the right sense of the word;  liberated to embrace how the Lord created me - to be a woman, to act like a woman, and to dress like a woman.  

Have a blessed day,








linking up at The Modest Mom
                                                             Deep Roots at Home
                                                            Feminine Friday 
Thanks for reading, friends. And I try to respond to each comment that you leave.   :)