The Bible teaches modesty in dress. “In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel.” 1 Timothy 2:9. This forbids display in dress. Any device designed to attract attention to the wearer or to excite admiration (e.g., gaudy colors, profuse ornamentation) is excluded from the modest apparel that God’s Word enjoins.
Our dress is to be inexpensive—not with “gold or pearls or costly clothing.” Verse 9.
Money is a trust from God. It is not ours to expend for the gratification of pride or ambition. In the hands of God’s children it is food for the hungry and clothing for the naked. It is a defense to the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, a means of preaching the gospel to the poor. Happiness could be brought to many hearts if only the money that is now spent for show were used wisely. Consider the life of Christ. Study His character and be partakers with Him in His self-denial.
In the professed Christian world enough is spent for jewelry and needlessly expensive dress to feed all the hungry and to clothe the naked. Fashion and display absorb the means that might comfort the poor and suffering. They rob the world of the gospel of the Savior’s love. Missions languish. Multitudes perish for want of Christian teaching. Beside our own doors and in foreign lands many are untaught and unsaved.
Inasmuch as God has overspread the earth with His bounties, filled its storehouses with the comforts of life, and freely given us a saving knowledge of His truth, what excuse can we offer for not meeting the needs of the widow and fatherless, the sick and suffering, the untaught and unsaved? In the day of God, when brought face to face with Him who gave His life for these needy ones, what excuse will we offer for spending time and money on indulgences that God has forbidden? Will not Christ say to us, “‘I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ... naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me’”? Matthew 25:42, 43.
But our clothing, while modest and simple, should be of good quality, of becoming colors, and suited for service. It should be chosen for durability rather than display. It should provide warmth and proper protection. The wise woman described in the Proverbs “is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with double garments.” Proverbs 31:21, KJV margin.
Our clothing should be clean. Uncleanliness in dress is unhealthful, and thus defiling to both body and soul. “You are the temple of God. ... If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.” 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17.
In all respects our apparel should be healthful. “Above all things,” God desires us to “be in health”—health of body and of soul. And we are to be workers together with Him for the health of both soul and body. Both are promoted by healthful dress.
Our apparel should have the grace, the beauty, the appropriateness of natural simplicity. Christ has warned us against the pride of life, but not against its grace and natural beauty. He pointed to the flowers of the field, to the lily unfolding in its purity, and said, “‘Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’” Matthew 6:29. Thus by the things of nature Christ illustrated the beauty that Heaven values—the modest grace, simplicity, purity, and appropriateness that would make our attire pleasing to Him.
The most beautiful clothing He urges us to wear on the soul. No outward adorning can compare in value or loveliness to that “gentle and quiet spirit” which in His sight is “very precious.” 1 Peter 3:4.
To those who make the Savior’s principles their guide, how precious are His words of promise: “‘Why do you worry about clothing? ... If God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you? ... Therefore do not worry, saying, ... “What shall we wear?” ... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’” Matthew 6:28-33.
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3.
Avoid Slavery to Fashion
What a contrast is this to the weariness, the unrest, the disease and wretchedness, that result from the rule of fashion! How contrary to the principles given in the Scriptures are many of the modes of dress that fashion prescribes! Think of the styles that have prevailed for the last few hundred years, or even for the last few decades. Many of them when not in style would be declared immodest. Many would be pronounced inappropriate for a refined, God-fearing, self-respecting woman.Making changes in apparel merely for the sake of fashion is not sanctioned by the Word of God. Changing styles and adding elaborate, costly ornamentation not only squander the time and means of the rich, they lay waste the energies of mind and soul. They impose a heavy burden on the middle and poorer classes. Many who can hardly earn a livelihood, and who with simple patterns might make their own clothing, are compelled to resort to the dressmaker in order to be in fashion. Many a poor woman, for the sake of a stylish gown, has deprived herself of warm undergarments and paid the penalty with her life. Many another, coveting the display and elegance of the rich, has been enticed into paths of dishonesty and shame. Many a home is deprived of comforts, many a man is driven to embezzlement or bankruptcy, to satisfy the extravagant demands of his wife or children.
Many a woman forced to prepare for herself or her children the stylish costumes demanded by fashion is doomed to ceaseless drudgery. For the sake of fashion she sacrifices health and that calmness of spirit so essential to the right guidance of her children. Improvement of mind and heart is neglected. The soul is dwarfed.
The mother has no time to study the principles of physical development, that she may know how to care for the health of her children. She has no time for ministering to their mental or spiritual needs, no time to sympathize with them in their little disappointments and trials, or to share in their interests and pursuits.
Almost as soon as they come into the world, children are subjected to fashion’s influence. They hear more of dress than of their Savior. They see their mothers consulting the fashion magazines more earnestly than the Bible. The display of dress is treated as of greater importance than the development of character. Parents and children are robbed of that which is best and sweetest and truest in life. For fashion’s sake they are cheated out of a preparation for the life to come.
It was the adversary of all good who instigated the invention of the everchanging fashions. He desires nothing so much as to bring grief and dishonor to God by making human beings miserable and ruining them. One of the means by which he most effectively accomplishes this is through the devices of fashion that weaken the body, enfeeble the mind, and belittle the soul.
Many women are subject to serious maladies, and their sufferings are greatly increased by their manner of dress. Instead of preserving their health for the trying emergencies that are sure to come, too often by their wrong habits they sacrifice not only health but life, and leave to their children a legacy of woe in poor health, perverted habits, and false ideas of life.
Any style of dress that cramps the lungs, making correct breathing difficult, should be avoided. It is essential to health that the chest have room to expand to its fullest extent in order that the lungs may be enabled to take full inspiration. When the lungs are restricted, the amount of oxygen received into them is lessened, and the waste, poisonous matter that should be thrown off through the lungs is retained.
Dress for Health and Beauty
One of the chief elements in physical beauty is symmetry, the harmonious proportion of parts. And the correct model for physical development is to be found not in the figures displayed by French designers but in the human form as developed according to the laws of God in nature. God is the author of all beauty, and only as we conform to His ideal shall we approach the standard of true beauty.Another evil that custom fosters is the unequal distribution of the clothing, so that while some parts of the body have more than is required, others are insufficiently clad. The feet and limbs, being remote from the vital organs, should be especially guarded from cold by abundant clothing. It is impossible to have health when the extremities are habitually cold, for if there is too little blood in them there will be too much in other portions of the body. Perfect health requires perfect circulation, but this cannot be had while three or four times as much clothing is worn on the body where the vital organs are situated than on the feet and limbs.
A multitude of women are nervous and careworn because they deprive themselves of the pure air that would make pure blood and of the freedom of motion that would send the blood bounding through the veins, giving life, health, and energy. Many women have become confirmed invalids when they might have enjoyed health, and many have died of tuberculosis and other diseases when they might have lived their allotted term of life if they had dressed in accordance with health principles and exercised freely in the open air.
In order to secure the most healthful clothing, the needs of every part of the body must be carefully studied. The character of the climate, the surroundings, the condition of health, the age, and the occupation—all must be considered. Every article of dress should fit easily, obstructing neither the circulation of the blood nor free, full, natural breathing.
Women who are in failing health can do much for themselves by sensible dressing and by exercising. When suitably dressed for outdoor enjoyment, let them exercise in the open air, carefully at first but increasing the amount of exercise as they can endure it. By taking this course, many might regain health and live to take their share in the world’s work.
Be Independent of Fashion
Instead of struggling to meet the demands of fashion, women should have the courage to dress healthfully and simply. Instead of sinking into a mere household drudge, the wife and mother should take time to read, keep herself well informed, be a companion to her husband, and keep in touch with the developing minds of her children. She should use wisely her opportunities to influence her dear ones for the higher life. She should take time to make the Savior a daily companion and familiar friend. She should take time for the study of His Word, take time to go with the children on nature walks, and learn of God through the beauty of His works.
Let her keep cheerful and buoyant. Make the evening a pleasant social season, a family reunion after the day’s duties. Many a husband would thus be led to choose the society of his home before that of the clubhouse or bar. Many a son would be kept from spending time at the corner store or joining a street gang. Many a daughter would be saved from frivolous, misleading associations. The influence of the home would be to parents and children what God designed it to be—a lifelong blessing.