Modesty

If you live in Ignored and read the paper, you may have seen an article yesterday about modesty. In Sacramento, California there is group supported by the Catholic Diocese called Pure Fashion Show. This spring they put on a sold out fashion show of casual and formal wear (there was a waiting list of people hoping to get tickets).

Summer always brings head shaking in our house as we observe what some females wear, sometimes even Christian mothers (not to worry, I don't have anyone in mind). We've worked hard to teach our girls the meaning of modesty since they could speak. They've seen dresses on Dancing with the Stars commercials and said, "Daddy, that dress is not modest." Right. And don't you ever try to wear one. We make them wear shirts under ill-fitting sundresses and bike shorts or leggings under shorter skirts and dresses. I've wonder if my parents knew how lucky they were that when I was in high school, the cool clothes were XL flannel shirts. I hope that fashion returns when my girls hit the teenage years.

In case giant flannel shirts don't return, I love the clothing guidelines of the Pure Fashion Show and want to share them. They allow a girl to look fashionable, but still modest. The swimsuit guideline is nonexistent unfortunately. I think we will adopt these guidelines in our family (yes, for me too). (From the ***0 News, July 2, 2008)
Shorts: Put your arms straight down at your sides. If the bottom of the shorts is higher than the tip of your longest finger, the shorts are too short.
Tops: The neckline should be no lower than four fingers below the collarbone. No spaghetti straps or tops made out of thin material. Straps on tops should be at least two fingers wide.
Dresses and skirts: No shorter than four fingers above the kneecap. Should not be tight-fitting.
Undergarments: Should never be outergarments. No exposed bra straps.