Saturday, November 03, 2007

Fashion-Smashion


Once upon a time, I remember when it was complimentary if someone told you they liked your skirt or your necklace. It meant they found your good taste worth remarking about. Now, I think the sentiment behind many compliments has died by method of overkill. The traditional greeting of "Hello, how are you?" is too often replaced by, "Hey! You look so cuuuute! I love your shirt!"

I have nothing against compliments when they are sincere, but I do confess to missing the good ol' "how are you" which considered the friend's wellbeing--and not only their clothes. I wonder, what the perspective of a Christian young woman should be concerning fashion. How much should we care about what we wear? Is it worldly to have an interest in styles?

The other day, a study of Proverbs 31 revealed a characteristic of that virtuous woman that I had never noticed before.The Proverbs 31 woman is said to have clothed her family well--in scarlet, to be exact. She is also spoken of dressing herself in garments of purple. Purple, being the most expensive color to produce, and was the symbol of royalty. Does this mean that the Proverbs 31 woman is of the same caliber as a queen? Or do these verses indicate that she dressed herself and her family creatively, with fine taste? I'm not sure; but I do think that if God saw it appropriate for the Proverbs 31 woman to dress in this way, we can't entirely label the fashion-conscious as being "worldly."

At the same time, those would never dream of appearing out of doors in an outdated pair of jeans are missing the greater, wider world that exists. There is a commendation greater than the praise of their girlfriends. There is a deeper beauty than can be found in the right outfit. As Shakespeare said, "There are more things in Heaven and earth...than are dreamt of in your philosophy." The apostle Paul suffered shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonment, all for the sake the of the truth he had found. He said, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

As long as the human race wears clothes, they will matter; but as far as caring deeply about them, life is simply too short.

Labels: ,