I was listening to the radio as I was driving to pick up some of the children who were visiting friends and I heard a talk-show host comment (with surprised and almost disgusted amazement) that men are really going beyond the appropriate boundaries of dress when they will now buy and wear “mantyhose” – men’s pantyhose – and there was a bit of chuckle-chuckle over that one.
So, yeah… I did… I did come home and google the mantyhose and, yes, I did see they are, indeed, being marketed (don’t even ask why I didn’t link them here). But you know what I was thinking? You know what I’ve been thinking for a long time? Well, I’ll tell you… why is it strange? why is it even appalling to hear of or consider that a man is wearing hosiery commonly accepted as ‘women’s clothing’ and why is it so peculiar to both men and women that men would wear stuff pertaining to the fairer gender? For, consider this: women wear *men’s* clothing every day. They wear men’s clothing everyday and it is perfectly n-o-r-m-a-l. Strange how this is not obvious. Stranger, still, how this is not blatantly obvious to Christian women! I mean, I can and do understand how women outside the Word would just go with the flow of the mainstream — but women who have the Scriptures and fail to see (and dress accordingly) God’s clear distinctive design and created difference between men and women — this, I truly cannot understand. Truly, I cannot.
I’ve had people ask me over the years how I came to the decision to wear exclusively feminine clothing – and dresses/skirts in particular. And, I suppose in addition to my preference for wearing dresses for most all of my adult life – bcz of many things – including how I felt in dresses and how I was treated when wearing dresses and how I loved sewing dresses and skirts for myself and then our daughters.
But then there came a time — sort of a collision of a couple of events many years ago. One being that I read in the Word that men should not wear that which pertaineth to women… etc., etc., and I decided I would take this to heart and pray about it for my own life and settle it once and for all. Then, the other event, in that aforementioned collision, occurred while I was at a seminar and saw an attractive woman retrieving her belongings each time there was a break in the meetings — and time after time this woman would stoop down or bend over to gather her things and in full view was the inseam of her slacks (okay, so you get the picture). And somehow, that day, the Scripture and the view of that whole should-be-private-area sort of confirmed to me the decision to, as a general rule, to never wear pants for outerwear again. I determined that day that just as bizarre as it would be for Wes to reach across to my side of the closet and wear a feminine garment, so also it must be just as unseemly for me to reach over and wear a pair of jeans or a camouflage shirt or a manly jacket or whatever.
Now… I must say that I might wear some pants for some extreme reason – though that reason has not yet come up – but I might. That’s why I say that as a general rule, I never wear pants – or pants with no complete covering. I wear leggings under dresses for hiking – and leggings under dresses for snow-play and for working outside in winter. But slacks or jeans or pants or… whatever: no.
Though wearing dresses much of the time prior to that, that decision was made well over fifteen years ago and so, I suppose, the likelihood of something coming up to change my mind is quite slim. And so I continue this journey – it feels rather like a pilgrimage or even a crusade from time to time as I seek to demonstrate the need for women to abandon manly dress and embrace femininity. I have occasional opportunities to teach on this matter — but even then, the opposition to distinctly feminine clothing is quite strong. One thing we women are not short on is strong opinion — that is for sure, especially when defending our position on a matter. Or our children. ;o)
I ache for the women who are slaves to fashion and wear clothing that both attracts attention and teases men — clothing that entices but won’t fulfill — clothing that speaks louder than their professed walk — clothing that says they don’t embrace the loving design of the Creator God. I ache for daughters who unintentionally tease boys — worse when it’s an intentional decision. I ache for the girls who are sensually used in the thoughts of others bcz of their ignorance or arrogance.
But… what’s probably the most difficult to accept is the willingness to continue rejecting the unique design of men and of women — and dressing to both signify and dignify it. O, for the end of the double standard of dress for believers… that the Word of God would be believed.
