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A pilgrim mindset is a fundamental aspect of the dress issue. The born again child of God says with Abraham, his father in the faith, “This world is not my home; I’m just passing through.” The child of God knows that he lives in a fallen world that is in rebellion against his heavenly Father, and he does not want to be conformed to its ways (Romans 12:2). He tests everything by God’s Word. He is not afraid of being different. A pilgrim mindset was what motivated me to cut my long hair after I was saved at age 23 and changed my entire thinking about dress.
Far from being a non-issue, clothing is a fundamental issue in church and society. Clothing has been a fundamental issue ever since man fell and his heart became polluted and God “made coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
Clothing is a language. It’s called a social message, a fashion statement, “a prevailing mode of expression.” American fashion designer Rachel Zoe said, “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak” (goodreads.com). Vivienne Westwood, who created the rock punk look, said, “I think fashion is the strongest form of communication there is. ... It’s only interesting to me if it’s subversive: that’s the only reason I’m in fashion, to destroy the word ‘conformity’” (Jon Savage, Time Travel: Pop, Media and Sexuality 1976-96, p. 119).
Pants on women in modern Western society broke two fundamental biblical principles:
First, it broke down the God-ordained distinction of the sexes. It was blatantly created as a unisex fashion to deny that “God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). Pants on women was nearly unknown in my grandparents’ generation. One of my favorite photos is of my godly maternal grandmother hoeing peas in a long dress. Pants on women were invented by feminist designer Coco Chanel in the 1940s during World War II when women were leaving the homes to work in factories, but it took a while to catch on and overcome the resistance of biblical influence. It was the 1960s when the great change came on the back of the rock & roll revolution. The pantsuit was created by homosexual fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in 1966 (“How Yves Saint Laurent Revolutionized Women’s Fashion,” Business Insider, Aug. 8, 2011). Laurent has been called “the man who put women in trousers” (“Celebrating Yves Saint Laurent,” Daily Mail, June 2, 2008). The style was called “defiant,” “irreverent,” “daring,” and “androgynous” (Business Insider, Ibid.). It was all about “in your face” rebellion and unisexuality. Models popularized the fashion by appearing with “slicked back hair and masculine posture.” At first, respectable hotels and restaurants did not allow female guests to wear them. How far we have come! The pantsuit spoke of “an alignment with burgeoning feminist politics”; it declared, “If men can wear this, why can’t I?” (Ibid.) Feminist Linda Grant observes that the pantsuit “put women on an equal sartorial footing with men” and “is what fashion gave to feminism” (“Feminism Was Built on the Trouser Suit,” The Guardian, June 3, 2008). Pants on women was a major part of the unisex movement that has broken down the divinely-intended barriers between the sexes and has contributed to the current frenzy for transsexual rights.
Second, pants on women are sexually immodest, highlighting the woman’s figure in a sensual way, and the tighter the pants, the greater the sensuality or “hot” factor. Tight pants were created by Calvin Klein, a bisexual fashion designer. When his pants appeared in 1974, they sold 200,000 pairs in the first week (“Calvin Klein: A Stylish Obsession,” Entrepreneur, Oct. 10, 2008). Tights worn as pants (leggings) were promoted by Gianni Versace, a homosexual fashion designer who was murdered in 1997.
To “preach the Word” is to apply the Bible to every issue in life, and we intend to do so as long as God enables.
As for older women, they are to set the spiritual and moral standard for the younger women, and the younger women are to train their daughters. The best time to learn to dress modestly is in childhood.
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