What are you currently reading?

Started by Francisco Suárez, December 26, 2012, 09:48:56 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Rose

Quote from: JubilateDeo on July 07, 2015, 03:09:30 PM
I have heard from some women (mostly on the internet) that finding modest clothing is so hard for them, that they just gave up some time ago and just started buying loose fitting Amish clothes from places like The King's Daughters, etc.  The vast majority of clothes I see that would fit me in modern clothing stores are not appropriate for traditional Catholic women, so finding nice modest clothing is very challenging.  I'd never wear Amish clothes (those would be difficult for me to find) but it is a struggle not to just buy a bunch of shapeless muumuus and call it a wardrobe.  It is still worth it to try to dress nicely and modestly, because other people still have to look at you...

Pinterest is great for modest outfit ideas, although you still get the occasional Amish-looking garb. Colleen Hammond has a Pinterest account and following her boards can be very helpful. Obviously a lot of the items shown are triple-figure designer wear, but the general look can often be imitated with more affordable clothes, especially if you master the art of Ebay :)
To Jesus through Mary.

Remember the Holy Souls!

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
? J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Gardener

Some men drink; I thrift. Wife has a lot of skirts from my relaxation outings, and it's probably cheaper than a booze habit.

"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

Chestertonian

Quote from: Pon de Replay on July 07, 2015, 09:58:21 AM
How superficial are we supposed to get in our concerns about how cool we look in the eyes of the world?

I think there's more to worry about than the fashions on the cover of a book.  They look like a nice family; fashions are ephemeral.  January Jones can make early 60s housewife fashions look fetching, but I don't think anyone's clamoring for a return to those styles.  They're generally regarded as silly now.



But they were the norm when they were around.  "Goofy" is relative.  What someone wears isn't necessarily indicative of their spiritual disposition or whether or not they're a basketcase.  People who are really pious probably don't care if the clothes they're wearing are from the 60s or the 90s, as long as they're modest.  "Lo, the Kingdom of God is within you."
you can be counter cultural without looking like my mom's laura ashley catalog from 1986

"I am not much of a Crusader, that is for sure, but at least I am not a Mohamedist!"

Lydia Purpuraria

#888
Quote from: Chestertonian on July 07, 2015, 06:01:49 PM
Quote from: Pon de Replay on July 07, 2015, 09:58:21 AM
How superficial are we supposed to get in our concerns about how cool we look in the eyes of the world?

I think there's more to worry about than the fashions on the cover of a book.  They look like a nice family; fashions are ephemeral.  January Jones can make early 60s housewife fashions look fetching, but I don't think anyone's clamoring for a return to those styles.  They're generally regarded as silly now.



But they were the norm when they were around.  "Goofy" is relative.  What someone wears isn't necessarily indicative of their spiritual disposition or whether or not they're a basketcase.  People who are really pious probably don't care if the clothes they're wearing are from the 60s or the 90s, as long as they're modest.  "Lo, the Kingdom of God is within you."
you can be counter cultural without looking like my mom's laura ashley catalog from 1986

That's true.  Although I really don't care much about what's "in style" at the moment, I don't dress like I'm from the 80's.  However, what if someone wants to dress like they are from 1986?  Maybe that is how they are most comfortable, or how they think they are going to be most pleasing to God -- should they not do so for fear of being ridiculed or embarrassing to other Catholics?

I remember reading of how St. Gemma always wore the same black cloak whether it was summer or winter and she was chastised and mocked by a relative for wearing it to their wedding (I guess she embarrassed the relative).  Yet, she is now a Saint enjoying the beatific vision. While the relative is known for: being embarrassed by how St. Gemma dressed.  (Although hopefully that relative is now in heaven as well).

ETA:
from a quick search: the last printing of the book was 1998 -- so the picture of this family is almost 20 years old, anyway.

Gardener

The family was probably stylish then, or was at the very least not out of fashion.

Either way, the clothes do seem a bit ridiculous now.
"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother." - St. Maximilian Kolbe

LausTibiChriste

Quote from: Gardener on July 07, 2015, 09:06:11 PM
The family was probably stylish then, or was at the very least not out of fashion.

Either way, the clothes do seem a bit ridiculous now.

Regardless, just make sure youre wearing some at Mass G!
Lord Jesus Christ, Son Of God, Have Mercy On Me A Sinner

"Nobody is under any moral obligation of duty or loyalty to a state run by sexual perverts who are trying to destroy public morals."
- MaximGun

"Not trusting your government doesn't make you a conspiracy theorist, it means you're a history buff"

Communism is as American as Apple Pie

piabee

Quote from: LausTibiChriste on July 07, 2015, 10:14:56 PM
Quote from: Gardener on July 07, 2015, 09:06:11 PM
The family was probably stylish then, or was at the very least not out of fashion.

Either way, the clothes do seem a bit ridiculous now.

Regardless, just make sure youre wearing some at Mass G!

And coordinate with the liturgical color!

Bernadette

Quote from: Pon de Replay on July 07, 2015, 09:58:21 AM
What someone wears isn't necessarily indicative of their spiritual disposition or whether or not they're a basketcase.  People who are really pious probably don't care if the clothes they're wearing are from the 60s or the 90s, as long as they're modest.  "Lo, the Kingdom of God is within you."

Gotta agree with Pon here. It's none of my business what other people wear.
My Lord and my God.

Mono no aware

Quote from: Chestertonian on July 07, 2015, 06:01:49 PMyou can be counter cultural without looking like my mom's laura ashley catalog from 1986

Right.  But that doesn't mean that dressing out of fashion is a threat to serious Catholicism.  If anything, I think having a superficial and condescending attitude about "goofy" fashions is much more deleterious; it makes Catholicism look like a petty bourgeois religion with its adherents more focused on this world than the next. 

I don't deny that the people in the photo look a little unfashionable.  The photo might be twenty years old, but I'm not sure if those fashions were ever really in style.  I think that's what gives the family in the picture some charm.  They have a certain naiveté which is very appealing; they don't look like people who would be snarky or judgmental about something as trivial as outfits.  In short, they look like good Christians.

Mono no aware

Quote from: Lydia Purpuraria on July 07, 2015, 07:08:20 PMI remember reading of how St. Gemma always wore the same black cloak whether it was summer or winter and she was chastised and mocked by a relative for wearing it to their wedding (I guess she embarrassed the relative).  Yet, she is now a Saint enjoying the beatific vision. While the relative is known for: being embarrassed by how St. Gemma dressed.

Excellent.  My point exactly.

Christknight104

Is not the main objective  of modesty to not draw attention to oneself? Would not dressing up like someone from the 60s, though unintended, contradict the main point of modesty?

Fashion is indeed subjective. However, there is no doubt that Catholics for centuries have always had a reputation for good taste, whether in fashion, architecture, music, etc...  At least one would like to think so.

Mono no aware

Quote from: Christknight104 on July 08, 2015, 12:44:54 PM
Is not the main objective  of modesty to not draw attention to oneself? Would not dressing up like someone from the 60s, though unintended, contradict the main point of modesty?

Fashion is indeed subjective. However, there is no doubt that Catholics for centuries have always had a reputation for good taste, whether in fashion, architecture, music, etc...  At least one would like to think so.

I wasn't aware that the "main objective of modesty" is to "not draw attention to one's self."  I don't think we're supposed to try to make ourselves invisible.  Presumably a Catholic is permitted to dress nicely and look attractive, and if a person does this well, they will indeed draw some attention.  (In the case of a young person looking to attract a spouse, this may even be something of a necessity).  So I think a Christian is allowed to be somewhat fashionable, but their fashions aren't supposed to be too sexy or revealing.  ("Yikes!")

Anyway, people will vary in their tastes.  "Catholics for centuries" are not actually united in what they considered "good taste."  St. Paul, who cautioned against adorning one's self with "plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly attire," and St. Clement of Alexandria, who railed against "the embellishment of the body," clearly had very different standards in those early centuries than did the dandy Catholics who lived in the Baroque era and gussied themselves up with frilly shirts and extravagant gowns and powdered wigs.  So it's hard to get a gauge on standards, and people's personal tastes are naturally going to vary.  My objection in this thread was with the attitude that Catholics who dress by someone else's subjective definition of "dorky" are somehow bringing disrepute onto other Catholics.

As for "dressing like someone from the 60s," I don't think that would draw much attention these days.  I believe "retro" fashions are popular.  I hate that hipster darling Zooey Deschanel, but I have to admit she does do a good job of tastefully reviving some of the 1960s mod fashions.  I wouldn't say she's immodest.

Maximilian

Quote from: Christknight104 on July 08, 2015, 12:44:54 PM

Is not the main objective  of modesty to not draw attention to oneself?

No. A nun's habit is a practice of modesty. But it certainly draws attention when you wear it on the street.

Chestertonian

habits are meant to be otherworldly to point us to the supernatural.

it's not "weird for the sake of weird"
"I am not much of a Crusader, that is for sure, but at least I am not a Mohamedist!"

Mono no aware

#899
Quote from: Chestertonian on July 08, 2015, 02:29:51 PM
habits are meant to be otherworldly to point us to the supernatural.

it's not "weird for the sake of weird"

But where on this thread were we talking about people who dressed "weird for the sake of weird"?  The family on the book cover, I would imagine, were not intentionally trying to freak people out in the same way as people who wear multiple facial piercings or fishnet body garments.  Perry Farrell was never a topic.  You can dress like the family in that photograph (unfashionable, but endearing), or you can dress like Zooey Deschanel (fashionably retro).  In neither instance would you be causing your fellow Catholics to appear like basketcases.  As long as modesty is observed, we can have a variety of tastes.  Or is there some sort of coolness level we have to conform to?  I didn't know Catholicism was a fashion clique.  Apparently it is.