Hey y'all!

In my last post, I related to you my journey to modesty, which in case you missed it, is HERE. I want to thank every single one of you who commented on that post, your support means a lot to me!

As promised, I'm going to share my personal modesty standards. Be advised, I go into a lot more detail than a lot of other people do!

As a rule of thumb, I use the standard Catholic guidelines for modest dress, which are as follows:

Necklines cannot be lower than 2 inches (or 2 fingers) below the pit of the throat. (Your collarbone is a good indicator of where this lies.)
Sleeves cannot be shorter than quarter-sleeve (it originally was elbow, but the Vatican allows quarter-sleeves as a concession to the market).
Skirts need to be at least 2 inches below the knee (preferably 8 inches below the knee).

Avoid the following:
Sheer/transparent clothing (unless it has sufficient backing)
Nude color fabrics
Clingy or tight clothing
Masculine clothing

Most Church fathers heavily frowned the wearing of pants by women. It was never banned directly, but it has never been really regarded as a feminine article of clothing until recently. As I explained in my last post, I grew uncomfortable wearing pants by themselves after seeing what effects it had on men and society. I'm not totally adverse to the tunic-over-jeans approach, but I view it as a last resort in case more modest options aren't open to me.


Shirts:

• Sleeve length

All of my shirt sleeves are at least quarter-sleeve (ends midway between the elbow and the shoulder). Basically, I'm looking for the sleeve to cover my armpit completely.

• Opacity

I'll think twice about buying a shirt that I can see my underwear through. But, because a lot of my blouses are old hand-me-downs from my grandmother and my great-grandmothers, there are quite a few that wear a little on the sheer side. I've found that if I wear either a camisole or, preferably, a plain white undershirt underneath, it will fix the sheerness problem wonderfully.

• The Fit

If I discover that a casual button-down shirt in my wardrobe is too tight fully buttoned but doesn't hug me when open, I'll wear a modest T-shirt underneath. But otherwise, if clings too tight...it gets either packed or given away.

Length matter to me as well. It has to be past my waist a fair bit in order for it to pass. Otherwise my shirt will pop up and expose my stomach area when I'm *trying* to be productive. As Duluth commercials point out very well, it's not exactly productive to keep tugging on your shirt.

• Style

Color does not matter as much as the design and how the shirt is cut. I tend to avoid shirts that have similar patterns to men's dress shirts. Because women are curvy, I look for blouses that are cut that way (darts, princess seams, etc.). My favorite look in a blouse is the simple classy look instead of the frilly or lacy.

I'll wear almost any color (I do have to be careful with black as it tends to wash me out) except for peach and other skin tone colors (unless it's an undergarment).


Skirts/Dresses:

•  Above all, NO SLITS!

Many women (Catholic, and non-Catholic alike) often wear skirts with slits in them, varying in size from 2 inches to almost the entire skirt-length. Most of the time, a slit is put into the skirt so that the woman can move more comfortably. Slits reveal, especially with movement; which is something that a skirt is not supposed to do.

• Style and fit matters. 

I'm a stickler for how my skirts are draped over my figure. This is not because I'm self-conscious about how bad my figure looks - quite the opposite, actually.

To get a sense of what I mean, take a look at this photo that I snagged from Pixabay after almost an hour of pulling my hair out trying to find suitable photos.....  




See how the back of the skirt on the left hugs the derriere?

I can't stand that. It draws the attention to the derriere and not the face, where it truly belongs. This skirt is also tight enough that every line of her leg will be revealed as she walks.

The back of the skirt on the right, on the other hand, descends and flairs gently way from the woman's figure. There is enough fabric to have a curtain effect, which also helps to hide the figure.

I believe that the wider the skirt, the better. Being an active woman with a fairly long stride, I need room to MOVE. Especially since I still have to practically pole-vault into my bed at night....yes, my room is still that much of a mess. I'm working on it....

• Opacity

I'll avoid garments made solely of lace and other sheer materials (like that outer layer of the skirt on the left of that picture). Most of the time, that isn't a problem when I'm shopping.

• Undergarments

I also tend to be a stickler about wearing shorts and/or tights under my skirts. This is so, in case any unforeseen circumstances arise that cause parting with a skirt, I still have some protection from eyes. Footless tights (yes, there is such a thing) are my favorite to wear everyday.

I do wear petticoats with my skirts, but I'm not a stickler for them as much as the shorts/tights.


Modest dressing doesn't mean that you have to spend all of your days in prairie dresses or a potato sack. As old-fashioned as I am, my entire wardrobe is not made up of dresses from the Amish or centuries past. My style of clothing would probably be considered "Southern Country Girl Contemporary" because I like denim, flowers/calico, and plaid. 

Soooo, what is a typical ordinary outfit for me?

T-Shirt
Hoodie - zippered, usually
Long skirt (usually denim)
Tights/shorts - usually footless
White Socks