Is it for modesty? Is it for comfort? Is it because most of my jeans have been stained from working on a farm and I don’t feel like buying new ones? Religious reasons? Just to be different?
Honestly, all of these things are part of the reason. I don’t wear skirts 100% of the time, but in the past few years I have switched over to probably 80% of the time, and people have sometimes asked me why.
I grew up around a number of homeschool families in which the girls wore strictly skirts, but my family, though toward the conservative end of the spectrum, didn’t hold that conviction. We wore skirts and dresses to church because that was how we dressed up, and it was part of what set Sunday apart from the rest of the week. Being a family of all girls, my sisters and I also dove headfirst into the world of period dramas when we were junior high-age, and that coupled with a moderate interest in sewing led my younger sister and I to wear skirts almost exclusively for a couple years.
For me personally, it was also a way of trying to fit in with some of my friends. We did not grow up in the stereotypical homeschooled household, which I am really grateful for in a lot of ways, but at 13 I wanted to be like everybody else, so I threw on a skirt and occasionally brought up the idea of us getting a minivan (which was always turned down).
In the end, through reading the scriptures more and observing the godly women in my life, I never developed a personal conviction that women ought only to wear skirts in order to be obedient to God. There’s a lot of culture-shifting that is happening constantly, and women do a lot of things they didn’t used to do as much, and emphases have just changed. I don’t think every cultural influence is a bad or sinful thing.
However, I do believe modesty is an important part of Christian obedience, so I don’t show as much of my body as I used to be okay with doing now that I’m a little older and think in broader terms. But “modesty” doesn’t exclusively translate to “skirts” — you can have a super tight midi-skirt that is more revealing than a pair of jeans.
In trying to be consistent, I have not banned pants from my own wardrobe. There are two main convictions I have on this issue:
- Women should respect their bodies and the people around them
- Women are different from men, and should look different from men!
So since I’m already not going to cross the line of what I believe is culturally immodest and intentionally disrespect myself or somebody else,* the second point there is the main reason I wear skirts six days out of seven — I want to look like a woman! The world today is super confused about the identity and role of a woman, and I want to let people know I’m not at all confused about who and what I am! So as a result, I dress a little differently.
*This is honestly why I am not going to stop wearing a bra anytime soon. I know, improved lymphatic flow, but it’s not worth to me the uncomfortable experience that might cause for everyone else.
Story time…several years ago, in an effort to get the attention of someone, I cut my hair very, very short. I was hoping to look like my role model at the time, Maggie O’Connell from Northern Exposure.
Instead, it looked like this:
(Cutting it short was not enough for my purposes, of course, and I also had to dye it dark brown, then deep red.)
I shudder, but I live with no regret over it. What is unfortunate, though, is that there were a few people at the time who started to wonder if I was trying to look like a boy because I wanted to be a boy, and if this was just the start of a slippery slope…and when I realized that I started freaking out a little. I started putting more of an effort into looking feminine. And while I still love Maggie, I don’t think she should be anyone’s role model.
Skirts not only make me look more feminine, but they make me feel softer and lighter as well. They’re much more comfortable for me, they’re easier for me to style, and the fact of the matter is I can find secondhand skirts that fit a lot easier than I can jeans. I am super particular about my jeans. Most of mine have been stained with calf spit or chicken poop from working on a farm two summers ago, and I just haven’t felt like spending $54 to buy new ones. And apparently I’m too snobbish to thrift jeans!
I am not trying to push my beliefs here on anyone else, and I want to make it clear that I don’t look down on women for choosing to wear pants! I do still wear them, but usually it’s at home or doing something outside where a skirt would be unhandy or actually immodest (sometimes the wind blows really hard here in Ohio.) I would encourage you to put thought into how you dress, because that is what you portray to the world and a person’s beliefs really do come through in their appearance. If you value femininity and take pride in your identity as a woman and daughter of God, I encourage you to dress in a way that you feel reflects that.
Modesty starts with the posture of your heart. I know my opinions may seem extreme to some and shallow to others. I just wanted to clear up a little bit of the confusion regarding my own decisions. No, I don’t always wear skirts, and no, I’m not turning Amish, but rather I hope I am being conformed to God’s desire for my life!
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ~ Romans 12:9
Threshing Floor Kitchen 