This Crazy World

Published 10:06 pm Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Hoo-Ray and Hallelujah. I was reading through an AP article on Spring Fashions for 2007, and found that these horrible, low-rise jeans are finally going out of style. Raise the rise and be in fashion this year. Music to my ears. Now I won’t have to avert my eyes when someone bends over in front of me, well, maybe.

I grew up in the 60s and by 1970 the skirts were so short they hardly covered possible and the jeans were so low-rise they had no hip to cling to, much less cover. I saw more bony hills and more divided highways while going to college than Colorado has mountains. You just cannot discreetly adjust the “waist” band of your pants when it is wedged tightly around bony hills. Thank goodness for full backs on chairs, because, otherwise the glare from exposed skin would blind a person.

The things were so uncomfortable when bending over, kneeling down, sitting, and forget doing any kind of exercise.

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That’s just the comfort part. Why would a person opt for discomfort so they could be immodest? Is it the need to be fashionable or is it the need to display belly buttons? Is it just simply the need to be noticed?

Two teen brothers decided to find out what was really going on inside the teenage boy’s mind concerning girls and modesty. Thus “The Rebelution” was born (www.therebelution.com).

In this online survey, 1,213 young men (ages 13-28) answered questions about what they considered modest dress for girls. Almost 96 percent of the young men responded that modesty was important for all girls. “No matter what a girl looks like, she will be taken more seriously if she dresses modestly,” responded an 18 year old.

Even if a girl is dressed modestly, her attitude and behavior can be a stumbling block for young men, said 95 percent of the respondents.

Surprisingly, 70 percent disagreed that it was okay to show cleavage when wearing a swimsuit. Eighty-five percent said that bikini swimsuits are immodest, and 55 percent said that it was not okay for a girl to wear a revealing swimsuit if she wore a t-shirt over it.

On the subject of undergarments, overwhelmingly the guys say it should never show; and should never be adjusted in public; and the edges of undergarments should not be seen through clothing; and girls, please, wear slips so skirts can’t be seen through in certain lighting.

This is a clear message to women of all ages in my book.

To question, “If you could say one thing to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be?” one 13 year old had this to say, “Modest girls are always more pretty to me than immodest girls. An immodest girl might be really pretty but her actions are ugly and they cancel out her natural beauty, making her ugly. A modest girl is pretty not only in looks but in actions and deeds and that is the type of girl I like to be around.” His sentiment closely resembled most of the other comments.

Here’s the kicker: dressing modest is much more comfortable.

You don’t have to worry about straps falling down, nor do you worry about sticking to wooden seats or the heat of black vinyl on bare skin. There’s no scrambling for skirt hems when the wind gets frisky. You can actually run without breaking an ankle.

When faced with a decision between comfort or fashion, I choose comfortable fashion every time. Fad-ish is never “in” for very long. Classic styles hang around forever and never look out of place or frumpish. There is a huge difference between stylish and trendy. Certainly, you can wear a shorter jacket, but make sure your shirt is tucked in with no midriff or belly button showing.

A 16 year old said this, “The female body is a powerful gift, intended for one man. Just as you wouldn’t give your most prized possession to everyone on the street, so you shouldn’t share the secrets of your body with any man other than your husband. Modesty will attract a man who is suitable to be your husband. Just as moths flock to a candle flame, so guys will flock to an immodest girl. But are you going to be satisfied with a moth when you can have a butterfly?”