My dad read a few book series aloud to me when I was a kid, but my favorite was Anne of Green Gables. I remember when Anne Shirley asked for a dress with puffed sleeves, a part of my little heart jumped up to say, “me too!”
I’ve liked clothes for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I would spend afternoons on the floor of my mom’s closet, admiring the patterns and textures of the beautiful dresses that hung there. Ten years of consistent community theater participation also gave me an appreciation for the importance of costume design in painting a complete picture of a character.
When characters from favorite stories captured my heart, I longed to wear patterns, textures, and silhouettes that resembled them. I remember wanting to wear a yellow dress for my 8th grade graduation so I could match Luna Lovegood’s Deathly Hallows wedding guest gown from the book. The specific shade of yellow I wanted was hard to come by in 2010, and I ended up hobbling to the stage on crutches with my newly sprained ankle in Bella Swan’s green taffeta dress from New Moon. When it’s warm out, I still throw on a tomato-red plisse number that reminds me of Buttercup in the Fire Swamp.
When I entered my teenage years, I battled with how clothing also signified identity and status. For example, when the charter school I had enrolled in for 7th grade banned branded clothing from its dress code, I flung myself onto my bed and cried. How else would everyone know that I was a poser-surfer without my embossed Hollister sweatshirts?
Oh dear.
Then there were the well-meaning Christian bloggers and their long lists. The conversation then was generally around what not to wear; rarely did anyone bring up the art and the joy of dressing beautifully and appropriately for the setting and activity. In my teens, my own legalism kept me from wearing makeup and leggings, even in situations where it was completely appropriate to do so. I call these bloggers well-meaning because I do believe they were trying to give young Christian women guidance in a grey area, but their teaching was often narrow and legalistic.
Legalism seeks to keep the believer safe from sinning by putting words in God’s mouth, but leaves little room for discernment through actual relationship with Jesus. So while one might seek to honor God with how they dress, devoid of the conviction and communion of the Holy Spirit necessary for discernment, they can still be acting in legalism.
I still do value modesty, but I see it now as a heart posture of reverence and humility before God, rather than a long list of dos and don’ts or a specific length of hem.
Not the main character: the concept of the daily costume
These days I see clothes as one-part creative outlet and one-part daily costume. The difference between costuming a character and dressing myself is that I bring the day ahead to the Lord and ask who He needs me to be at this moment in His story. In one sense, I am a character in the story, but I know I am not the main character. That’s important.
The conversation goes a bit like this:
“Jesus, what do I need to do today? And who have you made me to be? How do I reflect that?”
Maybe it sounds weird, but through this perspective, I feel like I finally live in clothing freedom, no longer using clothes to define my identity, but instead to express it in a way that is useful, creative, and (hopefully) reflective of who I am in Christ. It’s not rooted in striving or shame, but in meaning and security. It’s not derived from the clothes I wear, but rather from the grace Jesus has clothed me in (Isaiah 61:10).
Here’s how I choose outfits:
- I ask myself what the plan is for the day. When I was teaching high school, I adhered to a business-casual dress code. Most people loosely interpreted this to mean no jeans and sneakers unless it was Friday. Now that I get to work in ministry, my range of choices is much broader. If I’m writing check requests in the office, a comfy dress just is fine, but if I’m painting a backdrop for the high school room or playing a muddy group game, I need something more rugged. Though I try to be practical, my choices can still be somewhat tailored to my style preferences.
- I check the weather. Because duh.
- I delight in beauty as a form of worship. Once I’ve determined an outfit “type,” I can move on and think about what I like. Which patterns am I drawn to? What historical moment would be fun to channel today? I am a self-proclaimed fashion history nerd! This is the personal style element that makes getting dressed fun for me. Lately I’ve been enjoying bright colors. Years ago, I wouldn’t be caught dead in baby yellow or pink, but now I embrace how these colors make me feel and worship God as I think of the joy color brings me! To delight in beauty and attribute it to the Lord is a form of worship I think we all need in our lives.
- I remind myself that I serve Jesus. Modesty-culture wounded so many with arbitrary rules. While I no longer agree with many of the bloggers I learned from in my teens, I still strive to serve Jesus with my outward appearance. I think the key determiner between legalism, moral relativism, and freedom in this area comes down to who I am really trying to please. If I wear whatever I want with no regard for anyone else because I have the “freedom” to do so, I am probably not putting Christ first (see 1 Peter 2:16). On the other hand, I could also be piling on unnecessary rules for myself and others if I leave Jesus out of the conversation. For example, I might make up a rule about avoiding the color red because of its association with lust (yes, I’ve heard this one 😆) and distort the actual gospel, which says NOTHING about avoiding this color. I’ve found that it actually takes more effort to invite the Holy Spirit into the equation than it does to just rule out pants or mascara. Anyway, all this to say that I try to make sure I am dressed appropriately for the occasion, and I ask the Holy Spirit to convict me if my motives are off. It’s simple, but it does require relationship with Christ to be at the forefront. I do think He cares about what I wear, but Jesus cares most about the inner workings of my heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Personal inspiration
I gravitate toward spring colors, rustic textures, knits, delicate lace, and anything that reminds me of literary characters I love. I especially like overalls (give me all the pockets), midi dresses, crop sweaters (very versatile when you’re petite), quilted fabric, and embroidery!
I thought I could also include a few of my favorite outfit formulas. Consider these my uniforms.
A few example uniforms
Dress and sweater combo:
Dresses and skirts with t-shirts or on their own:
Overalls:
Fun jacket:
Western details:
Freedom and fun
Fashion is one freedom issue that has long been a source of pain in the church, particularly for women. It doesn’t have to be. When we seek God for discernment, we can still delight in beautiful things, living out the good works He has set before us with freedom and joy.
I am not the main character. Thank goodness that Jesus is! But I am a beloved part of the story—a story of the lost getting found, of those under the law coming under grace, and of those living in ashes being given an inheritance of everlasting beauty and joy.
I want to tell it well, to be clothed first and foremost in Jesus, and to point to the Savior of the story with all of me, even with the clothes that I wear.
“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)
Kayley Chartier 