Sack Cloth and Ashes are no longer in Style

I don't care what you say about me; even bad publicity is good publicity 

1 Timothy 2:9 ESV 

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,

The Bible holds so many rules and regulations for women. For me my style is an expression of who I am or at times who I am striving to be. I have said, my apparel speaks to others, including strangers, long before I utter a word. How many times have you heard a man complain how long it takes a woman to get dressed? How many times have you changed outfits when getting ready for an event?

Social media has joined in the STYLE game with men and women posting pictures of their outfits. The people go wild hitting the like buttons on cutting edge fashion. The outfits alone do not draw the masses. It is a combination of clothes and attitude that sells the onlooker on the clothing items.

Photographers and models get in various twisted positions to get the perfect picture. And when everything falls into place you have a perfect picture selling anything and everything to the populous beginning with just the right clothing items. Need a family car - put the people in the pitch in everyday general outer wear. Need to sell a sports car - put the people in the pitch in classy upscale clothing. Need to sell a motorcycle - leather clothing items required.

What do the style described in the Bible passage tell you about the person? I say it screams PAY ME NO ATTENTION. I know others will argue it is modesty, purity, or humbleness. I say invisibility is the goal. How invisible must a woman be. She has also been instructed not to speak in church 1 Corinthians 14:34 "Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says".

What is self control clothing items? Are there clothing items that MAKE you lose control when you wear them? I know you are saying there are clothes that say HERE I AM AND I AM SEXUAL, but is demonstrating sexuality being out of control? I would argue people who are color blind and mix the wrong colors or patterns together can be someone who lacks self control. I mean come on how hard can it be not to clash like that? Lacking self control is adding another piece of jewelry like Mr. T. is showing a lack of control.

How do you avoid costly attire? Inflation man. I remember when I was a child and my family would go shoe shopping for back to school. Back in the day my mom could find a nice pair of shoes for me costing $5.00. Now, shoe prices do go to the extreme. Should the woman wearing designer shoes be seen as sinful? Do her shoes tell you of her sins? Is the woman in the $20.00 pair of shoes a modest, self controlled woman?

Gold and pearls belong to the wicked? Are we supposed to use the guidelines of biblical attire to judge the person's character and heart by a gold ring or string of pearls. It would seem we should. If I am to decipher this passage on face value it would seem wearing poverty is an outward symbol of how religious one may be. Is the look of poverty, what we who believe, be clothed in? Should our street style be "I choose not to draw any attention by fashion but to draw attention for the lack of fashion?" No matter what you wear a statement is being sent.

I have become jaded with these outward appearances because everybody is trying to pitch (sell) something to the masses through clothing or style. What is being sold is completely vain. Clothing manipulates whether it is for good or evil. A person can be selling a fantasy or lie with clothing. I find it strange the clothing code is not for both men and women. It is the woman who must put forth the effort to use her body as her billboard. It is not self control through clothing choice but power through clothing choices. a person has the power to say who they are through clothes.

My mind begins to wander when I see the dressed down look of lack of color or accessories on a woman. I wander what is she trying to sell with nothing. Yes, my impression jumps to religious connections when I see a woman without makeup and wearing orthopedic shoes just to make me want to steal her shoes and burn them. I also wander if she is abused or have been abused in her life to want to hide behind drabness. Modest clothing makes me wonder what scar is being hid.

Oh stop pretending that when you see women in prairie clothes you don't assume they belong to a cult.

I have to search my bias and ask myself do I recoil at this biblical fashion statement because I myself am not a woman who desires to wear respectable clothing or am I offended because my respectability does not rely on my outer garments? Either way, just as I am judging one's appearance, I am being judged for my appearance. It all boils down to judgement and if you are going to base your expression of your being solely on what others decide to label you as.

Take time to howl at the moon screaming yes, my clothes initially define me, but never believe I am the summation of items of clothing.

Give me points and adulation for my style because your opinion matters that much to me - never.

*****side note: prostitutes were recognizable because they braided their hair and wore jewelry. Surely that does not still hold true in our psyche in this day and age.*****