"Clothes make a man.
Naked people have very little
or no
influence on society. "
– Mark Twain
It
is the pride and joy of our modern day world to glory in the freedom that woman
has attained in her mode of dress. Woman has freed herself from the constraints
of free-flowing gowns and thrust herself into the liberty of tight pants. She
is now her own person, wondrously indistinguishable from the male sex, and thus
able to embrace her true potential.
Obviously,
as I am sure you can tell from my tone, I disagree. It’s not that I disapprove
of pants: I do in fact sustain an intimate relationship with jeans, which were
first sown in heaven, if we are to believe the ancient legends.
However, I can
not and will not assert that our mode of dress heightens the dignity of woman
in any way.
When we
take a look at the ancient modes of dress, we find that both men and women wore
tunics. Pants were a development that did not take place in the western world
until around the 14th century, at which time our ancestors decided
that pants were a good idea for men, but not necessarily for women. Why was
that? Probably because women did not wish to attire themselves in
something that was actually, at the time, pretty ugly.
Trousers were certainly not as attractive as a dress. It wasn’t until the late eighteen hundreds that men’s
pants became, consistently, the loose trousers we have now.
Women wore
dresses not because they were a slave to fashion or convention, but because it
was generally accepted that dresses were the most flattering attire, and since
women are the most beautiful of God’s creatures, it stands to reason that they
be clad in the most beautiful of clothing.
That
which is beautiful is hidden behind a veil. The woman’s body is the most
beautiful in all creation, and in reverence for that beauty it is veiled behind
beautiful, flattering folds of fabric.
Throughout history, women’s clothes have taken on different forms:
some debatable,
and some downright ugly.
For certainly, it is not true that dresses were always the prime example of beautiful fashion. Take France in the 18th century. Get a load of that hair! And I am certainly not arguing that corsets should be brought back into fashion. Taste and moderation should be practiced in everything - even dresses!
However, it is certainly true that there are fashions of dresses and skirts which are, and have been, extremely flattering for many years. Yet, we seem to have a paranoid fear of being forced back into skirts - as if they were somehow unwomanly and unflattering. I know that I grew up in mortal dread of the jean jumper, afraid of appearing frumpy and too casual. Yet, nowadays, we seem to have no problem being frumpy in society so long as it is with the liberty of pants, and is in fashion.
Just remember: just because it's in fashion, doesn't mean it's tasteful - or attractive. (See 18th century French Fashion above)
Just remember: just because it's in fashion, doesn't mean it's tasteful - or attractive. (See 18th century French Fashion above)
Pants are great, comfy, and can be pulled off with definite flair, but don't write off dresses. After all, when all's said and done, all pros and cons considered, dresses are more attractive than pants any day! You are woman, and you are beautiful.
so I should buy a kilt?
ReplyDeleteI was specifically addressing woman's fashion, and I think men's is a whole other ballpark, but if you want to - go ahead! I think it takes a man very confident in his masculinity to pull that off.
ReplyDelete