Long Skirts (ankle length) vs. Short Skirts

[StephenS]

I agree very much that modest clothing of any length can be both feminine and attractive. However among some converts I repeatedly met over the years there seemed to be an equivalence in their mind of long, frumpy dresses and headscarves for church but something very different for the rest of the time. Very odd. And this sometimes accompanied by statements of finding it easier to pray in Church Slavonic, a sort of Russophile grunge movement I suppose you might call it.

Some in the Russian Federation have proposed, I saw recently, a standard of dress for Orthodox women. The example shown looked simply a couture take on Islamic dress. Horrible!

[Barbara]

Praying in Church Slavonic, outside of the services ? What's wrong with that ? Sounds like they are making an effort...
or did I misunderstand you, Stephen?

Russian Federation is trying to promote Orthodox dress for women ? That is GREAT ! Who can complain ??
This is right and proper.
Only over there would there be any chance of succeeding to get women to obey decent standards of dress.

Never in America ! I applaud that effort, partly for the very reason I said above. There are so many GROSS people out there
these days that it IS right to cover up, not show beautiful clothes at this time in history.
Much is at stake. It's not a fashion choice but an intense spiritual statement to try to minimize attracting attention from anyone.
Perverts are in every category now.
People with filthy minds and people who just got out of a movie theatre watching ANY modern Hollywood movie
are going to be very dark and not acting like a rational person would after seeing all that disgusting stuff for a couple hours !
Then multiply that by the demonic 'computer games' and demonic novels and just about everything is saturated with
vileness. Whoever is stupide enough to buy into popular 'culture' is going to oozing out demons wherever they go !

So a proper woman has to be self-effacing enough to NOT want to attract attention from demon-filled people of ANY age !

Demure dress is the way to go.

The mentality of caring what someone may "think" that a conservative dress looks "Islamic" is pathetic !

Orthodox nuns have worn the same habits forever ! Did anyone say anything then ? This is just a product of the New World Order/neo-con
conditioning of American and European society for the last decade or two.
They pound in the theme that all 'cool people' must : worship evil, dress vilely, copy movie UN-stars, imagine you are the center
of the universe and everyone is staring at YOU all the time, worry what these observers are 'thinking' of YOU, never imagine that
there is any God or Angels who are your REAL audience....

All this to lead a whole society to jump off the deep end into Hell...

No prudent person can afford at this hour to worry about small-minded comparisons to any other religion or country.
If Russia wants to do that, great, why not admire the effort being made ?

I imagine the dress is not too pretty. But in history, this is not party-time. It's Repentance Time and Guard Oneself From
Evil Mentalities Time !

Do you have a link for that picture, Stephen ?

What you said was new information for me about the fact that the American or English converts wear what you implied to be either more risque
or more tacky clothing outside of Church services. I guess I never saw these women outside of Church.
Maybe they wear rude clothes like most other women today everywhere when not on the Church premises ?

[Maria]

Praying in Church Slavonic, outside of the services ? What's wrong with that ? Sounds like they are making an effort...
or did I misunderstand you, Stephen?

Russian Federation is trying to promote Orthodox dress for women ? That is GREAT ! Who can complain ??
This is right and proper.
Only over there would there be any chance of succeeding to get women to obey decent standards of dress.

Never in America ! I applaud that effort, partly for the very reason I said above. There are so many GROSS people out there
these days that it IS right to cover up, not show beautiful clothes at this time in history.
Much is at stake. It's not a fashion choice but an intense spiritual statement to try to minimize attracting attention from anyone.
Perverts are in every category now.
People with filthy minds and people who just got out of a movie theatre watching ANY modern Hollywood movie
are going to be very dark and not acting like a rational person would after seeing all that disgusting stuff for a couple hours !
Then multiply that by the demonic 'computer games' and demonic novels and just about everything is saturated with
vileness. Whoever is stupide enough to buy into popular 'culture' is going to oozing out demons wherever they go !

So a proper woman has to be self-effacing enough to NOT want to attract attention from demon-filled people of ANY age !

Demure dress is the way to go.

The mentality of caring what someone may "think" that a conservative dress looks "Islamic" is pathetic !

Orthodox nuns have worn the same habits forever ! Did anyone say anything then ? This is just a product of the New World Order/neo-con
conditioning of American and European society for the last decade or two.
They pound in the theme that all 'cool people' must : worship evil, dress vilely, copy movie UN-stars, imagine you are the center
of the universe and everyone is staring at YOU all the time, worry what these observers are 'thinking' of YOU, never imagine that
there is any God or Angels who are your REAL audience....

All this to lead a whole society to jump off the deep end into Hell...

No prudent person can afford at this hour to worry about small-minded comparisons to any other religion or country.
If Russia wants to do that, great, why not admire the effort being made ?

I imagine the dress is not too pretty. But in history, this is not party-time. It's Repentance Time and Guard Oneself From
Evil Mentalities Time !

Do you have a link for that picture, Stephen ?

What you said was new information for me about the fact that the American or English converts wear what you implied to be either more risque
or more tacky clothing outside of Church services. I guess I never saw these women outside of Church.
Maybe they wear rude clothes like most other women today everywhere when not on the Church premises ?

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis discusses this schizophrenia of dress for church and elsewhere, and the schizophrenia seen in the work place and in the homes compared with being in church.

Goodness!

We should be practicing chastity and modesty according to our vocation all the time, not just in church.
We should be sober, watchful, patient and charitable everywhere and in all places.

Do I wear pretty skirts around the house, to the market, and to the church? Yes.
But do I wear risque blouses with short skirts anywhere? Heavens, No.
I do not want to chase my guardian angel away. I need him to guard and guide me.

[Barbara]

Likewise, me too.

I really wear the same clothes even working at my house as I do when doing errands outside. Very little difference.

However, if going to a public place, or having workmen on the premises, I take care to put on a sweater even in warm weather.
If it's really hot out, I wear a thick long scarf to cover up the front of my dress.
It's IMPORTANT to not give any man anything to look twice at !

We women need to remember, too, that wearing a skirt is not adequate to cover well.
For, most of the cheesy fabrics of today are so poorly made that they are about see-through.
I have heard Catholic men talk about this fact in not the most polite terms, snickering about women they noticed even at church unwittingly
sporting these transparent garments. Even older women do, and don't seem to realize how tacky their appearance is when
they are wearing flimsy teenager-style dresses. Perhaps the women are not just oblivious, but don't really care. Few people
in the America of today have any real fashion-sense. They copy fleeting styles. But never try to branch out from The Herd
to find feminine garments which are attractive and even elegant. But not revealing.

Hence wearing a reasonably well made slip is essential for women to remember.
Else picking better made skirts or dresses which have
underskirts already sewn in to provide the double layer needed.
Or, top notch attire with heavy enough fabric, not Chinese cheapies.

[Maria]

Likewise, me too.

I really wear the same clothes even working at my house as I do when doing errands outside. Very little difference.

However, if going to a public place, or having workmen on the premises, I take care to put on a sweater even in warm weather.
If it's really hot out, I wear a thick long scarf to cover up the front of my dress.
It's IMPORTANT to not give any man anything to look twice at !

We women need to remember, too, that wearing a skirt is not adequate to cover well.
For, most of the cheesy fabrics of today are so poorly made that they are about see-through.
I have heard men talk about this fact in not the most polite terms, snickering about women they noticed even at church unwittingly
sporting these transparent garments. Even older women do, and don't seem to realize how tacky their appearance is without slips !

Hence wearing a reasonably well made slip is essential. Else picking better made skirts or dresses which have
underskirts already included to provide the double layer needed.

I make my slips out of rayon.

And yes, during the hot summer, I put on a long sleeved cotton shirt over my short sleeved shirt when I go outside. I may get strange looks, but stranger still, I am cooler wearing the long-sleeved white cotton shirt as it provides protection against the blazing sun. I have seen many other women dress in the layered look, and it is definitely not old-maidish, but necessary when one is going through menopausal flashes, so the layered look is always popular.

By the way it is 38 degrees now at 6:52 PM PST. Going to have black ice tonight here. So, of course we need to dress modestly, or we will freeze. Oftentimes in this cold weather, I will wear a long skirt, a slip, and a pair of slacks underneath just to keep warm. Then I will wear a long sleeve turtleneck, a flannel shirt, and a warm winter jacket on top of all those layers.

[Barbara]

Good for you, Maria !

Goodness though about the black ice. I never go out when conditions are like that.
I don't want to even take a tiny chance.

Hope you remain safe and comfortable. At least the bees won't be out to plague you !!

[StephenS]

Sorry, have looked hard but cannot find a link to the article showing proposed dress for women in Russian Federation.

Men too must dress modestly, I wear a jacket even in sub-tropical and tropical climates. In Aegina I found one church with a notice on the door in four languages asking visitors to wear clothes on entering. When I enquired why they put up such an unusual notice only to be told some Northern European visitors thought nought of walked in stark narked! My pet horror is men in Lycra shorts. Short sleeves and shorts too are a no-no in church it was drummed into me.