As you viewers may come to realize, I design clothing to fit certain modesty standards. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka, LDS or Mormon church), and we believe in being modestly dressed. The pamphlet put out by the LDS church titled, For the Strength of Youth - Fulfilling Our Duty to God, states "Immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire. Young women should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low-cut in the front or the back or revealing in any other manner. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. All should avoid extremes in clothing, appearance, and hairstyle. Always be neat and clean and avoid being sloppy... in dress grooming and manners." (For the Strength of Youth, pg. 14-16). Our modesty standard is far more than covering our bodies - it is about respecting our bodies. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
I believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church on the earth today, therefore, I implement this counsel into my designs. You can still look attractive while being modest, especially by not being sloppy. One might think that these standards are restricting to one's freedom, but I argue that this is not the case. Following modesty standards, or standards of any kind for that matter, actually makes people more free because standards do not eliminate people's options, but simplify them.
For example, I look into my closet that is full of clothes. I have hundreds of options of what to wear, but am I really free? In this situation, I find myself fretting over what I should put together for quite a while. Should I wear item #1, #2, #3, #4, etc... ? Now, I get rid of clothes that I can do without, and only keep my absolute favorites. The new dressing situation would go like this: What should I wear today, this or that? By decreasing options, but not eliminating options, I become more free. If I had only one option, it would cease to be an option. I would have to wear it, therefore making me less free. Isn't it interesting that one option and infinite options makes people less free, while decreasing options makes people more free.
This idea is how I feel about standards. Instead of having to make the decision between modest and immodest, I pick modest and then decrease my options by 50%, probably more actually in today's world. I only have to worry about which modest clothes I want. This is the same with any other decision that I have. The question, should I figure out a way to cheat, changes into how can I best tell the truth? Should I drink alcohol changes to should I drink caffinated drinks or non-caffinated drinks? Questions concerning immorality do not exist anymore - I just have to decide how I can be moral.
Even if you don't believe in in my standards, I promise that any moral standards will make you more free because you will be decreasing your options, but not erasing agency. You can still be an individual by following standards or a moral code - my family is living proof of that. We are all individual children of our Heavenly Father and we will always be individuals. Standards or having a moral code gives us more freedom - exactly what our Father in Heaven wants to give us in this life.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
More than just Fashion
Visual Philosophy
Here are some designs for the wintertime according to my philosophy. Now you have more options than ever before for the cold, wet winter!
Posted by Newsh at 10:13 AM 0 comments
Labels: Dressing in the Winter, wintertime designs
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My Philosophy on Dressing in the Winter for Ladies
First, I would like to apologize for not having any new suggestions for men. I'm not one so I'm not one to talk, but if any man has any suggestions on how he stays warm, please let me know so I can implement his thoughts into my winter clothing designs.
Ladies should never wear pants, or any piece of clothing that touches the floor, on wet winter days. If the bottoms of your pants get wet, then your socks will get, and then your feet will get wet. If your feet are wet, then you will get cold and stay cold. So to stay as warm as you can on wet winter days, wear boots with thick tights or leggings, and capris or knee-length skirts.
The back of the neck, chest, and hands are also places on the body that if kept warm, one will stay warm. Scarfs or hats, coats or jackets, and gloves are necessities for staying warm in the cold.
If you stay dry, you will stay warm - Happy Winter!
Posted by Newsh at 5:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: Dressing in the Winter
Monday, November 17, 2008
In the beginning
I figured since everyone had a blog, that I wanted one, too!
Posted by Newsh at 5:33 PM 0 comments