Focusing on clothes isn't that high on my list of priorities. Partly I'm sure because growing up Amish the style of clothes we wore was determined for us, and we simply picked colors we liked from those that were permitted in our community.
Getting ready to go somewhere didn't take long. I'd simply open my closet and decide if I felt like wearing purple, blue, or teal on that particular day.
I still don't have many options, in fact people probably wonder if I have more than one shirt/blouse. I do for everyday use, but not for things like going to church where I wear the same thing every time, year round. Doesn't bother me at all.
The girls however, apparently haven't quite picked up on the same content feeling regarding clothes, even though they have way more than I do. This morning they were pawing through their closet trying to decide what they want to wear tomorrow when they have friends coming over.
Rosebud finally sighed a long sigh as she surveyed her pile of skirts ...... that she had chosen when they were acquired. "I haven't a thing to wear that doesn't look as if it didn't come straight from 'Forever 40'," was her dismal pronouncement.
That, my friends, is another little something I miss about the Amish. Everyone wore the same type of clothes and hairstyles. You had so much more time to focus on life, instead of trivial things, like clothes.
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I understand very much in a way. my husband and I have been dressing "plain" for many yrs and part of why we do is to divorce ourselves from the distractions that keep us from focusing on what matters. So, I grew up with somewhat of a view of clothes like your daughters, only much stronger. I was taken shopping every Saturday with my mother ( from around age 5 or 6) and her sisters and mother - we all came from our sides of Indianapolis and would meet downtown for a long day of shopping mostly for clothes and eating at Ayres Tea Room or one of several other nice restaurants. Sometimes there were fashion shows at the tea room. My parents attended dances and such and I would watch her put on her makeup and lovely clothes. I knew how to do these things very early on from watching her. 35 yrs of living away from the city and growing convicted to have a testimony of simplicity has not removed the strong pull towards dressing in a way to "express my culture or myself" ( the one I grew up with). Our grown children do embrace many of the principles of simplicity etc..., but not to the extent we do. I guess my point is that unless you are raised that way it can be very hard to shed the concern about what we look like and how others see us. And raised around others who do the same. Our youngest were homeschooled and though there were some families who dressed in particular ways to express their religious views, there was enough variety that they were exposed to many ideologies.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the things I admire about the Amish and long for the simplicity in clothing in my own life.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post, as the outside of us is not important whatsoever. It is the inside that truly counts in life, but growing up kids judged you on what you wore. I never wore the going fashion and was teased painfully all through my school years. But I am glad I never gave in and followed the crowd. I am still that way.
ReplyDeleteI do admire those who dress plain and are totally comfortable with that lifestyle. I sometimes wish the rest of the world would follow suit. But, as the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks." I don't believe the plain lifestyle is necessarily more pleasing to God than the less plain. What He cares about is our heart, our walk with Him, and our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Your children are being exposed to both lifestyles and will probably choose something of a blend of the two. But they'll never forget the lessons they're learning from you along the way.
ReplyDeleteI went to a school which required uniforms, which made dressing for school pretty simple. My only choices were a Peter Pan collar or a pointed one. We could wear saddle shoes or loafers. Since my mum didn't approve of loafers, I wore saddle shoes, which were the devil to polish, and I hated them. We were allowed to wear pretty much what we wanted for our evening meal and to church on Sunday, although the head mistress wouldn't allow us to wear any jewelry to church, not even a watch.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, she couldn't see why we needed a watch, period. The bell rings you get up, the bell rings you go to chapel, the bell rings you go to dinner.
I still don't have a lot of clothes, and hey are not always the latest style, but that doesn't bother me.
I still refuse to wear saddle shoes though.
The Amish have it right on not fretting about clothes. I was happy to wear a uniform to school. If I calculated the huge amount of time saved from grade school through twelfth grade because I knew exactly what to put on in the morning, it could be more that 2,148 hours!!! I figured this by calculating how long it took to find one outfit to wear on "Dress-up Day." (That day was quite stressful). I should factor in the worry in my head about it before I even dug into the closet. Maybe an hour total? So, I might have saved 179 hours/year since school years ran 180 days. Times twelve years and goodness, that's 2,148 hours (could that really be 89 and 1/2 saved days of sanity???):) Thanks for the good thought.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely get too caught up in appearances. People see other things, other options and just instantly seem to want them.
ReplyDeleteToo funny that she picked "Forever Forty" to compare to!
Barbara, blogging at Life & Faith in Caneyhead