Those Mormons...

Sure know how to dress!

Cute and modest, and dare I say - somewhat high fashion.

I MUST OWN THIS DRESS

There are lots of other cute dresses for sale on that site, but I am totally drooling over that one. It works for day and night. They also have it in black. What, what!?!?! A modest LBD??? Oh yes, with the Mormon online clothing stores, it's possible.

Anytime you google modest clothing, a plethora of online LDS shops come up, and they aren't afraid to put LDS Clothing Shop right up front in the google results.  And it's all super cute and (mostly) affordable, gosh darnit.

And this has always kind of baffled me - why, if we Catholics are supposed to have the same modesty guidelines as the LDS (which we do; I've checked), do we not have a plethora of shops that come up in google?  What is it that makes us so lackadaisical in our dress in and out of Mass?

I think the answer might lie in the fact that the Mormons consistently evangelize their young.  From what I can gather, the idea of modesty is not only reinforced by the parents, but there are online resources (like Jen, a modest young girl's answer to Cosmopolitan magazine), there are brochures handed out on a regular basis by LDS youth to their peers on LDS college campuses about modesty, and so much more.  They are constantly reminded by their community, whether it be elders or peers, that modesty is important, in dress or otherwise.

Which leads me to my next question - why aren't we doing the same thing? I really wish I had even an inkling of an answer for that, but I suppose, as a Faith, we're more worried about getting people in for confession or believing transubstantiation actually takes place during Mass (I think I read a recent pew study that an alarming ~40% of Catholics don't actually believe that what they receive at Mass is the body and blood of Christ). Source Here.  Granted modesty is not the be-all end-all answer for these growing concerns, but I would think it would help some. If people weren't dressed so sloppily or immodestly drawing other's attention to themselves, maybe people would focus on what's right in front of them at Mass: Christ!

I suppose this blog was stirred up by this article America's Next Top Model Contestant Lobbies for Modesty.  This lady has recently gone on to become a speaker for the program Pure Fashion, and I must say, I think their guidelines are quite reasonable compared to some of the other stuff I've seen floating around. Pure Fashion Guidelines.

Honestly, I still have problems with the no sleeveless thing during the summer, or I can't wear running shorts to go for a run, but I continually tell myself it's better for everyone if I slap on a little more clothing.  Besides, no one wants to be blinded by my pasty white legs anyway. :)

Happy Thursday and less than 3,

V.