Well, we are past halfway in this series and it’s been great! I hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are.
I have gotten hundreds of questions and I wish I could reply to them all personally, but since I can’t I thought I’d try to answer a few of them today.
The most asked question I get is, “Where do you buy your skirts?”
There isn’t a simple answer. I just keep my eye out all of the time. Whenever I am in a clothing store I will check for skirts. Like this week I had to run into Dillard’s for some lipstick so while I was there I hopped over to the clearance racks to see if there were any skirts. I didn’t find any, but it’s hit or miss and it only takes a few extra minutes. Once you get into the habit of it you will find it’s not too difficult.
I look in Target, Dillard’s, Macy’s, Coldwater Creek, Old Navy, TJ Maxx and thrift stores to name a few. Of course, the girls especially love Cato because they always have longer skirts for great prices. Also, skirts are easiest to find in the spring, so we look a little more then.
Keep in mind that you don’t need a lot of skirts. I have about 6 of them that I wear with lots of tops and the girls have 4-5 each.
Question #2: When/why did you start wearing skirts exclusively?
Hmmm….I think it was about 20 years ago. I started feeling convicted about wearing pants while reading verses in the Bible about modesty (1 Tim 2:9), women dressing like men being an abomination to the Lord (Deut 22:5) and that everything I do, including how I dress, should be for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). I didn’t know anyone that dressed this way, but the Holy Spirit led me to be more purposeful in what I chose to wear. I only had one daughter at the time (she was 3) so I just started making the change for both of us. Within a year we had made the switch completely from pants to wearing skirts and dresses only.
It was definitely hard at first for the people in my life to understand, but it was just a small part of the changes that God was doing in our lives. We did lose friends over it and it was difficult. But now even though we are different everywhere we go, it never bothers any of us. We are confident that we are glorifying God through our clothing choices, so why worry about the rest?
Next question I get often, “How did you get your teenage daughters to be willing to dress modestly?”
For one thing, this has always been a part of how they live, so they have grown up with it. But the real issue is their willingness to do anything we require of them, whether it be clothing choices or doing chores or how they spend their time, they must always be willing to joyfully do what we ask.
We spend a lot of time sharing with our children why we believe what we do and letting them know that we care about their needs and desires, but that we will always ultimately choose God’s way first. Honestly, we don’t struggle with it because they trust us to do what is best for them and when they want to wear something that we don’t believe fits our standards (and that does happen sometimes) I gently pull them aside and tell them why they can’t wear that. Their response is always willingness to make a change and in return I show them respect by being discreet and helping them understand what is immodest about it so they can learn to make appropriate choices.
This is about our relationship, not what they are wearing. That is just an outward symbol of what is happening in their hearts.
Last question: I just don’t care about being creative with my clothing like you are. Do you ever just wear the same thing over and over?
Everyone is different! I like to switch it up and create different outfits. If you don’t care about that then don’t do it! Modesty has nothing to do with wearing a new outfit everyday. It’s about who you are in Christ and how you choose to honor Him through your clothing. It’s making purposeful choices even if it means some kind of sacrifice.
If you like have 2 outfits that you love and wear them everyday and your husband doesn’t care…then do it! I’m behind you 100%! The constant changing is just our quirk….don’t sweat it girlfriend.
(I have also gotten a BUNCH of questions about our waist bands. We will do some tutorials for you next week, so come back for that!)
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Love this post! Thanks for sharing! You and your daughters always look beautiful!
I’m new to your blog and loving it so far do have a question for you:
I find it difficult to exercise and work in the yard wearing a skirt, any suggestions?
‘We did lose friends over it and it was difficult.’ I hear you there Lisa! I sometimes wonder why it’s so hard for others to accept a personal conviction when it’s expressed in an outward manner. I’ve had a few friends who’ve thought I was judging them for not holding the same conviction, and others who felt that I thought I was ‘more spiritual’ because of my skirts! Both couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s something the Lord has laid on my heart – and He has blessed my obedience in this area.
As always – I enjoyed your ‘Embracing Modesty’ post and look forward to more! Thanks for sharing your heart once again!
Questions about waistbands? This I’ve got to read.=)
So glad you did a FAQ post on this. I love the way you explain so simply how you were led to the decisions you made. I also love the way you don’t avoid taking responsibility for all aspects of your life–it’s an inspiration for me! 🙂
It is still baffling to me how people think their being judged if a friend chooses to wear skirts or dresses all the time or most of the time. I think it is the enemy of our souls wanting to cause division among the body.
I really love this series.
Thanks for being bold, Lisa.
I am stunned that you lost friends because of your clothing. I think, well I think that they were not friends!
My girl waits with baited breath for every new modesty post 🙂 thank you for this series!
“This is about our relationship, not what they are wearing.” – this is exactly it! It’s so easy to set the rules, and to say ‘because’ but working at that relationship is key.
I appreciate your example Lisa, and for giving us peeks into your family and your life so we can see this in action.
It really surprises me that people outside of your family even notice you all wear skirts and dresses. Most of the time I don’t think people notice one bit what I wear.
But a quick question, at what age do you transition the girls? I have an 11 month old, and I’m thinking on waiting until after potty training and until she knows that we don’t lift our dress sky high and show everyone our undies lol. I figure for modesty sake that would be more appropriate. Thanks!