The Language of Clothes

On June 28, 1837, at only eighteen years old, Queen Victoria was crowned as monarch of the powerful United Kingdom and Ireland.

No more than 5 feet (1.52 meters) tall, she reigned for sixty-three years and influenced the lifestyle (including the clothing styles) of the Victorian era.

Before her reign (1837–1901), “men were the focus of fashion, but with a queen in power, women surged to the forefront.

The role of a wife became to show off her husband’s status and wealth to the public, with the husband himself receding into the background.” Many other leading figures and stars have influenced people’s lifestyles.

But religious dialog about fashion and clothing tends to be hot, divisive, and even competitive. Some believe that a true Christian should never follow the world’s fashion. Others argue that one can dress as he or she likes because what matters is the inner person and not the outer. Unquestionably, the inner person is the source of outer behavior (Mark 7:21–23). But clothes are much more than just a means of covering our bodies. They reveal our personal taste, social status, and moral values.

In her book The Language of Clothes, Alison Lurie states, “For thousands of years human beings have communicated with one another first in the language of dress. Long before I am near enough to talk to you on the street, in a meeting, or at a party, you announce your sex, age and class to me through what you are wearing —and very possibly give me important information (or misinformation) as to your occupation, origin, personality, opinions, tastes, sexual desires and current mood.

I may not be able to put what I observe into words, but I register the information unconsciously; and you simultaneously do the same for me.” So, if a Christian is “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13–16), how should he or she dress? There are helpful Bible principles dealing with this subject (1 Timothy 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4). But in a nutshell, a true Christian should dress in his or her culture as the people with high moral values and good reputations do in that specific culture.