Help me understand...”Modest Fashion”

Or wrist length sleeves been more practical or comfortable than elbow length ones?

Men seem to manage to wear them most of the time, why do women have to put up with things that come half way up your arm because designers can't cut sleeves properly to cater for different sizes?

And I don't think dresses have to be floor-length, most are midi.

So you don't waste time wading through clothes you're not interested in? Why have any labels for anything? To make it easier to find what you want.
Modest: (of a woman) dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, especially to avoid attracting sexual attention.
If a term is required, something that focuses on the clothes themselves eg. 'covered up', 'encompassing' or some other poncey fashion term would be less loaded with the sexist idea that women need to hide their bodies to avoid the male gaze and not be seen as a slut who's 'fair game' for harassment.

Why does it have to be labelled at all?

So you don't waste time wading through clothes you're not interested in?
Why have any labels for anything? To make it easier to find what you want.

There is a class element to this.

Having a lot of skin on show can be seen as a working class thing.

Or wrist length sleeves been more practical or comfortable than elbow length ones?

Since when have floor length skirts been comfortable or practical?

I'd be happy to see a 'modest' range for men. One that guarantees I won't have to see a hairy arse crack i haven't actively sought out.

That article has no political analysis at all. The idea of "modest" fashion is absurd. The very existence of the term implies that there's an opposite kind of fashion - immodest fashion - in which women, to use the Daily Fail's preferred phrase, "flaunt their curves". (Or their bare arms, or their legs, or their necks, or whatever it is.)

But yeah - comfortable clothing or practical clothing are fine as terms. (Though I suspect that so-called "modest" clothing isn't always that comfortable, especially in hot weather.)

I like the clothes. It's refreshing to see stylish, fashionable clothing that's also warm and comfy looking and achievable and appealing to women of all ages.

But I also object to the term 'modest' because it is a value judgement. Another vote for 'practical' or 'sensible'.

If you want a short-sleeved top you search for 'short sleeves' and if you want a long-sleeved top you search for 'long sleeves'

Many long sleeved top are very low cut, have random holes exposing the back and arms or are crop top/belly tops.
I mostly buy from Muslim online fashion shops, I like that I can search 'long sleeved tops' and not have to trawl through 200 results just to find 1 or 2 things suitable.

I agree the word 'modest' is problematic, but I would like a search term that brings up items that are not skin revealing.

Why does it have to be labelled at all? Why not just have skirt lengths in inches/cm/whatever as the norm, the way men's trousers are labelled by inside leg measurement? So if you want a short or a midi or a long skirt you search by size and length. If you want a short-sleeved top you search for 'short sleeves' and if you want a long-sleeved top you search for 'long sleeves'. Why the fucking value judgements, always, for women and their clothes? Why can't we just have standardised factual descriptions and measurements?

But if it is about how tight fitting clothes are mummy2017 why are so many of the models featured wearing tight fitting tops and arse hugging trousers?

It’s directly religious. Those women whose religions demand “modest dress” want to be able to find nice modern stuff that fits the bill. I think it’s great that fashion is catering from them. The problem is not with the label or fashion but the originating religions and women brought up in those religions should be supported not belittled.

I think modest dressing means how the dress wears you.
If two people who differ in shape wore the same size dress, on one it was not clinging, while the other it was skin tight .
Both would show the same amount of skin, but appearances would differ.

I live in outside the UK and I feel it necessary to dress more 'modestly' to avoid harassment here. Some of the outfits I see women wearing back home would lead to all sorts of catcalling and worse. I don't see the idea of 'modesty' as empowering in the slightest, it's born from fear of male sexual violence. Nothing wrong with the clothes themselves, but the term 'modest' doesn't show an emphasis on comfort but compliance with the idea that men simply can't help themselves, and by implication if you wear 'immodest' clothes then you are asking for it. Dressing for comfort would include skimpy clothing in the height of summer. I sadly think it's a side-effect of the fear of criticising different cultures for their sexism out of a drive to be inclusive, which makes terms such as 'modesty' become normalised. The kind of harassment I've experienced out on the street in mainly Middle-Eastern or African neighbourhoods has been notably worse in my experience (no agenda in stating this, an honest observation). I also notice that often, there are hardly any women present on the streets in these neighbourhoods, men dominating all the street cafes turning around to gawp as you walk past, very intimidating (even when I have been dressed 'modestly', and looking quite average). Modest fashion seems to accept that this is just the way things are, but if you are a good and modest girl then you won't get any trouble, which is of course a lie.

“Modest” is problematic because it places the onus on the wearer of the clothing to control the reactions of the viewer

Yep. Sexist bullshit. In the same way male rape victims are never asked what type of underwear they had on, whilst the female victims clothes are shown as an open bloody invite.

@TalkingintheDark sums it perfectly.

Fuck modest, fuck labelling what we wear. Just leave us alone! Aaarrgghhh men don't have to deal with this bullshit. My husband chucks on a shirt and trousers for work 'modest' or jeans and a hoody at weekends 'modest' and that is it, life is so simple. There is no one writing stupid articles like this about his clothes.

I wear suits like that, and loose styles like that every day, I hate tight clothing, I like being comfortable. Yet I think I'm stylish and attractive. So fuck the labels, my modest clothing hasn't held me back from anything in life. I will wear whatever i want.

Actually, I think the concept of “modest clothing” as a thing started with American Christian sects- there are loads of articles and blog posts and advertisements you can find. And it’s all about taking responsibility for men’s behaviour.

Floor length skirts are not sensible. Constricting

Another vote for 'sensible' clothes, here.

I could go along with that if the clothes featured actually were 'sensible'. Trousers that don't come down to my feet and allow the wind to blow up them don't fall into 'sensible' for me.

But I wish they'd chosen "sensible" instead

Yes, definitely. Or "practical".

I mean even women's active outdoor wear has become skimpy and form fitting. I had to buy from the men's range when we were going on a walking holiday as I didn't want a fleece that was tight and shaped in at the waist and tight walking trousers.

Yes, OP, I agree that I have big issues with the word 'modesty' and it's implications.

Another vote for 'sensible' clothes, here.

This film was linked below, out of interest: www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-47859204/the-rise-of-male-modest-islamic-fashion