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Original poster

Are there any dress restrictions for Christian women?

151 replies

Daffy123 · 22/07/2014 09:41

I know Christian women have to dress modestly but what does that entail. There is a church going Christian at my work and she often wears dresses and tops with no sleeves and short skirts

What does the bible say?

OP posts:
Thumbwitch · 23/07/2014 04:42

What do you want to know and why?
Not hard to understand, is it?

KeatsiePie · 23/07/2014 05:16

Weird thread!

Many fundamentalist Christians here in the US hold to a strict dress code for women (and men too btw.), but not all of them do.

LDS Mormons hold to a fairly conservative dress code, but I don't think it's all that noticeable, it's not extreme. The Amish obviously have well-developed customs wrt. dress for both men and women.

Aside from them, most Western Christians don't put a lot of emphasis on clothes. Cultural conventions may sometimes apply, e.g., the women in some Friends (Quaker) or Catholic or Seventh-Day Adventist congregations may dress somewhat conservatively, but certainly not all will.

FeministStar · 23/07/2014 05:56

Margratshair, that's a pretty poor choice of picture on the part of as headteacher regardless of religion!

I know Christians who will wear strappy or sleeveless tops and short skirts etc, I know others who will never show any cleavage and will wear long skirts. It's personal preference really.

bronya · 23/07/2014 06:57

Lol. It bothers me when people have a go at how others live their lives. Live and let live. Surely you have more important things to do with your time?

AlpacaLypse · 23/07/2014 07:11

There are as many different sorts of Christian as there are sects within Islam. Some of them are reasonably sensible, some of them are frighteningly bonkers. Fundamentalism seems to always lead to bigotry and is wicked no matter whether it's in the name of Jesus or Mohammed or Jehovah.

I am a practising CofE Christian, and last time I took communion I was wearing a long sundress.

Original poster
Daffy123 · 23/07/2014 08:05

Who is having a go at anyone bronya? Hmm

You don't have to take part in this discussion. Don't have you anything better to do?

OP posts:
Original poster
Daffy123 · 23/07/2014 08:08

There are quite a few Mormon churches and they do hold a stricter dress code. I spoke to a Mormon recently and she mentioned that she wouldn't wear a short skirt or sleeveless top

OP posts:
thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts · 23/07/2014 08:48

There is no dress code for Christian women. There will be a cultural dress code and of course that varies from place to place. In my 8am congregation which is mainly older people I have elderly ladies in nice dresses in the summer and tweed in the winter. I have African women in beautiful bright colours in the summer and fur coats in the winter. I have women who come in saris no matter what the weather. In the other congregations we have all versions of smart, smart casual and mismatched throw it on because it is all that is clean.

If you are sitting down in a church for up to an hour then you need to be comfortable and have enough layers to cope with the drafts and variable heating. Practical really.

Aheadofyourtime · 23/07/2014 11:01

Laugh away.. but it wasn't a joke.

Why do you care whether this woman is wearing short skirts and is Christian then, is she very attractive and sought after perhaps?

Or is she unattractive and you are just being mean?

QuintessentiallyQS · 23/07/2014 11:57

Whether Mormons are Christians or not, are debatable though.... www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/mormon/beliefs/christian.shtml

QuintessentiallyQS · 23/07/2014 11:57

I am not exactly sure what you are trying to understand, in posting this thread.

thecageisfull · 23/07/2014 12:07

I'm a Christian. I mainly wear jeans and a vest top. My head is shaved, as is my friends (Catholic nun, so fairly Christian. She also owns at least one sleeveless blouse). Yesterday I went swimming in my vest and pants. I only meant to go paddling but a wave came and i though 'in for a penny..'
I drove home in my bra and shorts. I refuse to take responsibility for other peoples thoughts when they look at me. I am more than my body.

HTH

nicename · 23/07/2014 12:14

I think its trying to be a debate/controvacy thread. 'So what do those funny (alien?) Christian lot do/wear/think'.

As with the 'why do some muslim women wear scarves, masks, etc' threads, assuming that the OP is in the UK, just ask someone. As far as I know, they don't bite.

The OP hasn't come back with a 'oh, that's interesting' or 'why is that? comment, just hitting back any comments s/he doesn't care for.

Not really is discussion thread at all.

Aheadofyourtime · 23/07/2014 12:34

Sounds like it was started by a teenage boy.

sonlypuppyfat · 23/07/2014 12:43

My teenage boy would have more sense.

AMumInScotland · 23/07/2014 12:49

Actually, I just read his link about bikinis and think he could do with a lesson on why that kind of thinking is a pile of crap and inconsistent even in itself.

Apparently "Another issue to consider is that God calls all people to control their thought lives, so as women, we should not cause men to lust"

I mean honestly: all people have to control their own thoughts, therefore women should make sure they don't give men an excuse to be lustful?

If you go down that route much further you're well into rape apologist territory.

OP - if you do ever feel like engaging with us, we could have a proper discussion on why it is not women's responsibility to make up for the fact that some men apparently find it so difficult to control themselves that the sight of a woman's body is a problem for them.

nicename · 23/07/2014 12:54

Oooh, like a 'what are you wearing' thread? But like the phone calls you used to get when you were a teenager from dirty old men?

nicename · 23/07/2014 13:05

www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/christian_dress/

There's a whole book on the subject!

Looking around the office today (church office)... 3/4 length jeans, flippy cotton summer dress, shirt-dress, vest top and knee length skirt, 2/3 length trousers and t-shirt, silky monsoon-type tea dress, long floaty skirt with t-shirt, jogging pants and zippy top (lay preacher), vicar is in a Hawaiian shirt and linen trousers.

sashh · 23/07/2014 16:18

It depends on the branch of Christianity and personal opinion.

Some African women will say Christian women shouldn't wear trousers, some will say it is OK but not in church.

As already said many churches required women to cover their heads, not many do now.

Amish are christian and have very strict dress rules.

titabeth · 23/07/2014 18:02

Daffy123 - why did you want to know?

I've been a christian all my life, apart from a brief aetheist period in my teens (due to the discovery of nuclear weapons - but I digress)

I've always worn exactly what I please, although I have a preference for trousers, and tops which are not low cut. No-one christian or otherwise has ever commented on my appareil.

I'm interested to know why it's important to you?

titabeth · 23/07/2014 18:10

I just wanted to say one quick thing, which might not be related, but could be of interest. My bro lives in an area of London where there are many muslims. Whenever I visited I smiled and said hello to lots of people. I was met with what seemed like disdain from some of the men.

One day I happened to be wearing a little head scarf my daughter had bought in Ibiza for me. Suddenly it was okay when I smiled and said hello to people. Which is what your supposed to do if you're a christian.

Later I got chatting to a muslim who lived near me. He told me it was considered a sin to look at a woman who hasn't got her head covered.

madhairday · 23/07/2014 18:22

Tell you what, I'm going to a festival with 10,000 other Christians next week, so how about I report on the dress code among the women there?

I suspect they will look much like everyone else.

Today I'm wearing a sleeveless maxi. DD is wearing a little sleeveless dress and sporting purple dip dyed hair.

No dress code in church. Some older people dress up more - they still like to do the Sunday Best thing. Most people just wear comfortable clothes.

One of my lady vicar friends sports the goth punk look, and does it very well.

Not sure what you were asking op?

nicename · 23/07/2014 19:08

He told me it was considered a sin to look at a woman who hasn't got her head covered.

Absolute balls. And that's from someone married to a muslim. That's culture not religion.

frames · 23/07/2014 20:58

I know a morman she shops at Next. A lot.

QuinionsRainbow · 24/07/2014 11:54

I spoke to a Mormon recently and she mentioned that she wouldn't wear a short skirt or sleeveless top
Would that be by personal choice or because the male members of her church dictated her dress arrangements to her?

Christianity, as a faith is all about belief in the one true God etc. Dress codes among Christians (and among adherents to other faiths) are responses to local social/cultural mores rather than infallible divine instruction. And to hark back to OP's original question - there is only one Christian faith, but many Churches interpreting, possibly selectively, different aspects of that faith.