Why I Love Fashion and How the Bible Supports It

I was literally 10 seconds away from trying on a coral, petal blossomed, off the shoulder $10,000 Monique Lhuillier creation at Neiman's Last Call today when my son called to say he was ready to go to lunch.

I decided on a whim to go back to the suburbs for a short visit with my girlfriends and to see my son, who I have not seen for a few months. Today was the day that I would visit Neiman's to just browse in awe of designers who know how to dress women. There is nothing like it in the rural area in which I live, nor in the state for that matter. But once you go and realize that you too can look like a movie star for a few minutes, you're hooked forever. My excitement rose when I hit the parking lot and saw the slightly off-centered sign that announces you've arrived. Immediately when I walked through the doors, I made a bee-line to the shoes to the left. Oh...the shoes. They sit on the shelves just daring you to try them on. Each pair, a matched work of art, one more interesting than the next. First, I held the teal lacy, leather Louboutins, mesmerized by the delicacy of the stiletto, yet knowing the strength when walking on them. I browsed Jimmy Choo, Tory Burch, and Manolo Blahnik. My favorite was a pair of buttery soft, beige suede, peep-toed Manolo Blahnik boots that were a little over $1000. Crazy, isn't it? Oh, but were they a dream to walk in. After imagining owning them and then snapping back to reality, I took them off, put back on my own boots, and wandered over to the gowns. I had just started taking the Lhuillier confection off the rack when my phone rang. Josh was hungry and I knew trying on the gown would take a while. And...since there is no occasion in which I NEED a $10,000 dress, I hung it up and left to meet with him.

I know...it seems silly to get joy out of trying on outrageously priced clothes you won't buy, but I look at clothes such as these as pieces of art. I love Project Runway. I love the designers' challenges where you get to see them create amazing looks. You see them struggle through the process and have that insider view regarding how much thinking as well as physical hand work goes into each piece. I also love browsing in museums. On every business trip I go on, I will find a gallery or art institute to visit. Ken swears he will not go to art galleries with me because he knows that I stare at the artwork and wonder about them. Sometimes, I'll sit on the benches in front of a large painting for a while to just gaze. I ask questions.  I ponder at the "how did they do that?" My favorite experiences in a museum are the docent tours. These tours have experts who walk around with you and explain everything you want to know about the works and the artists.  Last spring when I visited the American History Museum in D.C., I went twice to the gallery that held the dresses of the President's wives. The clothes are much the same to me as artwork. I also consider stores such as Chanel, Saks, and Neiman's as art galleries where beautiful pieces of wearable art are exhibited. The difference between museums and the stores, is that I can try the pieces on! I gaze at the fabric and the designs as I consider the craftsmanship. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to have docents at the store who could tell you the story of that dress from its original collection? Perhaps they do - personal shoppers.

For my male friends, think about the Detroit auto show. Have you ever sat in a $1,000,000 car at the auto show and just smiled? Maybe you inspected the engine and smoothed your hand over the interior leather. Perhaps you tried out some of the gadgets. Maybe when you purchase a new vehicle, you choose the red truck over the grey one because you know it is just plain cool. It's that same inner appreciation for art and design.

I'm not by far an artist in any way. I can hardly hem a seam by hand let alone think up designs. I wish I knew how to paint a landscape or a scene I find interesting. I don't have those skills and talents. However, I very much enjoy viewing them. In some small way, the clothes I choose to wear are a reflection of my inner desire to be "artful". I like mixing the things I have in interesting ways. I think how we dress, how we decorate our homes, how we style our hair, how we scrapbook, take pictures, do our make-up, what we drive, how we style our home,even how we cook is a reflection of our inner selves. Everything we do or wear is a quiet reflection about who we are. It's the one visible statement that tells the world what judgement we want it to make about us in a glance. When we walk out of our house wearing workout clothes, or jeans, knee-high boots and a tee, or a cocktail dress, we are telling a story about ourselves that others get to watch and wonder about.

I love to people watch when I'm places like Neiman's and Saks or at Rural King.  Anywhere I happen to be, I watch people.  I see two things when I look at people. First, I notice God's personal design in each human being.  Each of us is a magnificent piece of art. God crafted us with a purpose in mind. In another post I might discuss someday how we, the artwork, often tell the designer that he didn't do a very good job. But that's for another day. The second thing I notice is how you design yourself. The moment we walk out our door we are giving all the world some sort of message, whether we know it or not. The great thing about us is that since we change our clothes, hair, and make-up every day, we transform ourselves into new works each day.

This leads me to what I meditated upon while driving to see my son then after saying goodbye  to those wonderful never-to-be-worn-by-me clothes. Rom 2:12 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." See, Paul tells us to not conform with ready-to-wear clothes but be transformed with designer one-of-a-kinds! (Please! Just kidding) However, if our mind tells us that we don't matter, and that no one cares about us, there is a strong link to how we dress. I know you probably think I'm stretching it here, but I see a connection after so many years in ministry. If we believe that we have to dress provocatively, in a sexual way, to get attention, I think it stems from the pain of not having a strong positive male figure in our early years telling us how precious and beautiful we were.  We may also dress in defiance or rebellion of what is considered "normal" because of unwanted or inappropriate male attention. If we have low self-esteem and are embarrassed by any attention, we dress in a boring way to disappear and would never wear anything that might draw compliments. Then there are people who belong to various culture groups. and their dress reflects their sense of belonging to that group (gangs, Amish, goth, country, hip-hop, gallery girls, etc.). When we look at people in these groups, again, we immediately know something about them by how they present themselves. 

When God tells us to transform our minds, he is telling us that we need to change what we are thinking on. Philippians 4:8 tells us,"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Sure, I know that Paul isn't telling us to think about lovely clothes, but I certainly believe that how we present ourselves to the world reflects how we view ourselves, and how we view ourselves is a direct link to what we think about. God wants us to BE true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. Not only think on things that are that way, but be that way yourself. Isn't that what a transformed mind does? Consider these questions. Do my actions reflect being truthful, honorable and right thinking? Do I behave with pure motives? Am I lovely and admirable? Do I work with excellence all the time and is what I do worthy of my boss's or spouse's praise? 

Obviously clothes do not define who we are. I know that. But they do give insight into who we are. I am deeper than what I wear. I am complex and a seeker of truth. Clothes tell part of my story but not all of it. You have to get to know me, and must get past what I wear, if I dress differently than you, in order to appreciate what I might have to offer you. People judge with first impressions. It's not a bad thing, it's just how all people are. When you or I leave the house, we are reflecting an internal message. I wonder what message will say to the world tomorrow? What will yours?

Once Upon A Time

Ever since I can remember, I've loved fairy tales. Last year when the ABC show, Once Upon A Time, premiered, I was hooked. I loved the interplay between Storybrook and fairytale land. I loved the premise that the characters didn't know who they were and that it took the sacrificed daughter to break the curse.

Of course it makes me think about the parallels to my faith. I'm sure the creators of the show didn't think, "How could we take the idea of fairy tales and share the gospel through it?" But if you sift the episodes, it's revealed. In the beginning, the Evil Queen uses her magic to place a curse over the inhabitants of Once Upon A Time and transports them to Maine to live in Storybrook, a modern day town. The curse prevents the inhabitants from knowing who they really are. Before the curse took hold, Snow White and Prince Charming had a child, the savior who could break the curse and restore the knowledge of their true identities. The entire first season is this child, now an adult, living life in Storybrook, understanding its residents and working to figure out the truth. Eventually, all is revealed. Once the curse is broken, the residents remember who they are, but are still stuck in the place that is not their true home.

It's not a perfect story of redemption, but I'm sure you see the similarities. When sin entered the world, the human race was cursed. Our intimate relationship with God was severed, and thus began the battle for our identity. Sin causes us to believe the lies of Satan. He tells us that we are the sin that ensnares us. If our sin is sex, then we identify ourselves as a player, a hook-up, etc. If our sin is anger, we shrug it off and say it's just my personality. If our sin is bitterness, we demand our right to be right, to hang onto the hurt, and claim victimhood. If our sin is food, we identify ourselves as husky, pleasantly plump, or super skinny knowing that we are abusing our bodies one way or another. Maybe our sin is money. We identify ourselves as thrifty, never giving to those in need. Or maybe our identity is defined by how much we give to others, but behind closed doors, are over our head in debt. All of us, again, all of us, have been cursed. We struggle with the curse in different ways, just as Snow White and Prince Charming did in Storybrook.

When Jesus died on the cross to break the curse of sin and to restore our relationship with God again, he gave us the opportunity to regain our true identity. As in Storybrook, just because the residents now had their eyes opened to the curse, they didn't immediately begin to behave as their true selves.  We also may understand that we no longer have to live in bondage to the curse, but because it was a part of our lives for so long, we often revert to cursed behavior.   The wonderful thing about Jesus is that we now have him to free us from that curse. If we revert to old behavior, we can receive forgiveness. If we allow God to work through us, he will also change the old identity into our true one. Some people are freed immediately from old bondage, while for others he works out the old identity in ways that may not seem quick enough. The key is that we must cooperate with him. Do we honestly want to be free? Or are we so tied to our cursed identity that we are afraid to trust that we can truly become a new person?

Snow and Charming still lived in the cursed land after the first season. We also still lived in a cursed land. We still struggle with the behavior of others, situations that result from nothing we did, the economy of our community, etc. The Storybook residents knew there was another place that was their true home.Someday, we have the hope of living in a new land, a place that is prepared in ways that we can only imagine. If the beauty of this earth is only a glimpse of what is to come, I can't wait to get there.