I been thinking a lot lately on the subject of femininity-
from the superficial, ruffles and ribbons to the more personal like the warmth,
emotional and loving nature of the female sex. While some people can’t seem to get
past the notion of who is greater amongst the sexes- I love that God made me
female, I really would stink as a man (smile).
From a very early age I preferred dolls, playing house and dressing up.
A good shade of red lipstick still manages to add color to my life especially
on gray days. While organizing my
closet, I recalled that one of the reasons I thought I would never return to
the Catholic faith was because the thought of wearing long, solemn skirts and
shapeless tops terrified me. I thought
that being Catholic meant no longer being feminine - that modesty implied a
scorn of the material and a rejection of physical appearance… While I have discussed my inner conversion, I
know that I’ve also had a style evolution these past years as a Catholic revert. I’ve learned a little better that modesty is
not being frumpy- the saints all look quite clean and put together in the
photographs I have seen of them (smile).
Which leads me to believe that they loved themselves enough to maintain
good hygiene and physical care. One
cannot say I love myself and not care for the body God gave us… Anyway, today I
want to write about what I have learned about modesty from a style icon, Coco
Chanel. Though Chanel was not Christian,
I think that when it comes to modesty and style – she has left great blueprints
for us women to follow. Her ideas about
style really resonate Christian style spirituality.
Thus, I have selected fourteen great Chanel quotes to describe what
modesty means to me today and how I have evolved in appearance as my faith has
grown.
Modesty:
- “Be classy. Anything but trashy.”
- “Adornment, what a science! Beauty what a weapon! Modesty, what elegance!”
- “Dress shabbily (immodestly) and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
- “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.”
Classic style is not about objectifying yourself, but
of expressing your God given beauty.
It’s a matter of knowing your worth and dressing accordingly. I’ve heard the cliché that we are daughters of the King so we need
to dress the part and resemble heavenly royalty.
Modesty
doesn’t mean frumpy:
- “I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that’s the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.”
Sometimes in our desire to claim our “not of this
world” status we start to resemble bums.
I know that for a while I erroneously thought Catholicism (in terms of style) meant I needed
to not care about my physical appearance at all. So, I stopped dressing up, wearing make-up
and fixing my hair; yet I was miserable because to me style is a form of creativity and self expression... Now I know that it’s ok to have a neat, feminine appearance and that to take
the time to care for all of me is not sinful.
True beauty
has depth:
- “Elegance comes from being as beautiful inside as outside.”
True beauty is
personal:
- “The best color in the world is the one that looks good on you.”
- “Trendy is the last stage before tacky.” – Karl Lagerfeld
Beauty involves the whole person, taking care of
our inner self is really important so that we can shine God’s light to
others. When we sin be quick to go to
confession, humble to seek help with our weaknesses and always open for
growth. God gives us high standards to
live our lives- let’s be obedient to His ways.
We were uniquely made so don’t get trapped with following trends and
trying to be someone you are not- be yourself, you are the only one of
you. Sometimes I feel like we lack
originality because we are so afraid to be ourselves and try so hard to be what the media tells us we need to be. Yet, true beauty is grasping and living
authentically.
True beauty
cares:
This quote reminded me of being good stewards. Don’t let cheap prices fool you, do your
homework and see how your purchases are harming the world. More is not better- one quality item can last
longer, help others and keep our world cleaner.
True beauty
lasts a lifetime.
- “You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty and irresistible for the rest of your life.”
God made our beauty to last forever. We don’t need Botox or plastic surgery to
hold on to our youth or remain beautiful because we are beautifully made at any stage in our lives.
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