Times, They Are A-Changing
Clothing ettiquette, 2006:
My son presents his church clothes for ironing. My wife says, “Slacks? You don’t want to wear jeans? Remember, we’re going to church, not school!”
If our mothers were dead, they’d be rolling over in their graves.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Oh! I remember when wearing jeans became acceptable at church. I was in grade school and I was mortified. I grew up Catholic and it was an insult, I thought. Even as an adult when my DH and I would attend Saturday evening services (you know, the easy-going guitar svc.), other people would come in with their dirt-stained gardening clothes, kids in pj’s. I made my DH put on slacks and a button-down shirt. He hated that and couldn’t understand it.
I think I’ve loosened up a bit and wouldn’t go quite that far today (if I ever attended church at all–which I don’t). When I attended mass in my grandparents’ honor in Feb, I made sure I was decked out. Even on Saturday.
Jeans and T-shirts are one thing. Very casual but does a good job of covering one’s naughty bits. But when I see teen age girls dressing like they can’t wait to shoe\w off thier T’s and A’s and when boys have pants half way down thier butts, I see a parental problem. Cloths are no longer a way of covering up but rather a way of drawing attention to the sexy parts. This is common, by the way, at the church Joe and I attend. Parental problems aplenty, but a great worship experience. Kind of mixed up in my opinion.
Jeans and T-shirts are one thing. Very casual but does a good job of covering one’s naughty bits. But when I see teen age girls dressing like they can’t wait to show off thier T’s and A’s and when boys have pants half way down thier butts, I see a parental problem. Cloths are no longer a way of covering up but rather a way of drawing attention to the sexy parts. This is common, by the way, at the church Joe and I attend. Parental problems aplenty, but a great worship experience. Kind of mixed up in my opinion.
Our church may be relaxed about being “dressed up” but I do have *some* standards that I’ve passed on to Matt: no t-shirts or beat-up sneakers, shirt must be tucked in with a belt, shirt should have a collar (unless it’s a sweater). Immediately following the above quoted exchange he let me know that the reason he’d chosen his school slacks was because the only clean jeans in his closet had holes in the knees. I don’t let him dress like a total heathen!
(I have to admit, there are times I give fervent praise to God that He didn’t give me any daughters. Dressing a young man modestly is mainly limited to making sure it’s clean, fits appropriatly, and is in good repair. Just walking by the girls’ section and seeing what is marketed to them gives me the heebie-jeebies.)
Yes, I questioned my own parenting skills one day when I told Colin to un-tuck his shirt! As soon as I said it, I knew it was a new world. Our church rules for the boys are: (1) a shirt that has buttons and (2) no clothes with words on them. I must admit I’ve been known to push a pair of nice jeans over the khaki pants he wears to school just because I don’t want the pants to wear out before the end of the school year!
Brent has worn jeans to church before but I even got him out of that habit & I don’t think he’d be comfortable doing it again. Like you said about Mom, Joe, it’s just something that I could never get used to doing. What I hate though is that some people at church act like they’re at a fashion show & that’s what will turns me off about church sometimes: when people are there for a social event and not for Mass, and they’re so distracting & annoying! WOMEN! Haha.