A Biblical View on Style and Fashion

You may ask yourself, “What biblical significance is there in the way that I dress?” or “What does God care about what's trending in fashion?” Well, these are some very valid questions that I aim to address in this article.

With the subject of style, fashion and clothing, the Bible seems to put more of an emphasis on the need to develop one’s inner beauty more so than the outer appearance. For example, in First Peter 3: 3-4, the Bible makes mention of this subject speaking to wives in relationship to their husbands. Although the verses focus primarily on the wife, I think it makes a relevant point to both gender in regards to our topic. And it reads, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 

Likewise, in another place in scripture, we see that Jesus is rebuking the teachers of the Law because of their hypocrisy. He says in Matthew 23: 27–28, “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean... On the outside you appear to people as righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” From these verses, it becomes clear that God is displeased with the nature of the individual's character particularly when it poses evil and especially when the individual masks their true nature by dressing it up in a pretentious manner. This was the thing that Jesus was pinpointing in the scripture. Unfortunately, this is usually the sole place where people land when making mention of style and fashion from a biblical standpoint. 

The beauty about God and His creative work is that He has “fashioned” us according to His image and His likeness. Yet, He has instilled within each of us a certain distinction and individuality whereby He intends to get glory from our lives. This is the reason that we must be careful not to limit God’s creativity at work through people in the form of an individual’s sense of style and fashion. In fact, there is a very fitting quote by a renowned social reformer and clergyman of the early 1800s named Henry Ward Beecher that states, “Clothes and manners do not make the man, but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.” 

My point is, God does not object to what a person wears or the way in which they wear it as long as it is modest and tasteful. The difference in Christiandom as opposed to the world of fashion is that sometimes in modern fashion culture, there is such a pressure to look a certain way, that it often drives people to make drastic physical changes such as by cosmetic surgery or extreme weight loss, etc to try to fit an image that may or may not be applauded by the masses. Fashion is ever changing and one must learn not to take extreme measures just to be relevant or “in” while neglecting that which is most important such as building a valuable and solid relationship with God. 

There is a balance in all of this. The scripture says that we should love others according to the love we have for ourselves. So to dress nicely and to focus on developing one’s personal style is not sin, but is an expression of self-respect and self-honor. As believers, there is nothing wrong with dressing like we are the King’s own as we are! In fact, the more that we gain revelation as to who we are representing and the eternal kingdom that we are partakers of, the more attention we will give to modeling the part from the inside out. 

Picture young David in First Samuel 16. When the prophet Samuel came into Jesse’s home to choose a candidate as king over Israel, none of Jesse’s other sons fit the description. Though some looked the part, God was more interested in the nature of their hearts, which would determine their ability to undertake such a divine task. In fact, while Samuel considered one of the brothers as being the chosen one, God interrupted and spoke to the prophet, saying: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16: 7). After all of the sons in the house were presented to the prophet, Samuel concluded that none of them were fit and asked if there were any others left. Jesse responded saying that the only one remaining was his son David who was out tending the sheep. 

Progressively, we see that David started out in shepherd's clothing, but eventually was redressed in king's garments according to where his destiny would take him!

In my previous blog entitled My Style and The Way I Wear It Matters, I reference an article written by Eva Rykrsmith called Dress Code or Not, What You Wear Matters. The correlation that I would like to make between the verses we just read and her article is the fact that the things we wear can also have an impact on our overall performance. She writes, “The clothes we wear—specifically, the meaning we have associated with them and the feelings they evoke in us—put us in a different mindset.” The reason that Jesus encouraged them to free Lazarus from his grave clothes when he was resurrected is so that in moving forward with his life, it was important that Lazarus no longer performed as one who was a victim to his past, or to even think as one who was still dead. The whole moral of my article can be summed up in these words: Your inner character is more important than the outer. Work on that first and have your outer mirror the same.

Photos Courtesy of Rashon Carraway (top) and Crystal Lewis (Bottom)

DRESS LIKE A GENT

How To Develop Your Personal Style

In this blog, I would like to focus on the #1 Question that everyone asks, which is; "How do I develop my personal style?" Not only are people asking this question, but it is becoming more and more common for people to invest in hiring their own personal stylist to spruce up their everyday look. As previously mentioned, it is foundational that we recognize that style itself is something that is both personal and individualized. With this being said, it is important that the individual take time to discover his/her personal tastes in clothing. Again, we all have a general, preset style type about us, but oftentimes, we lack the know-how to enhance that style by putting the appropriate pieces together. Sometimes, it helps to just take an overview of your closet by paying attention to the types of items that you tend to gravitate toward. Perhaps you tend to go for a certain color or a certain embedded design in the clothing you usually buy. These are generally the types of things that make you feel good and can help to assessand build your personal style. What I would like to do in this blog is to outline a few, practical style developing tips that I believe will serve as a quick and easy guide to help you in your journey of personal style development. Please note, these are only suggestions and can very well be altered by the individual. Here goes a few:

Style Tip # 1 - Define your ambitions by writing them down and dress in a way that compliments your ambitions. This is the best way to discover your personal style, build it and refine it.

Sometimes, it helps to pay attention to what types of things you wear that get the most compliments. Generally, this will help you to recognize the types of combos that people determine display the “best you”.

Style Tip # 2 - Identify style icons that you admire and use them as guides as you build your personal style. Follow their style journey and pay attention to their consistencies, how they dress for various occasions. Keep in mind, you're focus is not to mimic another person's style, but to use them as a guide which can in turn

Style Tip # 3 - Shop in your own closet first. Style rarely requires expensive shopping and most of the time, we already own several items that can be used in enhancing our personal style. Purge your existing wardrobe of pieces that are not complimentary of the type of image you are aiming for. As you aspire to build a style that best fits your ambitions and your individuality, build upon some of the things you already possess.

Style Tip # 4 - Don’t try so hard – Style is only complicated because we make it more complicated than it should be. Find an outfit that you believe you look good in and wear it, but remember that a person’s individual style should look great on and seem effortless. It is often when we try to overdue it, that it looks more like a disaster and creates distraction.

Style Tip # 5 - Wear Color, but Carefully. A few variations of color are fine and can serve to update clothes you already own. Remember to accessorize with color more so rather than incorporating it into a whole look. Of course, this is subject to a person's ability to wear it right and because style is personal, the individual has every right to be more daring with colors as long as it's not overkill. I will actually be sharing in a future post on Colors and Color-Blocking to provide you with more details on how to incorporate color in your style.

For more information or inquires in regards to this topic, style consultations or personal styling, feel free to leave your comments on the main page or shoot me a message.

DRESS LIKE A GENT

My Style and The Way I Wear It, Matters

My style and the way that I wear it, matters! We all individually have a certain style about ourselves. The fail, is when we are not in touch with that style and it remains dulled by our lack of knowing how to develop it. Most people when you ask them how they would describe their personal style in words would say, "Whatever is comfortable" or "Trendy" or "What I can afford and fits well". The key is getting in touch with your style by being in touch with who you are and your ambitions. As far as how to develop your personal style, this will be a topic that we will discuss on a future post. Whether we are dressed casual or dressed up for business, we should keep in mind that our style is a form of communication without words.

As we mentioned in the previous blog, people judge us by what they see us wear before they ever hear us speak. In fact, in an article entitled Dress Code or Note, What You Wear Matters by Organizational Psychologist; Eva Rykrsmith, she speaks of how what we wear has an effect on our performance, ourselves and on others. She describes how what we wear has an affect on the way people perceive us, but even more so, the way we dress can affect how we behave. This, to me is a very powerful fact about why we should step it up in the way we dress. Eva mentions a case study where behavior was observed at a roller rink.

On the nights where there was a strict dress code enforced, there were fewer accidents and less noise. She states: "In an old article in the Academy of Management Review, scientists theorized that exhibiting actions not in line with the expectations of how one would behave when wearing that clothing creates a psychological conflict called cognitive dissonance. And to relieve the conflict, people will change their behavior to match their dress." Of course, in order to enhance one's style to fit the bill, there oftentimes has to be a learning as to how to do so. But, I find that a large number of people tend to shy away from the challenge because they feel it requires too much energy and thought and they would much rather just keep it quick and simple.

I can remember once interviewing for a notable, high-end department store for a personal stylist position. When I walked with one of the hiring managers throughout the department store, he did an entire survey of what I was wearing and even asked me if the shoes I had on were Allen Edmonds; of which I am proud to say, were! Although, I ended up not getting the position there, it stuck with me how he was impressed by the attention I put into my attire more than my experiences and how this helped our interview flow smoothly. Shortly afterwards, I ended up landing another position that even paid more where my style became an asset to the type of work that I would be involved in. That is a valuable lesson I will never forget. I think it's more than just having a knowledge of name brands and fashion sense, but our style and the way we wear what we wear gains us people's ears and even their favor.

In short, we should not shun the saying "dress to impress" because it has been proven since the Renaissance until now to open up great doors of opportunity because the people wearing it have the confidence necessary to possess these new opportunities.

DRESS LIKE A GENT