Cindy Lange-Kubick: Fashion show explores 'modest' styles
When I was in sixth grade, my mom was so ridiculous. She insisted my skirts touched my knees when I went to school. So I always left the house with my skirts touching my knees.
But on the six-block walk to Rousseau, I'd roll the waistband to show as much skinny 12-year-old leg as possible. I don't think I wanted to by sexy. But I wanted to fit in. I wanted boys to notice me. I wanted to be in style. I definitely didn't think "Modest is Hottest."
But that's what all the girls were groovin' on Friday at Christ's Place Church on Old Cheney Road. They even gave away a "Modest is Hottest" T-shirt during their first style show for young women. And the audience loved it.
"We're hoping this is the first year of many," said Ciana Cloud, who helped organize the evening.
"When we announced it at church there was an eruption of clapping. I think there are a lot of moms who are trying to find that balance."
Now I'm a mom. And I know all about balance. The balance between what "everyone" is wearing and what a mom would like her daughter to wear.
The balance between wanting your daughter to love her body and wanting her to wear a burka in public.
At Christ's Place, they're looking for balance, too. It all began in February, when the church youth group split the boys and girls up for a month.
The boys got together to talk about guy stuff. And the girls got together to talk about girl stuff.
Mostly the girls talked about modesty, said Ciana, who works part time at the church as a secretary and also helps sponsor the church's youth group, Rock Solid.
The young women and the sponsors talked about dressing in a way that would honor God. And in a way that would honor themselves. And they came up with the idea for the style show.
"We got to the end of the month and we said, ‘Let's give them some practical applications, show them how to dress fun.'"
They took 14 girls shopping for everyday clothes at Old Navy and T.J. Maxx and for prom night at J'Maries Bridal Shoppe.
They came up with 22 outfits they judged to be fun and fashionable. And, oh, yeah, modest. (No cleavage, no tummies, no spaghetti straps, no short skirts.) And Friday night, down the runway they came. In watermelon tank tops and grassy green capris and hot pink handbags.
Girls of all shapes and colors getting down in everything from flip-flops and skirts to fancy formals to cool church clothes.
The tables were set with floating candles and the models appeared from behind a tulle curtain. They called their show Unfading Beauty.
"The Word says that ‘Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,'" emcee Latrice Hall told the audience before the first model came strutting out in a brown and pink hoodie with capris, pink belt and "super cute butterfly bag."
The models — Stacy and Lexie and Jazmin and all the rest — looked fabulous, right out of the pages of an Old Navy ad.
The audience left with tips about layering their tank tops and flattering their body types. And all the moms were grateful.
"We're thinking we may try to make this an every year event and make it even bigger," Ciana said Monday.
I wondered about the boys. What were the boys doing while the girls were worrying about sending the wrong message?
Wasn't it a double standard that the girls had to worry about how they appeared to boys? That the girls were responsible for how the boys reacted to them? Did the boys discuss modesty?
The boys talked too, Ciana told me, not about modesty so much, but about respecting girls.
And it wasn't just about dressing to keep boys from "getting the wrong idea," Ciana explained, even though they talked about the messages that might be sent when a girl dresses a "certain way."
It was also about how girls felt about themselves. How they got sucked into thinking they "had" to look sexy to be accepted or to get a boy's attention — instead of dressing in a way that honors their spirit.
That's the bigger problem, at least to me. You can't fix self-esteem with 2-inch shoulder straps and Bermuda shorts, as long as the world is screaming at you to look like Britney.
Or as long as you keep listening. The Friday fashion show was a way of drowning out some of that noise. Besides, when a guy sags and shows his boxers, girls don't usually have a hormone-inspired reaction, Ciana explained.
"It's more like, ‘Gross, pull your pants up.'"
Reach Cindy Lange-Kubick at 473-7218 or clangekubick@journalstar.com.
But on the six-block walk to Rousseau, I'd roll the waistband to show as much skinny 12-year-old leg as possible. I don't think I wanted to by sexy. But I wanted to fit in. I wanted boys to notice me. I wanted to be in style. I definitely didn't think "Modest is Hottest."
But that's what all the girls were groovin' on Friday at Christ's Place Church on Old Cheney Road. They even gave away a "Modest is Hottest" T-shirt during their first style show for young women. And the audience loved it.
"We're hoping this is the first year of many," said Ciana Cloud, who helped organize the evening.
"When we announced it at church there was an eruption of clapping. I think there are a lot of moms who are trying to find that balance."
Now I'm a mom. And I know all about balance. The balance between what "everyone" is wearing and what a mom would like her daughter to wear.
The balance between wanting your daughter to love her body and wanting her to wear a burka in public.
At Christ's Place, they're looking for balance, too. It all began in February, when the church youth group split the boys and girls up for a month.
The boys got together to talk about guy stuff. And the girls got together to talk about girl stuff.
Mostly the girls talked about modesty, said Ciana, who works part time at the church as a secretary and also helps sponsor the church's youth group, Rock Solid.
The young women and the sponsors talked about dressing in a way that would honor God. And in a way that would honor themselves. And they came up with the idea for the style show.
"We got to the end of the month and we said, ‘Let's give them some practical applications, show them how to dress fun.'"
They took 14 girls shopping for everyday clothes at Old Navy and T.J. Maxx and for prom night at J'Maries Bridal Shoppe.
They came up with 22 outfits they judged to be fun and fashionable. And, oh, yeah, modest. (No cleavage, no tummies, no spaghetti straps, no short skirts.) And Friday night, down the runway they came. In watermelon tank tops and grassy green capris and hot pink handbags.
Girls of all shapes and colors getting down in everything from flip-flops and skirts to fancy formals to cool church clothes.
The tables were set with floating candles and the models appeared from behind a tulle curtain. They called their show Unfading Beauty.
"The Word says that ‘Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting,'" emcee Latrice Hall told the audience before the first model came strutting out in a brown and pink hoodie with capris, pink belt and "super cute butterfly bag."
The models — Stacy and Lexie and Jazmin and all the rest — looked fabulous, right out of the pages of an Old Navy ad.
The audience left with tips about layering their tank tops and flattering their body types. And all the moms were grateful.
"We're thinking we may try to make this an every year event and make it even bigger," Ciana said Monday.
I wondered about the boys. What were the boys doing while the girls were worrying about sending the wrong message?
Wasn't it a double standard that the girls had to worry about how they appeared to boys? That the girls were responsible for how the boys reacted to them? Did the boys discuss modesty?
The boys talked too, Ciana told me, not about modesty so much, but about respecting girls.
And it wasn't just about dressing to keep boys from "getting the wrong idea," Ciana explained, even though they talked about the messages that might be sent when a girl dresses a "certain way."
It was also about how girls felt about themselves. How they got sucked into thinking they "had" to look sexy to be accepted or to get a boy's attention — instead of dressing in a way that honors their spirit.
That's the bigger problem, at least to me. You can't fix self-esteem with 2-inch shoulder straps and Bermuda shorts, as long as the world is screaming at you to look like Britney.
Or as long as you keep listening. The Friday fashion show was a way of drowning out some of that noise. Besides, when a guy sags and shows his boxers, girls don't usually have a hormone-inspired reaction, Ciana explained.
"It's more like, ‘Gross, pull your pants up.'"
Reach Cindy Lange-Kubick at 473-7218 or clangekubick@journalstar.com.
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