Changes

After changing the look of blog, there are a few things that came to mind:

How quickly fashions change.....
Does this have to do with our discontentment with what we have, or our desires to be like others, the rich and famous?

The cycle of fashion is driven by our desires to want more and fast. The quicker the fashions change, the faster we get tired of them, the more we want, the faster the fashions change. And the cycle continues.

Can we not just slow down? Our lives are a reflection of the fashions. We are busier than ever and achieve less and less. Where do we find the time to slow down, relax and just think? What do we understand when we say "relax"? What is it that we do in our down-time?

I think we need to slow down the cycle in our own lives and maybe just be content for a while, smell the flowers (or coffee, or jungle).

Fragrance(s)

It has taken me a bit of research to get to the history of fragrances as we know them today.

Since most fashion houses make in the vicinity of 75% of their revenue from accessories and perfume, this theme will need to be addressed here.

Perfumes and fragrances are old. Many ancient cultures, also Judaism used specific recipes for fragrant offerings / sacrifices, which could not be used anywhere else. Read Exodus 30:38 in context. Buddhism and Hinduism still use incense sticks in their worship / prayers, mainly made from fragrant oils and woods.

In 2 Corinthians 2 it says: 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

It is amazing that we are that fragrant offering in the end.

I also remember a scene from the book "I dared to call him Father" where she has a dreams about a perfume bottle on her dress stand and when she wakes up finds the Bible sitting in the same spot. I think God's word is like a fragrance in our lives as well.

Dirty Laundry

Intrigued?

No?

Well, let me get right down to it. When have you ever heard of someone washing clothes in blood to make them white? Quite the opposite is true, if you have ever tried it. (No, I do not recommend it!) There is a spiritual truth, however that states that: although we are as scarlet, we will be as white as snow.

This brings me to the colour Scarlet, more often than not mentioned in connection with Purple in the Bible.
Scarlet as per wikipedia
Purple as per wikipedia

Both colours were derived from expensive processes, with purple being the most expensive. In Biblical times dealers in purple cloth were wealthy merchants, because only kings wore this fine cloth. The dye itself was manufactured from the mucus-secretion of the hypobranchial gland of a marine snail known as the Murex brandaris or the spiny dye-murex.



Just as an aside - the Biblical woman Proverbs 31 is a dealer in purple cloth. That means she was one wealthy woman. No wonder her husband was present at the city gates.

The fact that our spiritual "Clothes" are described as scarlet means that they are deyed and beyond bleaching. Has anyone ever tried doing that? Red is the most diffucult colour to get out of anything and too much bleach will turn anything yellow - ahh well.

So, there is an easier way. By accepting the sacrifice (blood) of Jesus, our dirty laundry will be washed as white as snow.

Tribute to Christian Lacroix

This morning, I received the newsletter from The Business of Fashion Blog and read that my favourite designer has had to file for bankruptcy. I have been following his designs for quite a number of years and will be very sad to see him go.
Here are a few images from his ranges over the years.



Although this is very sad, it has reminded me of two things:

a) nothing lasts forever
b) the fickleness of the Fashion Industry.

Now, you may say, "but you are part of the fashion industry!" Yes, true, but I understand why it functions the way it does. It is only because of our own fickleness and ever-changing desires that the fashion industry can continue to feed those desires in return and change faster and faster.

If we were not as dissatisfied with our circumstances and clothes, we may actually slow down the fashion cycle. However, it's also all about the marketing of retailers and designers. The two go together hand in hand.

Diversion

I thought I'd take a detour back to the very first blog and share a few pictures that I like. I have cleaned out my laptop the other day and came across theses beautiful photographs that I had downloaded to post on my other blog, but they are much better suited here. I won't give any explanation for them but let the pictures speak for themselves.

Moses

Another great man that warrants a fashion post.

What do 40 years in the desert have to do with fashion? There cannot possible be anything fashionable about his period... I disagree, because it shows God's provision in a major way...

In the 40 years that the Israelites spent in the desert, their sandals did not wear out. There goes any major shoe obsession I could ever have had.

Solomon

How can I ignore this great man? Solomon: He was a trend and fashion setter in that he accumulated great wealth, robes, horses, wives,weapons, spices, mules etc. However, we can learn a great lesson form him, in that great wealth is meaningless. (There are no indications who wrote Ecclesiastes, but it was attributed to Solomon, I will just take it as such). Thus, a study of that great book will reveal what Christians know anyway... great wealth does not lead to anything but great personal challenges.

Solomon's history is recorded in 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles. These include how he accumulated "stuff" - especially 1 Kings 10:25. However he was presented with many gifts, which this passages speaks about, but he also traded in all of the above and made Israel a very rich country. One wonders where all the wealth went - well plundered by other nations and that brings me to the challenges of wealth.

The overall fashion industry is geared towards wanting more and following trends breeds envy and discontent. If Solomon could be distracted by these things, despite the warning of the prophets, how much more today when we are bombarded with images. Advertising especially plays a big part in this and will fill our minds. Like in this picture which draws on the fact that you can never have enough clothes in your cupboard (it is empty....) The following verses will help us tremendously in understanding our own thoughts and attitudes towards accumulation of wealth and thus also fashion:







Eccl 5: 11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?
Eccl 5: 15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
Eccl 5:19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

Let's keep the latter in mind and be content with what we have.

I have to resort to Afrikaans "BONT"

"Bunt" in German as well, and by lack of a better description in English it would be colourful. After White and Black, that is the only option :)

The reason for this is, that I want to take a closer look at Solomon. He must have been the richest person in the world ever. Kings and Queens came form far away to pay tribute to him and in 1 Kings it says that he was so rich and made the country so rich that silver was looked down on, because of the abundance of gold. Wow. That means he must have had one mean closet with the robes he got as tributes. I could not find any reference to them, but I'm sure they were trimmed in gold, threads of gold probably were woven into his garments as well. Above all, he must have worn only the finest linen, maybe even Silk (if it was available - I will do another post on silk later). Also, his clothes would have been dyed with only the most expensive dyes, which at that time was purple (also warranting its own post).

In Matthew 6:29 Jesus says that although Solomon was dressed so fine, the lilies of the field are dressed much finer than him. Wow. That means that anything designers can come up with cannot compare to what God has created. Just to prove my point:









We can never compare with God's design, no matter what. We can certainly try, but we will not really be able to compare. Anyway, God created these beautiful flowers to last for a few days, then whither and fade away. BUT, and here is the consolation: we are always more important than flowers and God will care immensely for us. Jesus thus reasons, that we do not need to worry about what we are going to wear. I find that very comforting. Read the rest of the account in Matthew 6.

White

Yes, it had to follow :)

So, what are we thinking of when I say "White" - purity, light, bright, "It's good and clean and fresh tralala"? Well, as a girl, what immediately comes to mind is a wedding dress (no, don't ask me why). So, here is one I did recently...
But obviously for guys this is quite different. So, what does white really mean?
I suppose it really symbolises purity, since we will be given white linen garments when we finally meet the Lord. I'm sure they will not be wedding dresses, but then again, are we not the bride of Jesus?

What does all of this have to do with fashion and conservative dressing? Well, I suppose we need a bigger perspective on things. We need to understand some biblical issues like how do we stay pure spiritually without compromising the way we dress. Here, again comes common sense (which I'm reminded is not that common) and you need to be aware of what the world values and teaches and what the Bible has to say.

So, how do we keep ourselves pure? By living a different life to what the world has to offer and to be pure in mind and spirit.

Black

Since the last two posts have been on "good" and "evil" I want to take a closer look at why it is that a lot of people would have a picture in their head of "conservative wear" as black and white....

The history of dyes can be found here and gives quite a comprehensive overview of what was dyed and how. It is interesting to note that black was one of the first dyes to be artificially manufactured. Another thing I noted was that clergy only started dressing in black in the 9th century. So, I suppose black was associated with religion from very early on. Still, if it was reserved for the clergy, how did it filter down to the normal population?

I suppose colour does not have as much to do with it as covering parts that need to be covered. The shifting erogenous zone contributes a lot to what is acceptable and what is not. During the Baroque it was completely acceptable to expose breasts (for women), but you did not dare to expose your ankle. Oh dear!

Problem is, as Christians we need to be aware of the times and understand why people dress the way they do. In a time where anything goes, we cannot dress like the Amish (as below) because of ridicule. However, we are called to be separate from the world. So, how do we project that difference in the way dress?

So, we do not have go and wear black all the time. (YAY) Being a Christian is a somber affair, but there is also a lot of joy to be lived out and shown.

The Beast

After posting yesterday, I went to the website I was waxing lyrical about and browsed through the fashion photos.

And then it struck me......
How many of them are not for the fashion but for the sexual connotation? The reason why most of the pictures are of women in various states of undress does not help.

Then how do we respond to this? I have recently read through an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus clearly points out that lust is as much adultery as the real thing. So, how can we keep ourselves pure?

Fashion unfortunately has taken on the sexual aspect no matter where you go, no matter which magazine you buy and no matter which photos you look at. It is a marketing tool that the world uses to entice women and men to buy what is on offer. And entice is the right word, since it draws you in on desires and not on want or need.

As Christians we need to understand that and make a concerted effort to really only look at the clothing. This is becoming increasingly difficult in a world that is moving further and further away from God's truth. Do we then say that we, as Christians do not support those companies that depict fashion in this way? Well, where do we go then? We cannot afford to pay tailors and dressmakers for every item of clothing that we may need.
Do we then start making our own? As much as that is an option, our lifestyles seldom allow for the time that that would need.

So, I think that the only option is to weigh up the options and rather than expose ourselves to the marketing, visit the shops and decide for ourselves whether it is appropriate enough to wear.

Beauty and the Beast

Hello everyone.

This blog aims to serve those of us who are fashion conscious and do not know sometimes how to reconcile this with godly living.

As humans we all know beauty but are often confused as to what exactly beauty is. Now there are many philosophical scholars who have tried to argue and define what beauty is and I'm not even going to try to equal any of their findings. Yet, I know the God who made beauty and who appreciates His own creation. Why would He create trees just to look at? If you need references go to Genesis 1.

In fashion this is a little more complex, since we all need clothes. And if you are wondering why, read Genesis 3. God himself became the first dressmaker and clothed Adam and Eve. Therefore we all can appreciate clothes and their beauty and functionality at the same time.

I always appreciate photographers who can capture beauty in ways that show the decay of the world around us in contrast. There are thousands of examples on my favourite art website. With a little browsing under photography you will find many examples - see below...

The sad thing is that fashion has often served those who want to shock and the big design houses are some who have used this tactic. Just look at Alexander McQueen's first couture ranges and you will understand. (I will post pictures soon, since they are not available on the website)

I will refine this theme a little more in the next few post, but for now, I will leave you with two pictures that show the contrast I was talking about earlier.