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.