That’s a really deep question, and in all honesty most women have no idea just why it is that they do certain things.
Well I’m here to (hopefully) change that.
In this post, I’m going to address a series of related questions: Why do women wear skirts and dresses, but (most) men don’t? Is there any real significance to wearing a skirt or a dress instead of pants? And why in the world would it be something you would want to do for Lent?
So, why do women wear dresses?
Did you know that until last week it was illegal for women to wear pants in France? Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It didn’t mean they could walk around naked. It was indeed illegal to wear pants, however the law was not strictly enforced. An article quoted the law as saying this:
“Any woman who wants to dress as a man must come to police headquarters to get permission.”
Ouch.
Okay, if they weren't supposed to wear pants, what did they wear? Well, the obvious answer leads us to say skirts and dresses. And this was not only true for France, but it was the standard everywhere for many years.
Throughout history, we see pretty convincing evidence that leads us to believe that dresses and skirts were worn by women for as long as mankind existed. The Eskimo women wore long dresses with leggings made of seal skin underneath, even though temperatures there were well below zero. Many different societies saw women wearing thick leggings or bloomer type trousers, but only underneath a long and flowing dress. I remember when I was Clara in the ballet The Nutcracker (set in the late 1800's), the costume was an elaborate dress with simple bloomers underneath, which was typical of that time period. Up to the 1920’s, these dresses hit about ankle length. From then on, the standard became knee length dresses. Around the 60’s is when skirts shot up to heights that were previously unheard of, introducing the new “mini skirt”. Since then, we have seen trends waver back and forth, with the current style incorporating both sky high and maxi skirts. But more importantly, we saw the introduction of women wearing trousers.
"So what? Why does it matter what women wear?" you might be asking yourself. To answer that requires looking at the motivation behind the change. It wasn't a matter of global warming that made these lengths higher and higher, or the sudden impracticality of wearing dresses in public that brought about pants. For thousands of years women had never had a problem working in the garden or taking care of their young children in dresses. So why, around the time of the 1970’s, did we see the rise of slacks, and then the ever-popular blue jeans to modern fashion?
I think we cannot disregard what was happening in this time period. Women were becoming empowered! Groups of feminists were burning bras and proving their independence and equality with men. This is not to say that the advancement of women was not beneficial to us, but those women who desired to be equal to men only furthered the very point they were trying to work against: that men are better than women. Pants become a symbol of revolution, a symbol of change. Women were no longer to be seen as the “weaker sex” or to be suppressed by a society who looked down upon women. They were free.
But alas, this blog is not about the rise of feminism and its effects, and I most certainly cannot come to you and say that I agree with or even understand any of what happened during that time. But it is an interesting connection to note that the previously rejected fashion of women wearing trousers all of a sudden made its boom. And we’ve been wearing them ever since!
Admittedly, I never questioned pants before I came to Franciscan. I was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, and that was perfectly fine with me. But it’s hard to ignore the higher ratio of girls wearing skirts that we see here. And it got me thinking...is there any truth to this? Is there a reason why skirts and dresses are seen as so distinctly feminine....why princesses and queens are always depicted in them? So as any good Catholic girl would do, I turned to the Church.
Surprisingly, the Church has a lot to say about the matter. Cardinal Siri of Genoa wrote a letter in 1960 that talked of the importance of women wearing dresses. He was concerned that as women began wearing trousers it would bring about more manly attitudes and gestures. I, along with most other women I know, are quick to admit they feel different in a dress than in pants. There is something distinctly feminine about the way you have to move and sit and the way you feel, so I think this makes sense.
It is also noted that Padre Pio would only hear confessions of women who were wearing a dress, and it one instance he refused absolution to a women because she sold pants in her dress shop back home in Canada.
G.K. Chesterton said this regarding skirts: “And since we are talking here chiefly in types and symbols, perhaps as good an embodiment as any of the idea may be found in the mere fact of a woman wearing a skirt. It is highly typical of the rabid plagiarism which now passes everywhere for emancipation, that a little while ago it was common for an “advanced” woman to claim the right to wear trousers; a right about as grotesque as the right to wear a false nose…It is quite certain that the skirt means female dignity.”
There are many more documents and letters which contain the wishes of Church leaders for women to retain the wearing of dresses and skirts. Many of them mention the fact that it is easier to maintain modesty in a dress, because it is a known scientific fact that the eyes will travel straight up the leg of pants to somewhere that no woman wants anyone else to view. Don’t believe me? Google it. But I think they also hit on the very heart of women. Little girls twirl around in their dresses asking to others, "Am I Beautiful?" Our hearts long to reveal feminine beauty.
So, that’s a lot of information to take in! Trust me, I’ve been reading and researching for 4 years about this and this is just the tip of the iceberg. What I really wanted to do with this was give you some background to make you aware of the history of fashion to help you make more informed decisions. Boy do I sound like a walking commercial. But I think, as women who desire to more fully receive all that Christ has for us, this is definitely something to pray about and ponder in our hearts. If there is truth here, I ask you to pray and discern what that means for you exactly.
So for Lent, a few of us have taken on the challenge of incorporating dresses and skirts into our wardrobe, some every day and others at least 3 times a week. I know what you’re thinking...
It’s true! Wearing skirts and dresses definitely takes deliberation and there are days when I wake up and just want to throw on a pair of jeans and be done with it. Let’s face it, the majority of the time sweat pants are way more comfortable than dresses. But as Pope Benedict XVI says, we were not made for comfort. Especially in this time of Lent, we are called to renounce the comforts that we normally enjoy to further unite ourselves to Christ and his suffering. Maybe this is the way he is calling you to do that, and maybe its not. We ask that you pray with it and see! And if you’re worried about practical things (like the fact that you only have 2 skirts), I encourage you to go thrift store shopping around, swap some skirts out with your friends, or ask those of us who will be doing the challenge for other pointers to help you out this Lent. IT IS POSSIBLE! We are all on this journey together and those doing this challenge will be updating you weekly on what they’re learning, how they have grown through this, and what has made it terrible and great all at the same time. We are on this quest to find authentic femininity just as much as you are. So stay tuned! And please don’t hesitate to ask us questions!
To Jesus through Mary,
Clarissa
The moral of the story? (er, blog
post) Wearing skirts and dresses for Lent is going much better than I expected
and I actually like it. I’m also in the process of reading “Dressing with
Dignity” so hopefully next time I can talk more about that! 
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