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"The Modest Man" series (part 1)

Each month I will be interviewing a young man for
"The Modest Man" series.

I have heard a lot about what different women think about modesty, but how do the men feel?  How does it affect them? I asked each of the men a few questions about things that I wanted to know. Let me know if you have questions of your own for followup interviews!

Blog Interview: The Modest Man

Name/Location:

Darius from Alabama

Tell us about you!

I am from Tuskegee, Alabama and I am currently a Sophomore Biology major at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. I like to write poetry, read and to conduct engineering research. 

What do you think of when you hear the word “modest?”

I think of humility, quietness, and strength.

It's 2012; do you feel that the idea of "modesty" outdated?

Being modest will never be outdated. It should be embraced. Our culture presents to our youth the need to expose their body and that you can get what you want through sex appeal and it is almost true because many companies use sex appeal to sale products to consumers. In return, this has created a culture that says, “sex sales” and by default it has developed a very narcissistic and vain society. Philippians 3:3 (NIV) says it best, “For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh”. Many people put a lot of confidence in their flesh. Some women expose their bodies to men for attention, to manipulate them, to get what they want, or etc. Unfortunately, some do this as a result of low self-esteem, the environment that they grew up in, or because of dramatic events in their lives to cause them to relinquish all respect and love for themselves. Guys are affected in a similar way. Some become conceited about their body and spend hours in the gym because they place their confidence in the appearance of their body that the opposite sex would fall for them. Even I am guilty of this one. Yet our culture presents a strong tendency to fall into the pattern of sex appeal.

How important do you think it is for men to dress modestly? What do you consider modest dressing for men?

I think it is just as important for men to dress modestly as it is for women. Modest dressing for men would be pants above the waist, clean-cut, and nice and very presentable attire.  

What do you think a man's clothing choices say about him?

It yells out confidence and identity and sometimes it can give off the impression of how serious he is not about a matter.

What do you think a woman's clothing choices say about her?

It can establish the demand for respect from the opposite sex. What a woman’s attire exposes or covers can usually determine the reactions and the respect that they will receive from the opposite sex.

How important is it to you that your girlfriend/wife dress modestly?

Would you date/marry a woman who did not dress modestly? I believe that it is very important for my girlfriend/wife to dress modestly because I would not want to feel ashamed to introduce her family nor do I want her to be a negative influence on our daughter. As a mother, I expect my wife to be able to show our daughter how to dress and to respect herself. With that being said, I would not date or marry a woman who did not dress modestly.

Blog Interview: Candace

  I am currently working on interviewing different women on their opinions and lifestyle choices concerning modesty. And while many people have different views/beliefs on modest dressing, I have chosen to focus on women who dress modestly, but also who wear skirts as a lifestyle. There are so many times that I hear that you cannot do everything in a skirt; I beg to differ!  I think it is amazing that in 2012 a women in considered “odd” for choosing to wear only skirts when that’s what women had been doing for hundreds of years!

From chefs and business women to nurses and doctors, there are plenty of women who do have not felt hindered by their decision to wear skirts.

Instead they feel freed to discover the women that God made them to be.

Please hear my heart: this is in no way intended to bash women who wear pants. I am doing this as an encouragement to myself and to other women like me, to have the support of other women to say that we are not alone and we are not wrong for what we believe God is telling us to do.

I had the opportunity to interview Candace Griffin, a registered nurse in the state of Georgia.  What I love about Candace is that she is a light in her office; wearing skirts has given her a platform to reach out to the other nurses at her job.  She is doing a lot of wonderful things at work and with her ministry; I see her doing great things in the future. For more information, please check out her website here.

Blog Interview: Candace Griffin

Name, Title/Location:

Candace from Williamsburg, Virginia

Tell us about you!

I am in a relationship discipleship school in Atlanta, Georgia and I also work as a registered nurse.

What things are you currently working on?

I am currently training for a leadership position at work and taking discipleship classes at a ministry school in downtown Atlanta. I have also started a ministry for women called Ruth and Naomi Ministries. The focus is on talking and finding answers to issues that affect women today. The forum is a talk show that features guests from all walks of life.

What do you think of when you hear the word “modest?”

I think of being covered.

Why do you believe in modesty/ dress modestly?

I believe in modesty because it is a way of protecting what God has given. Some things should not be revealed to everyone.

In what ways has your decision to dress modestly affected you /how has dressing modestly changed you? How has your decision to dress modestly changed those around you?

What I wear and how I dress affects the way that I feel and also how I carry myself. I am more confident in my place of business and when I am interacting with others. My decision to dress modestly has caused others to ask me why I dress the way that I do. It gives me an opening to share with them about God.

What do you want your life and the way you dress to say about you?

I want my life and dress to say that I belong to God and that I am confident in who I am. In the past I dressed to get attention and was always trying to look like someone else. I am more secure in who I am now and want to show that in my dress.

You have also recently decided to go natural.  How has that decision affected you?

The decision to go natural has given me the opportunity to really see who I am and even be creative. Letting my perm grow out was like letting all the impurities, chemicals and false images of myself slowly disappear. 

Any last words?

I lastly would like to encourage people to be individuals. You can be modest and covered up without looking drab. I am still learning how to be creative and involve God more in my wardrobe selections.

On the Runway: Channel 2012

There was alot going on in this collection; some I liked, some I did not.
There were a few things that caught my eye I did want to point out:

On the Runway: Dior 2012

As I was looking through some runway collections for 2012 (yes I do that...sometimes), I saw some great things and a some very pretty, feminine, modest dresses!

I have to admit that I was expecting to see a lot more skin (and there was some) but it seems like things are coming around.  When I looked at Dior's Ready to Wear 2012 collection, there were many pleasant surprises.  Here were come of my favorites from Dior's collection:

Six Ways to Tie a Scarf

I like scarves. Period.

I think they're very cool and trendy and an extremely versatile accessory. 

Fab Fashion: My girl M

She had a lot of great colors on; I like it because its not all "matchy-matchy." Sometimes I feel like it stuck in a box with my color palate. But she managed to fit so many different colors into her outfit without it looking overdone.  Each piece was different, but it flowed!

And I love the pink sacrf, yellow earrings and (of course) the moccasins :)

Her whole outfit looked carefree but put-together. Lovin it!

Check out her blog here