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Monday, October 30, 2006

Clothes...Not what they used to be.

Certainly, one of the most memorable sermons I have ever heard was by our good friend and Prof in college, Ted, who started his message with this sentence...

"Who told you you were naked?"

There is an unbelievable amount of theology in that sentence, but the most obvious effect of that little conversation between God and Man was people wearing clothes.

When I was in high school, I loved clothes. I had a closet jammed crammed full of things that looked good on me no matter how I turned in the mirror. I spent all my babysitting money on them...usually at the Salvation Army, though, even then.

Since having kids, though, clothes are not nearly as much fun. Things don't fit the same way. And I can't seem to figure out how to wear the clothes that are out there anyway. Everything looks like a series of raggedy pieces layered over more pieces of raggedy stuff.

Yesterday, I went shopping, all by myself, to try some of the new styles on and get an idea of what looks right. I found myself studying the manequins like one of those 3D computer pictures, hoping to see the REAL picture emmerge.

Here's what I discovered....ultra-low-rise jeans are NOT for me.

I did end up buying a few things...but I realized something.

I grew up attending Christian school, where we were required to wear dresses everyday. We also dressed up for church...I actually remember being told that it was inappropriate to come to Wednesday night service in pants....or rather "slacks." (Ugh, there's a word I hate, Tammi.) As a result of all those modesty talks over the years, I am ultra-conscious of being "too sexy" and I have a tendency to dress like Bea Arthur by default.

Anyway, so that's why I had so many clothes. I had dressy clothes, clothes for basketball and cheerleading, and play clothes for the 4 hours a day at home where I could wear jeans. And I had these separate wardrobes for years...during college, where we had to wear dresses, while teaching the first two years we were married and while working as the church secretary, except then I had to get new clothes becuase I my clothes were too dressy for work, but we still dressed up for church. Then I got pregnant and had to get another wardrobe. Then when we moved to Michigan, I was "just a housewife" so I didn't need my work clothes as much, but we still dressed up for church. I guess it was somewhere in the last few years that I have completely lost the need for dress up clothes, other than an occasioanal event. I've never EVER spent money on clothes I "just wear around the house." Which basically means that other than getting dressed to go to the grocery store or the Vintage, I wear rags, but not the fashionable kind of rags.

I've gone from needing three wardrobes to needing just one small one...and it's taken me this long to realize it!

Clothes are a big hairy deal. They really are. They give people a first impression of us and reveal our "status" in life. They reveal our hidden longing to stay young and thin, or to be taken very seriously. They can be modest or immodest. They are expensive, which means we have to find balance in our spending. Little kids in Guatamala make them for us, which means clothes are political. They keep the spark in our marriages and show our respect for one another, not to mention keeping us warm and comfy. And don't even get me started on dressing my kids because I'm probably living vicariously through them.

So, just in case you didn't have anything to ponder today, just think about clothes.

20 comments:

gerbmom said...

It's amazing how simplified my wardrobe has become. Jeans, jeans and jeans. The other night we had to go to a dressy banquet and I had nothing to wear - since I even wear jeans to church now. And for my job - computer tech. But I do remember the days of dressing up for church, school, college - no "slacks" allowed til after 5:00 - and then no jeans. And then I worked and needed professional/dress clothes.
I laugh - now that I am in jeans, my 17 year old has about 5 wardrobes....
Wanna talk about shoes?

Anonymous said...

you forgot to mention the wardrobe you had from stealing from your sisters :) For those of you who didn't know Ness during highschool or college, let me just say "holy clothes horse!" We used to have to check her bags before she returned to college after weekends home--she'd kief everything that wasn't on your body at the time!!! You're much better now, Sis....now you just take furniture ha hahahhhaa

Elizabeth said...

my sis, being the fashion-concious one, passes everything (new) off to me so she has the excuse to buy new stuff because she doesn't have any clothes (because she gave them to me...huh). does anyone else see the amazing cycle here? needless to say...i don't buy many clothes.

Robb Ryerse said...

Who Told Bea Arthur She Was Naked?

Vanessa said...

DON"T CLICK ON ROBB'S LINK! IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE AT ALL....I REPEAT....DON'T CLICK IT.

If your curious, we saw this painting in the Museum of Modern Art in Chicago and have never really recovered.

It's art, but it ain't pretty folks.

akr said...

There are a few catchy sermons from college I remember...especially wendell calder..."have you lost the wonder of it all"

Vanessa said...

I remember him...I think he became obsessed with Bea Arthur, but he's still my very favorite preacher.

that really is one of his good ones.

Vanessa said...

My other chapel memory, of course, is R & A singing the "Kenosis" song as the Crash Test Dummies.

Robb Ryerse said...

Lady Folly

Robb Ryerse said...

I bet Lady Wisdom smells good.

Vanessa said...

not anymore....i think she died.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm...just for the record, Lady Folly seems to have a mustache, which would lead one to question the term "Lady", and Lady Wisdom just has a bad case of dementia, and is not dead yet.

Anonymous said...

all this does is prove my point to dad that I don't want to be a lady.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes....and whether she smells or not is not in the realm of my "wisdom"........

Anonymous said...

ewww! wisdom smells funny...probably like grandpa's ears

Anonymous said...

Oh yes....and whether she smells, or not, is outside the realm of my "wisdom".

Heidi said...

Ted's sermon is one of the few that I remember from college. (I also remember Bixby speaking and insulting all of the students who went to Summit, which I did at the time) Anyway, after Ted's sermon I went back to my dorm and a bunch of the girls were mad because they thought it was totally inappropriate. HUH?!

Vanessa said...

Wow...I feel bad for their husbands.

: )

The other sermon I remember was a guy who preached on depression. Anybody remember that one?

Anonymous said...

Did he use a big blown-up picture of me? ha ha sorry. I really only remember the Milo Mondays with that drone that could cure insomnia and the one student chapel where one of the guys asked for the best pick up lines and a kid in my class said "stop the grinnin' and drop the linen." Basically that was a chapel about admitting you weren't a virgin---about the GUYS admitting they weren't virgins because God forgave them; he definately wasn't talking to the girls there.

The Fowler Family said...

I cannot remember the last time I laughed so hard-- my kids are asking me what it wrong mommy"

Who doesn't remember the "Who told you you were naked?" sermon? If you don't remember it--you were't there. Does that make it the antithesis of Woodstock?

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