Church Chronicles: Ep 2: Balancing Modesty and Femininity: The Ultimate Church Attire Guide

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Hello, and welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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We're back with Church Chronicles with the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we're going to continue our series of

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Holy Chic, the ultimate church attire handbook.

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We're focusing on women's church attire and how to balance modesty and femininity.

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Oh, yes, it's about to get good.

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So what does that mean to balance modesty and femininity?

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You know, when I think about that, like people don't want to walk around with a big sheet over them.

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You know what I'm saying? Or, you know, or just wrapped up in a whole bunch

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of stuff, you know, in the name, you know, of modesty.

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But let's see how we can still have modesty and femininity without,

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you know, causing too much attention to ourself and being distracted,

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being a distraction or being distracted.

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And so modesty and femininity in church fashion. Modesty doesn't mean sacrificing style.

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It's about choosing outfits or fashion, making a fashion statement that are

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respectful and appropriate for sacred spaces.

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We'll discuss how to find that balance and still express your personal style.

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Many women feel that modesty limits their fashion choices.

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But that's far from the truth. You can dress modestly and still look stylish.

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Think about the classic pieces like the midi dresses, tailor skirts,

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blouses with exciting details.

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These pieces can be both fashionable and respectful. When I said midi dresses,

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I don't mean mini skirts.

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Midi is just pretty much a long dress skirt that kind of go below your knees

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or a little bit maybe to your ankles, but it's not a little bit above your knees.

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Those are really nice. They kind of fit nicely.

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They fit a little bit below your knees.

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They still are feminine and they're modest. You can sit down,

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you can stand up without having the skirt, you know, scoot up and down and you

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can just feel comfortable in your fashion.

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So that right there brings a balance to your style. This is for women. We'll get to men next.

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So women church attire. How do you balance modesty with femininity?

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Let's repeat that. Classic pieces like a midi dresses, midi skirts,

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you know, kind of like the nice long skirts that kind of go below your knees.

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The dresses that kind of like mid calf and it go right mid, like mid calf.

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Taylor skirts always look nice. Taylor suits always look really sharp.

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Blouses, nice blouses, not the see through ones, but the nice thick blouses. Blouses.

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That you can have with details on it. You can have ruffles, you can have,

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I like the ties, you know, so making that look real fancy and that can be fashionable and respectful.

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So how do you dress for different types of services?

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From Sunday best to midweek service, different services may call for different attire.

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And so how do we cover that for various occasion.

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For example, Sunday morning service might call to be a little bit more formal

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attire, such as a lovely dress or a skirt and a blouse combo.

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So something nice and dressy, we call that formal, but that's semi-formal or business casual.

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And on the other hand, midweek Bible study or casual gathering might be a little

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more relaxed, like maybe a dressy slacks.

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You can have on some blue jeans without holes in them, and a nice top.

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The whole key is to always be mindful of the occasion and choose outfits that

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reflect the reverence of the service while being comfortable and practical.

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So no one's saying you have to dress up all the time at the church,

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but know what's happening at the church and then dress appropriately.

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Like I said, Sunday It can be a little bit more formal.

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And then you have your midweek service where you're just casual,

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you know, but you're comfortable and you're practical.

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So choosing the right accessory for your outfit.

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Accessories can add flair without being overbearing.

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And so we're going to share some tips on how to select the perfect accessories

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to complement your church attire.

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So when it comes to accessories, less is often more.

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A simple necklace, a pair of earrings, or a tasteful bracelet can add a touch

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of elegance to your outfit without drawing too much attention.

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Scars can also be a great way to add color and interest to your look.

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Avoid accessories that are too flashy or noisy, as they can be distracting during the service.

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Instead, offer pieces that enhance your outfit and contribute to a polished and put-together look.

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So when all else fails, think polished look.

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So if you think that one extra necklace is too much, then it's too much.

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If you think it's flowers and polka dots are not going together, then maybe it's not.

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So you always want to look polished and put together at the end of the day.

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And so here we're going to talk about undergarments as a foundation for our outfit.

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So whether proper undergarments is crucial for both comfort and modesty.

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So let's talk about nylons, bras, underwear, girdles, slips, and Spanx.

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Nylons and pantyhose. These add a layer of modesty and smoothness to your legs,

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especially if you're wearing a dress or a skirt.

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Choose a shade that matches your skin tone or complements your outfit.

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Bras. A well-fitted bra provides support and enhances your silhouette.

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Ensure your bra is comfortable and doesn't show through your clothing.

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Underwear. Shoes seamless or well-fitted underwear to avoid visible panty lines.

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Comfort is critical, so find styles that suit your body shape. Girdles and Spanx.

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These can help create a smooth, streamlined silhouette, especially under form-fitting dresses and skirts.

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They provide support that can enhance your comfort. And then finally, slips.

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Wearing a slip under your dress or skirt can prevent it from clinging and ensure it falls smoothly.

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Slips also add an extra layer of modesty, especially with lighter fabrics.

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So foundation of your outfit is undergarments.

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Nylons and pantyhose, bras, underwear, wear girdles and Spanx and slips.

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Old school stuff, they still sell them. Key takeaway, modesty can be stylish and respectful.

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Different church services may require different attire.

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Accessories can enhance your look without being distracting.

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The proper undergarments are essential for comfort and a polished appeal.

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Let's go to some scripture, 1 Peter 3 verses 3 through four.

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Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles

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and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.

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Rather, it should be of your inner self, the unfading beauty of gentle and a

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quiet spirit, which is great worth in God's light.

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Let's decree some things here. I decree that my beauty will come from my inner

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self, not just outward adornment.

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It's okay to look good, but if your heart is rotten, it will come out, it will be seen.

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So look good both inside and outside.

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Let's continue with the decree. I decree that I will cultivate a gentle and

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quiet spirit, which is precious to God.

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So you don't always have to be the first voice they hear when they walk into a room.

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A gentle and quiet spirit. Number three, I decree that my worth is found in

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God's sight, not on external appearances.

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Many times we get caught up on what we look like and we forget that God sees the heart.

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Now, God, you trust God. And I can share a story when I went off to Bible school

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and I have that many outfits.

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I was there for about nine months and I started there with about,

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I think I had three skirts and probably about four blouses worthy to be called

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an outfit to be at Bible school.

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And I mixed and matched those around.

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And then somehow I was able to find, I'll share that in my next story,

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I think that's going to come up later, how to find fashions.

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And I'll wait, but I'll share that later, but how to find different fashions.

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And when I left When I left Bible school, I ended up having so many different

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outfits because when you trust God and you do what he wants you to do, people bless you.

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And plus he tells you where to find the bargain.

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And so I don't want to go ahead of myself, which I almost did.

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Forgot that that was one of our episodes on how to shop savvy for church.

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Let's go to 1 Corinthians 6, 19, 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 to 20,

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and it says, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

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who is in you, whom you have received from God, that you are not your own,

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that you were bought from?

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At a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

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That's decree. I decree that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I will honor it.

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Now, the Holy Spirit likes to look good too. So you honor God, he will honor you. Amen.

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Second one, I decree that I will honor God with my body in all aspects of my

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life. So sometimes it's not always about what you wear.

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Even though we want to look good, Honor God with our internal heart,

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with our heart, and watch how he honors you.

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And I decree that I respect my body as a gift from God, that we honor our body as a gift from God.

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And the last one, I decree that I will live in a way that reflects the price Jesus paid for me.

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So, yeah, so we're putting that honor back into our lives instead of having

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that outer garment worry, like I want to dress this way. I want to be seen this way.

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I want to have this flash, this flash.

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We get so caught up with our attire, but we forget that holiness comes from the inside.

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It comes from the Holy Spirit.

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Amen. And so when we began to honor our body as a temple, God's temple,

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especially in the Bible, the Old Testament, was beautiful. It was just gold.

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It was no junk in it. Even when...

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Was that Moses built the temple in the wilderness. It was gold.

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Where you get gold in the wilderness?

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God knows how to dress his body.

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Amen. So don't you worry about it. You just give your heart to him and let him.

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I'll tell you my story later in next episodes.

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But honor him with your body and all aspects of your life.

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We're talking about how to dress for church, but we need to dress for Jesus.

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We need to start from our inside, dressing our hearts for him. All right.

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That was deliciously, deliciously good.

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And so I want to thank you for joining me on this journey with the Church Chronicles.

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Holy Sheik, the ultimate church attire handbook will be available for downloads.

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So stay tuned for each episode as we bring holy back into our attire,

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holy back into our hearts, holy back into our sanctuary,

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holy back into our tabernacle.

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How about this? Holy back into our lives that we don't get so worried about

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what we look like, even though we want to dress appropriately.

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We do, but we want to give our hearts to God and allow God to dress us. What's that scripture?

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God said he even dresses the flowers, the butterflies, the birds.

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Won't he dress you? He says, seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and

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all these things will be added to you.

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Amen. So this is your host, Connie Morris with Diary of Black Women podcast.

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And we will see you on our next episode where we will address men attire.

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Thanks. Thank you.