Why Beauty, Why Elegance, Why Lovely Dress?

I believe in femininity. I believe in beauty complementing modesty. I believe in the strength and delicacy of woman. One of the reasons I love Europe is because it is the soil in which the heart of Christendom finds its roots. A place, at one time, was formed by chivalry and high culture that to this day inspires and attracts: masterful art, glorious churches, the home of great composers, and intricate architecture.

There does exist objective beauty: things which complement and bring harmony, colours which blend, nature that elevates our hearts and minds to something greater. Women, in their very nature, have a way with beauty. A way of cultivating it, fostering it within the home, and expressing it to the outside world.

I had a professor who once said that Eve was the final act of creation because she was the Crown of creation, as woman. Our Lady, the New Eve, is the most beautiful woman to ever exist; the crowned woman, a creature created. We find in her all that is virtuous, pure and good; all that holy, all that is lovely, all that is wise—an authentic reflection of the Proverbs 31 woman in the flesh. Her beauty is the inspiration for both our spiritual and external expression of beauty as women. Timeless womanhood is a modest, simple, humble beauty. It reflects true beauty that is ordered, harmonious, peaceful, and ultimately points to God, who is Beauty Himself.

Why Elegance?

I believe in elegance, manners, and traditions: slow living, simplicity, people over materialism, quality over quantity. I love vintage cut dresses, updos, brown scapulars, and a rosary in my apron pocket reminding me to pray whilst I work; to contemplate as I homemake and serve my family.

Modernism is sweeping the nations with its emphasis: self expression, self love, a self absorbed life. And, dears, we’re called to more than that.

Tied to true beauty, elegance captures a particular dignity and nobility of the human person made good. A man and a woman made in God’s likeness and image. Elegance calls for tradition, good manners, to live outside of ourselves and care for others with a true charity.

The virtue of modesty is the sister of elegance: in speech, demeanor, in how we sit, in what we wear, in our mannerisms, and all our pursuits of self expression. The virtue of modesty mingled with elegance relate to the world our inherent dignity.

To live today in an attractive way, tied to all that is good, true, and beautiful, speaks to the dignity of woman.

Why Lovely Dress?

For century upon century women have been getting dressed. A woman’s dress clearly complemented her male counter-part in particular ways across nations and cultures. Specifically in the west when we look back at the history of fashion, we see specific garments worn as a complimentary reflection of masculine and feminine.

Our faith also illustrates the significance of external expression. What we wear communicates something of who we are. As woman, our bodies are an external projection of something central to our identity: our receptivity and capacity to bear new life. Our bodies show just how sacred this aspect of who we are is: unlike man, our sexual organs are hidden within, veiled, protected.

The primary purpose of dressing our bodies is modesty. A secondary purpose is ordered self-expression, which should never be isolated to our own person lest it become vanity.

Now, it is true there are trousers that cover more of the woman’s body, but this consideration of feminine dress extends past the argument of coverage. Cardinal Siri writes in his letter titled, Men’s Attire Worn by Women (written 12 June, 1960):

In truth the motive impelling women to wear men's dress is always that of imitating, nay, of competing with, the man who is considered stronger, less tied down, more independent. This motivation shows clearly that male dress is the visible aid to bringing about a mental attitude of being “like a man”. Secondly, ever since men have been men, the clothing a person wears, demands, imposes and modifies that persons gestures, attitudes and behavior, such that from merely being worn outside, clothing comes to impose a particular frame of mind inside. Then let us add that women wearing men's dress always more or less indicates her reacting to her femininity as though it is inferiority when in fact it is only diversity.”

It is intrinsic and vital to embrace our feminine qualities. Our feminine gifts that St. Edith Stein argues come straight from the heart or very soul of woman (St. Thomas Aquinas differs from Stein in opinion on the feminine-soul, but we won’t get into that here). Learning our feminine qualities is the cornerstone to understanding our identity as woman.

Just as love and faith begin in the heart and are proved by action, the internal embracing of feminine qualities pours forth into an external reality: femininity lived in action and gifted to the world.

Femininity internally embraced and externally expressed!

One of the ways I externally express my feminine nature is by way of dress. For the time being in western culture dresses and skirts are still considered feminine attire. Even in secular circles, trousers and certain cuts of clothing are recognized as more or less masculine. This is not problematic in the secular or modern mindset, as one of the major movements and goals in our society is to create gender fluidity, especially in the realm of fashion and clothing.

There is still a general recognition that our clothing effects our disposition and demeanor and is a reflection of who we are. Which is why in Hollywood when a man decides to wear a dress it is celebrated and makes a significant statement — men can be women, women can be men: gender fluidity for the win.

But a dress on a woman also speaks.

It speaks to femininity. To the dignity of the work of a woman, a wife, a mother. It speaks to the value of womanhood and the complimentary nature of man and woman—

an explicit note to man and woman He created them. A note to the truth of two genders, equal in dignity and complimentary in nature.

Why are you so dressed up? Because my work as a woman and mother is dignified. Because beauty matters, because the Church is the author of high culture… she always has been.

A dress has become my habit for living in the world. A way to fight the battle for man and woman. St. Thomas Aquinas’ writings on modesty rely heavily on fittingness, and I quite simply think it fitting for a woman to wear feminine dress.