As I start my tenth year at Christendom College, one of the things the stricter dress code has taught me is that the purpose of clothing, aside from covering nakedness, is charity - not feeling comfortable - but charity to others. Have you ever seen a middle-aged over weight man in shorts and a T-shirt? Ugh. Put that same man in something more formal (it doesn't have to be a three-piece suit) and it makes a big difference. I am not yet proposing anything specific that we should wear except to say, in general, that it should be 'nice,' pleasant to look at. We used to know that - and not too long ago. Now the emphasis is on 'comfort.' Well, the over weight guy probably feels very comfortable but he is very unpleasant for the rest of us to look at.
Now before anyone comes at me with how uncomfortable clothing used to be in the "bad old days," I will concede the point. Very formal attire can be very uncomfortable at times. (I had a female friend tell me how, quite unexpectedly, she recently had to walk a long distance in 4 inch heels. The result was a terrible open sore on her foot.) I am not insisting that women always have to wear heels or that men always have to wear ties. What I am speaking against is the sans-culotte look of the past 30 years or so, whereby it is considered normal for adults to walk around in public in T-shirts and jeans.
Sorry, I just think it's a bad idea. We owe each other something more. Something more beautiful. Something more adult - and the homeliest and plainest of people can look decent, presentable - even aesthetically pleasing - when they wear nice clothes. And let's face it, even the basic "covering of nakedness" part of clothing is not to prevent sins against chastity, for the bulk of humanity it is to prevent a sin against aesthetics.
At least that is what I hear the situation is like in nudist colonies.
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3 comments:
Sooooo, Dr. P., you don't like my jeans? You could have just told me... ;)
Yeah, and what must you be thinking when you come to my house and Ron and I (and Sam) are in jeans. But, then again, I and my family have such perfect bodies and are so good looking it doesn't matter what we wear! ;-)
You should see some of the things I see passing for "business casual" at a major corporation - especially among the twenty-something gals - cleavage, peeks of midriff, and sometimes, well, "just say no to crack" if you know what I mean.
Anthony, you are in a category unto yourself. I place no restrictions on you - except that you wear clothing. I will insist on that!
Anne, my point precisely. Thank you.
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