The Yearning for Zion Ranch once again made the hallowed page of the Drudge Report last Wednesday, but this time for participating in the boring, everyday secular activity of free market capitalism. The women of YFZ are now turning the tables, it seems, by profiting from their fifteen grueling minutes of fame and marketing their unique style of clothing.
The Web site www.fldsdress.com offers distinctive dress for all who seek "quality, handmade, modest, affordable clothing … made with joy and care." Unfortunately, missing from the site are hairstyling tips, but some secrets are just too good to share.
With the YFZ's entrance into the designer realm, these ladies are now impeding upon the three-way intersection of economic, feminist and fashion theory. And it is something worth studying.
By offering their handmade fashions as meeting the requirements of "modesty and neatness" as an alternative to the modern heresies of tube tops and mini skirts (or apple bottom jeans and boots with the furrr; whatever suits your fancy) they seem to tacitly believe that niche market of chaste capitalists is ready to be tapped.
Is it? Are these really the sole standards of "modesty and neatness"?
There is some implicit wisdom in the phrase "fashion statement." Clothing is a powerful vehicle to express your personal message. Disciples of all schools of thought use it forcefully.
I'm not speaking of effortless logos on cheap T-shirts, I'm referring to something greater and more powerful.
Decades ago, equity feminists iconically sacrificed their undergarments through public bra burnings. This excessive act, in which women removed and reverted their restrictive clothing to ashes, was the manifestation of radical philosophy. Their theory was a degenerate form of classical feminism.
In the case of the women from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints, we see the opposite. Their joyful and careful dresses are overcompensation, offering excessive coverage. Their garments are modest, yes, but modest merely for the sake of modesty - not to be subservient of a higher virtuous good, as classical good works were once defined.
The goal of modesty should be to further the portrayal of inner virtue. Materials of modesty should draw attention not to themselves, but to an aesthetic ideal that cannot be physically represented - something higher and immaterial, like Plato's famous Forms.
The hoopla around the unique clothing of the YFZ betrays the definition of modesty by drawing undue attention to outward displays, just as radical feminist bra BBQs prevented the goal of dialogue and respect. Regardless the different manifestations of theory, women - and their message - become lost when yards of fabric or skin are chosen as couture.
From my protestant upbringing and learning from the follies of past and present, I advise young women to speak through the clothes, not with them.
Be comfortable, flattering and classically stylish, yet not distracting. As trends change, keep up and continue to be effective by prudently updating your wardrobe without changing your principles.
Women don't need to sacrifice morals for modern fashion. Without moderation, our message degenerates. Dressing to either extreme, women are reverted to curious objects - as the poor FLDS matrons have become - rather than viable voices for our values.
As a proponent of ordered liberty, I support the equity feminist's right to burn her bra and the FLDS right to layer her long johns. But as a student of philosophy, I caution women to remember the virtue of moderation Aristotle himself held so dear - that excess or degeneration of any principle, even modesty, only taints intrinsic goodness by unbalancing it. Maybe then people will look deeper into their minds than into their closets.
Becker is a government junior.
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