Extreme Modesty Mother Load!

[punkiepie]

While perusing the interwebs this morning I randomly found the mother load of all modesty clothing "boutiques" and, wow. just wow.

http://www.katiesmercantile.com

I have never before seen so many ridiculously unflattering clothes in one place. Some of my favorite sections are the "unmentionables," which features knee length bloomers for women, "Items in Denim," and the "Nightgowns." Oh, those nightgowns. no words. I can't believe anyone actually wears that kind of getup to bed.

I think they are probably Mennonite, but it doesn't say. I do have to say that the quilts they sell actually look pretty nice.

And then a few minutes later I found this modesty checklist on another blog- aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=1013 - and again, wow. It's a very exhaustive list on what you should do and mentally check off in your head while dressing to ensure your clothing is appropriate. My favorite part... the disclaimer at the the top of the post, which reads "Warning: Gentlemen, please note this is a ladies’ post. Proceed with caution." And this, too - "Are high heels considered modest, fashionable, practical? High heel shoes can be consider “racy†so make sure you’re wearing a modest pair that the heels aren’t too high."

I guess that explains why we never see fundies in heels and always wearing flip flops or tennis shoes. Never really thought about that before, hmmm...

[booksnbeats]

Are baby girls always required to wear dresses, too?!

[contrary]

haaa. if she's a follower of torah, why is she quoting matthew? i'm new to these neo-jews, so i'm not really sure what they're all about.

[Alecto]

I think Kate's Mercantile seems more of a "costumey" place... but I could be wrong.

[bananacat]

How is it modest to show pictures of women in their "unmentionables"? Also, why does a baby need bloomers?

[LynnKaboom]

How is it modest to show pictures of women in their "unmentionables"? Also, why does a baby need bloomers?

To cover the diaper, maybe? My friend puts her son in these kind of lacy pants things to cover up his diaper. Apparently it's fairly common in her culture to put pants on babies to hide the diaper. Maybe it's similar for fundies?

[punkiepie]

I think Kate's Mercantile seems more of a "costumey" place... but I could be wrong.

I thought it was more of costume place, too, when I first saw it. But once I started looking at the different sections, I couldn't believe that anyone would buy, or would even consider buying, a specially designed nursing frumper or full length nursing slip just for the fun of it. And the same thing for the bathing suits. Well, they aren't bathing suits, they are special culottes and shirts sewn together. Although, if I ever get the courage to crash a fundie event, a store like that- where you could dress in authentically fundie clothes right down to your skivvies, it just might come handy! haha

[Hane]

Um, the nightgowns? I would.* Winter nights are cold around here, and I hate pajamas, because their legs tend to ride up and strangle my thighs at night.

*but, then again, I do sleep solo.

[formergothardite]

While perusing the interwebs this morning I randomly found the mother load of all modesty clothing "boutiques" and, wow. just wow.

http://www.katiesmercantile.com

I have never before seen so many ridiculously unflattering clothes in one place. Some of my favorite sections are the "unmentionables," which features knee length bloomers for women, "Items in Denim," and the "Nightgowns." Oh, those nightgowns. no words. I can't believe anyone actually wears that kind of getup to bed.

I think they are probably Mennonite, but it doesn't say. I do have to say that the quilts they sell actually look pretty nice.

And then a few minutes later I found this modesty checklist on another blog- aponderingheart.com/blog/?p=1013 - and again, wow. It's a very exhaustive list on what you should do and mentally check off in your head while dressing to ensure your clothing is appropriate. My favorite part... the disclaimer at the the top of the post, which reads "Warning: Gentlemen, please note this is a ladies’ post. Proceed with caution." And this, too - "Are high heels considered modest, fashionable, practical? High heel shoes can be consider “racy†so make sure you’re wearing a modest pair that the heels aren’t too high."

I guess that explains why we never see fundies in heels and always wearing flip flops or tennis shoes. Never really thought about that before, hmmm...

Someone should tell the high heeled housewife that!

[clibbyjo]

That is where simplelivingalaska bought her girls dresses once in a while. Her main page had a pic of them wearing those dresses. Too bad she went private. :(

[snarkykitty]

I've seen my share of frumperwear, and I have to say, they look very simplistic and cheap compared to other home-made clothing I've seen.

[emmyfair]

"Coffee Catholic" Michelle (the one on the farm in Scotland) had a blog post showing she'd pretty much bought these guys out at one point in time. I don't remember what phase she was in at the time, but she later mentioned that she wore the clothes to town and some boys burst out laughing when they caught sight of her.

[clibbyjo]

"Coffee Catholic" Michelle (the one on the farm in Scotland) had a blog post showing she'd pretty much bought these guys out at one point in time. I don't remember what phase she was in at the time, but she later mentioned that she wore the clothes to town and some boys burst out laughing when they caught sight of her.

Michelle is IN the split picture in the skirts section of the site! She has the bonnet on.

[Deleted03]

Michelle is IN the split picture in the skirts section of the site! She has the bonnet on.

ah! clibby you beat me to it!

[punkiepie]

I do have a question about this type of modesty. Because when I look at them all I see is their clothing- not their face or their covered hair- I'm staring right at the body. Now the Duggars say that your face and countenance (gag) are supposed to be the focal point that others notice when they see you and not their body- so that's why they always have "perfectly" coiffed aqua net hair and and have on a lot of make up. And for the most part, I have to say, it kind of works for them because I usually just focus on their face and my eyes aren't really pulled down to their outfit unless I'm thinking about it. But that is SO not what happens when I see these extreme frumper lovers who wear no makeup and dress in sacks devoid of color and shape. So do they think it's a sin to try and make yourself look attractive in any way? Is the goal to look as sexless as possible? Why do they want their particular brand of modesty to stand out so much from the norm that they almost become parodies instead of being taken at all seriously? There's just so much variation among the fundies and I'm wondering how they got to where they are within the scope of modesty.

[Sola]

Is it awful that I like the nightgowns? I'm not really a PJ person, I do wear them but in the winter I find loooong nightdresses much warmer.

As for the bloomers, babies do wear them, at least they do in the UK. If you buy a baby dress for a newborn here you will often find a pair of short (much shorter than the ones shown on the above website) bloomers as a nappy cover. Lately the fashion has been for a pair of short leggings but you can still find baby dresses with the bloomers.

As an aside, my daughter took part in a Victorian day at school last year. She already had a suitable dress, (we went to a winter wedding of a very religious couple - closest that I know personally that could be called fundies) and had a longish, very modest corduroy dress, pretty much identical to the ones in the dresses section of Katies Mercantile. I just used an old 1970's pattern bought off ebay for pennies to make it. She wore that dress for the Victorian day after the wedding and I made her a pair of bloomers from a cropped trouser pattern, just added elastic to hems and added a bit of lace. I also made her a mop cap and and one of those Amish style aprons. She wore the whole ensemble with her great, great, great, great, great (I kid you not) grandmother's hand crochet cape dating from 1850 (it's a family heirloom) and won the prize at school for the best costume. I've got a photo of her somewhere in the whole costume. It was a toss up whether she had come straight from the 1850's or 21st century fundamentalist USA!

[Kitty]

Quaker Jane likes them, and while Quaker Jane is pretty odd (plain dressing and plain speaking Quaker) I can't snark on her. It's apparently a good resource for plain clothes. I've noticed that QJ's Mennonite-style cape dresses are actually less frumpy than the prairie dresses and jumpers than fundies like to wear.

I do have a question about this type of modesty. Because when I look at them all I see is their clothing- not their face or their covered hair- I'm staring right at the body. Now the Duggars say that your face and countenance (gag) are supposed to be the focal point that others notice when they see you and not their body- so that's why they always have "perfectly" coiffed aqua net hair and and have on a lot of make up. And for the most part, I have to say, it kind of works for them because I usually just focus on their face and my eyes aren't really pulled down to their outfit unless I'm thinking about it. But that is SO not what happens when I see these extreme frumper lovers who wear no makeup and dress in sacks devoid of color and shape. So do they think it's a sin to try and make yourself look attractive in any way? Is the goal to look as sexless as possible? Why do they want their particular brand of modesty to stand out so much from the norm that they almost become parodies instead of being taken at all seriously? There's just so much variation among the fundies and I'm wondering how they got to where they are within the scope of modesty.

Quaker Jane also points out that there's "Plain Modern," basically avoiding wild prints, bright colors, excessive jewelry, makeup, low cuts, etc. In Iran, the only thing you can see of a woman's body is basically her face, so since they want that to be as perfect as possible, they get nose jobs and wear a lot of makeup. I can't really disagree that Plain Modern people and Iranian women really are trying to draw attention to their "countenance". I think the Duggars have definitely improved in that area as well- their clothes don't stand out nearly as much anymore, so you CAN focus on their faces. I think other fundies than the Duggars get so caught up in legalism, as well as a very romantic version of the late 1800's, that they wear super-frumpy clothes. They're convinced that you have to wear some floral, ruffly abomination in order to be modest.

[Lainey]

Oooh, I want a petticoat and an ankle-length skirt! And a headcovering. I inexplicably like covering my head. And I'm an atheist who almost entirely lacks a sense of modesty. Don't judge me. :?

No seriously, I've been looking everywhere for a maxi skirt. I didn't even consider a fundie shop.

[maybeizfundie]

lol. Those are my favorite kinds of nightgowns. Warm and comfy. :D I am always sad when my flannel ones die.

My Menno friends wear flannel ones even during the summer, which I *cannot* do. The reason is in case there was a fire, they'd want to be modestly dressed when running out of the house. So they also wear headcoverings to bed, either kerchiefs or soft cap. Same reason.

IMO, of all the people bloomers are useful for, babies would be the demographic. I see them quite often sold with baby dresses.

[punkiepie]

Is it awful that I like the nightgowns? I'm not really a PJ person, I do wear them but in the winter I find loooong nightdresses much warmer.

As for the bloomers, babies do wear them, at least they do in the UK. If you buy a baby dress for a newborn here you will often find a pair of short (much shorter than the ones shown on the above website) bloomers as a nappy cover. Lately the fashion has been for a pair of short leggings but you can still find baby dresses with the bloomers.

As an aside, my daughter took part in a Victorian day at school last year. She already had a suitable dress, (we went to a winter wedding of a very religious couple - closest that I know personally that could be called fundies) and had a longish, very modest corduroy dress, pretty much identical to the ones in the dresses section of Katies Mercantile. I just used an old 1970's pattern bought off ebay for pennies to make it. She wore that dress for the Victorian day after the wedding and I made her a pair of bloomers from a cropped trouser pattern, just added elastic to hems and added a bit of lace. I also made her a mop cap and and one of those Amish style aprons. She wore the whole ensemble with her great, great, great, great, great (I kid you not) grandmother's hand crochet cape dating from 1850 (it's a family heirloom) and won the prize at school for the best costume. I've got a photo of her somewhere in the whole costume. It was a toss up whether she had come straight from the 1850's or 21st century fundamentalist USA!

I like night gowns, too- just not ones that come up to my chin and go down to my ankles. If it's cold, I'll wear my long big thick robe, but when I'm actually in the bed, I prefer to not have a lot of bulky fabric getting tangled between me and the sheets. If I didn't have a super warm down comforter like I do, I probably wouldn't be able to do that.

Congratulations on your daughter winning best costume-- it sounds like you did a great job. And i think that's amazing you have such an old family heirloom- that's really a special thing to have.

[maybeizfundie]

Lainey, you might check out "tzniut" clothing shops too. tznius.com is one, but there are others like it.

[Lainey]

Lainey, you might check out "tzniut" clothing shops too. tznius.com is one, but there are others like it.

Oh, thanks! I have no idea what "tzniut" means (some kind of Jewish thing?), but I like some of those skirts. :)

[jenny_islander]

I don't know anybody who does let a baby go around with his/her diaper hanging out. Diaper covers prevent the baby from picking at the closures of the diaper; if they're made of the right material, they can also help prevent or absorb leaks.

This is definitely not a reenactors' shop. The girls' jumpers recall some of the simple, (relatively) practical clothing introduced around the turn of the 20th century in reaction against the fashion for stuffing little girls into bustled dresses they couldn't play in, but if the whole site were like that the women wouldn't be wearing frumpers--they would be corseted and wearing neck-to-floor dresses that skimmed the outline of the body down to the hips, possibly with vests or other decoration on the front. Actually I don't recall any fashion era offhand in which grown women wore anything like a frumper except for the turn of the 14th century, and even then the more usual silhouette cut away the sides of the jumper to produce what modern costumers call the Gates of Hell. Oh, traditional Russian/Ukrainian costuming for some ethnic groups included a piece called an apron, which was more like a jumper with straps, but the elaborate decoration and headdresses were nothing like frumper culture today, and anyway they were Orthodox, which rhymes with Martian.

Re looking for a maxi skirt: Deva Lifewear sells hard-wearing full circle skirts that go almost to the ground. Made in the USA by people who work at home, even.

[sea_gale]

Oooh, I want a petticoat and an ankle-length skirt! And a headcovering. I inexplicably like covering my head. And I'm an atheist who almost entirely lacks a sense of modesty. Don't judge me. :?

No seriously, I've been looking everywhere for a maxi skirt. I didn't even consider a fundie shop.

Wow, I thought I was the only one! My friends used to tease me and call my look "Benazir Bhutto chic". Let's be BFFs, we can swap scarves <3

[Kitty]

Also, Katie's Mercantile is nowhere near as frumpalicious as the King's Daughters.