Plain/Simple Dress

Quaker Plain      

Our choice in plain dress begins with Daniel's roots being in the Conservative Mennonite community.

           In times of uncertainty one only had to rely upon the judgement of the community's decision. This was in fact apart of the solemn vow one made when becoming a member of the community. But after being asked to leave the fellowship Daniel had to examine his identity as a "son of God" rather than one voice among the decision making brotherhood of the Mennonite Church. Ultimately this meant aligning himself with principles rather than a culture. Of course, the only clothes he owned were plain button shirts, suspenders, and polyester work pants. When it came time to replace warn out items, he was faced with a myriad of choices. Ultimately it came down to modesty, practicality in terms of durability and price. Goodwill became his superstore of choice!!!
        When we married this issue became even more important as we wanted to set principally sound standards for our family. Our hope was to "adorn ourselves with the doctrine (instruction) of God our Saviour in all things."  
       Clothing has many practical purposes. Beyond the obvious advantage of protection from the elements, we choose clothing according to the principals of modesty, simplicity, practicality, and affordability.  Whether shopping or making our own, these are the standards by which we make our choices.
         Modesty, in terms of dress, is the attempt to conceal the body without vanity or adornment. This means shirts that can be tucked in and pants for boys and men. Belts or suspenders keep pants where the ought to be. Dresses or skirts that are longer than our knees are sufficient for our family's girls. We try to avoid low cut necklines or sleeves that reveal too much. Also, we are not opposed to pants for girls, as there are times when they are more modest than a dress can be. They can also be a safer choice when working with certain types of machinery where flapping skirts can catch. (Fortunately we do not have to relate to these sorts of exceptions regularly.)

       The definition of "simplicity" is "not complicated to understand or do: having few parts: not fancy : not special or unusual". In practical terms this means that all of our clothes look orderly in all different combinations. Certain pants don't have to go with certain shirts. Our shoes look fine with whatever we wear. We only differentiate between newer clothes, which we wear to town or meeting, with older clothes, which may be stained or patched and are better suited to choring. The benefit of simplicity is less time wasted on "what matches what".
          The last part of the definition of simplicity is also important to us. Our clothing should not make us "special or unusual". We do not want to draw attention to our clothing for the cause of beauty, vanity, stature, or show. Likewise we do not want to dress in a way that would stress supposed piety. (Luke 20:46-47)
          Practicality touches on a wider range of things. Price! Durability!(Dickie work pants last a lot longer than cotton or jeans) Stain resistant! (Dark colors and patterns stand up longer against stains.) Fast drying!(We line dry our clothes in the house in the winter. With 7 children it is very important that clothes be fast drying and that shirts and dresses not be of a material that will stretch when hung on hangers.) It is important also that I be able to nurse with ease and comfort. Aprons accomplish this for me.
          Our final thoughts are this. "So why worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin: and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Mat 6:28-29 Clothes are not our religion or our God. We have our preferences but let us not be entrapped with legalistic dress codes.
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