Oh, I wasn’t referring to that dress in particular, just two ways to let a woman know that maybe she needs to cover up a bit more!!
But yes, there are a lot of spike shoes that could politely be said to give a “come hither” message. Some skirts are cut so that they don’t look right without a rather high heel, and they can’t simply be cut shorter to accomodate flatter shoes without ruining the way the fabric hangs.
I believe St. Paul pointed out that the ideal is to adorn ourselves with virtue. This is an avenue open to both men and women. St. James warned us not to look down on anyone or favor anyone because of the clothes they can afford. That points to a middle road.
There is a lot of room between the extremes of Las Vegas, Venice Beach, the Pacific Crest Trail, and attire permitted to fundamentalist Mormon women. And there is nothing that says women have to wear a dress on Venice Beach or the Pacific Crest Trail.
For liturgical gatherings, though, I think the ideal can be summed up this way: let our clothing reflect the dignity of the baptized, in a Church where women are recognized as co-heirs with men, where reverence is the goal, not attracting attention to ourselves by any extreme in clothing. That is going to look a bit different, in different places and at different times. It should always be dignifed, though, considering the time and place.
I have been having a really hard time with my daughter about this for several years. She is 18 now. She wears spaghetti strapped and low cut tops, short skirts, tight pants. She sometimes goes to mass with me (I quit fighting with her about it when she was 16). She doesn’t see anything wrong with short skirts. I’m glad to see her go to mass, so I accept that she wears jeans. It’s better than midriff showing mini-skirts. I wonder if a dress code would get ME out of the middle? At her high school graduation (Catholic school), two very well endowed young women in spaghetti straps put the altar cloths on. I got Colleen Hammond’s book Dressing with Dignity with the intention of leaving it lying around for her to read it. After reading it, I felt that it would turn my daughter off even more. The book has some good points, but she is over the top on a lot of things. (no pants, no public bathing)
A day of being able to read men’s minds, and I think your daughter might see your point. My brothers told me that if women could read minds, they’d all dress like Muslims. I think that’s extreme, but I remembered the point. It is not just about protecting them from sin. It is about protecting our own self-respect.
This is the one area where the most ardent feminists and the most traditional women tend to agree: modest clothing is a matter of keeping your dignity, of not making yourself into an object.
Next thing you know, they’ll tell you women shouldn’t dye their hair!! (I don’t do it, but I wouldn’t be caught dead without lipstick)!
I know about the lipstick; my mom is the same way. But it
is really a pain to get out of the purificators. If you could choose the most washable kind possible for Sunday, it would be a help. (I think it must be the all-day kind that is so stubborn to get out.)