Modest contributions

Found the following news feature -- from the archives of The Arizona Daily Star -- via Modestly Yours. Excerpts from that Modestly Yours blog entry which contains a link to the first feature, comes next.

Local teens score one for modesty
By Scott Simonson
arizona daily star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.18.2004

Unable to find stores where girls' clothes weren't too tight, too short or too trashy, a group of Tucson-area teenagers decided to do something about it. The youths challenged retail giants to change their ways. And, in one case, they won. The students collected more than 4,000 signatures on petitions asking stores to carry more clothes for girls who didn't want short skirts or shorter shorts, low-rise jeans, low-cut tops or bare-midriff T-shirts.

As a result, Dillard's is holding a fashion show in Tucson today to spotlight more modest styles, and said it can adjust its inventory here to carry some more conservative clothing. In the battle between barely-there styles of big-box juniors departments and teens who want to flaunt less flesh, score one for the underdogs.

"I'm really proud of what we managed to accomplish," said Wallis Rothlisberger, a 15-year-old sophomore at Sahuaro High School who helped with the petition drive. "I'm really grateful that there are stores out there who listen to what we have to say. I'm really surprised."

Full story here

** Photo from LifeSite

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Whatever happened to "dressing your Sunday best"? Although many Black churchgoers still dress in their best for Sunday services, most White churchgoers have dispensed with that. "Sunday best" has been replaced with "Sunday casual." It's a controversial topic at many churches. Some believe that God doesn't care what you wear to church, and other (myself included) are disturbed by the skimpy clothes people are wearing to God's house. (I saw tube tops last week at Church, and the organist was wearing a halter top. Sigh.) Last week, a Catholic bishop from Amarillo, Texas issued a letter to his diocese about modesty in dress. In his letter, entitled "Modesty starts with purification of the heart," Bishop Yanta spoke frankly about why it's important to dress modestly, especially at church.

“When the community of believers comes together for the Eucharist (Mass) let no one be a distraction from Jesus or provide temptation (an occasion of sin) to another because of our manner of dress.....How many Catholics this Summer will attend Sunday Mass in tank tops, shorts, flip flops... in dress unbecoming of the Holy Sacrifice… Anyone who dresses like this at Sunday Mass does not know where they are..."

He also quotes from the Catholic Catechism, which addresses modesty several times:

“Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty protects the intimate center of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden (CCC 2521)."

“Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person (CCC 2524). "

Full post at Modestly Yours