Emily, Daisy and Irene are three friends who all have important events upcoming in their lives. Emily is getting married in six months’ time, Daisy is having a new job interview in a week’s time and Irene together with her husband are expecting a baby who is due to arrive in three months.
All of these three friends have different but important wardrobe needs to consider and fill. Emily has been searching on Pinterest, wedding magazines and also consulting with Irene about her experience when she was getting married two years ago. Getting the right wedding gown design, fabric and colour choice are top priority.
Daisy on the other hand has heard it over and over again that you only have the first few seconds to impress your interviewer and set the tone for the rest of the session. First impressions during a job interview can make the difference between getting a follow-up interview and being passed over for the job. You cannot redo a first impression and how you’re dressed forms a big part of it.
Daisy too has been researching about the company offering the job opportunity and finding out what would be the most appropriate attire to wear on the day of the interview.
As for Irene, it’s been a wardrobe adventure of sorts with her first pregnancy as she has to find new wardrobe outfits as the pregnancy grows. She’ll still be going to the office for the next two months. Luckily, she has found a stylist who has helped her get nice office wear that takes care of her changing physical look.
What influences our wardrobe choices?
While we were growing up, it was easy to spot a pregnant woman because there was the standard maternity dress that almost all expectant mothers wore. Nowadays, women wear all sorts of outfits from trendy to really out of place looks.
Apart from the familiar stories of these three friends, every morning we all have to make a wardrobe choice on what clothes to wear for the day depending on the activities at hand. The choice at that very moment is limited to the clothes already in the wardrobe. It is therefore a labour of love for many when shopping around for items of clothing that will find room in their wardrobes and eventually onto their bodies when the time comes to step out.
Whether you shop on the street or at the high-end stores in the malls or you have your favourite designer who stitches tailor-made outfits for you, effort is made all the same to ensure that you have the best according to your budget and taste. Whenever you see someone out on the streets, office or at an event, the attire they’re wearing is manifestation of a decision that was made a few hours back.
The thing that influences your choice of items that you add to your wardrobe is the most powerful force to be aware of more than the items themselves. Most people don’t give much thought into what influences their wardrobe choices because most times, the influence is subtle and happens over a period of time.
Dress your mind first
It’s important to note that we dress our bodies with what we have dressed our minds with. Our wardrobe choices are the results of influences and decisions that we have allowed to take root in our mind. That’s why the Bible says that as a man thinks, so is he. The mind therefore, is the most important attire that we have. We dress it with beliefs, values, desires and motives which can be positive or negative.
The thoughts that dress your mind will find expression in the clothes that you buy. If your thoughts are based around the worldly values of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life, you will find no offense in wearing immodest clothes. If your thoughts are based on the intrinsic God-given, eternal and unchanging self-value and respect, then it will also reflect on your wardrobe choice. You will understand that fashion is not about clothes first, it’s about your divine identity and purpose.
Dress your mind appropriately by being especially deliberate and mindful of what you see and hear. The prevailing mindset of the world dictates that the more revealing your attire is, the more appealing and valuable you’re. This mindset places value on sexual appeal thereby objectifying the body as a product on display for eliciting all kinds of depraved sexual desires in anyone who may be lured.
This kind of mindset is employed by prostitutes and increasingly by other people on the streets, work places and even in Churches. Nowadays, it’s perfectly normal to meet a person on the streets or at work or in a Church service who is dressed like a prostitute. The problem is in the mind as such people are either ignorant or have their conscience seared to the truth about how we ought to dress.
In the Kingdom, we put on Christ first, we dress our minds with the Word of God. We discover and walk in our divine identity which generally tells us that we are kings and priests unto our God. We are God’s ambassadors representing the King of kings, we are soldiers and therefore don’t entangle in civilian affairs. We don’t dress carelessly because we’re always in the battlefield. A badly dressed soldier is an easy target for the enemy.
Our values and desires must be shaped by the Word of God which reveals to us our true identity. The world is not the place to go searching for your identity. The world has no capacity to reveal to us our true identity.
The next time you go into your closet to choose what to wear or when you go shopping for a new clothing item, consider and reflect on the reasons why you choose a particular item apart from its colour, fabric, fit, occasion and price. Are there other factors whose motive are not pure? If there are, determine what they’re and drop them. Dressing to create a sexy look is a worldly mindset, dressing to impersonate is criminal, dressing to please others is unfulfilling and a pain.
The most important attire in your wardrobe is your mind, fill it with the Word of God and let it shape your beliefs, values, desires and practices.
