Skirts Part II: Response to Blondie

~ This response was so long, I made it into a separate post. ~

Hi Blondie,
Thanks for your comment. Your questions are valid, and I understand there is a lot of ambiguity around the skirts issue.
First of all (this is important to note), the main point of this post was not to encourage girls to succumb to peer pressure. I believe that you can be the best witness when you wear something because YOU like it, not because others like it. If you like skirts more than jeans, go ahead and wear them! I have some friends who wear skirts and are fantastic witnesses. And if you like jeans better than skirts, go ahead! I also have friends who wear only jeans (also fantastic witnesses). I wrote this post for girls who are struggling with legalistic worldviews and for girls who like both jeans and skirts equally. Of course, we should always check to ensure we are wearing modest, God-honoring clothes. That brings us to your first question: Are skirts truly a distraction?
I have struggled with the same question. About jeans being distracting to men, check out therebelution.com/modestysurvey. Jeans are only a distraction if they are tight-fitting. However, as it is difficult to find loose-fitting jeans at a decent height (on the waist or at least a little above the hips) these days, it may be safer to wear skirts. I believe that our brothers in Christ are important, and that they are a more important factor in selecting clothes than the approval of our peers. Hence, if a majority of men said that jeans were most definitely a problem, I would not wear them (I don't wear a bikkini, which is hip but immodest).
I do not, however, believe we should select clothes because men simply LIKE them (as in skirts); I believe in only concerning myself with allieviating any struggles they may have. I am not looking for their approval; therefore, I look to the modesty survey for modesty guidelines but not stylistic guidelines. I still strive to honor my father; if I marry, I will strive to honor my husband. I still dress in a feminine manner, even if I don't wear a skirt (but sometimes I do wear skirts).
Does that answer your first question? If not, please let me know and I'll try to explain futher or in different words. It's a tough issue!
Regarding your second question, "Do we have to be hip to look good?" may I say that being hip certainly helps? :) You're right - of course we don't have to be hip to look good. If you try to always dress like everyone else, that just makes you a clone. There are creative, beautiful ways to dress femininely that are not "hip." However, I think we can both agree that clothing communicates messages. I listed the messages that might be portrayed by a skirt because I don't believe girls who wear skirts are always aware that they are sending these messages. Some of these messages, such as "out of touch" and "old-fashioned," are not messages we want to send. Christianity is in-touch and relevant. We are representations of Christianity; therefore, we should be in-touch and relevant. Dressing "hip" is one way to show Christianity's relevancy. Once again, that doesn't mean we watch all the "in" movies and wear all the "in" clothes; however, it does mean that we work toward coming as close as possible while retaining righteousness.
I hope that helped!
God bless,
Ruth :)