Modesty sells — a trend in the clothing industry appeals to people of many faiths
I just got back from vacation and found Tim Townsend’s article about Chatfields Boutique in Des Peres, Missouri – click here – specializing in bridal and formal gowns that are modest.
What a concept!
This is an idea that has caught hold in Utah, where Latter-day Saint clothing entrepreneurs have, in recent years, been helping young teens and adults dress up without dressing down, way down to cleavage baring styles reminiscent of Hollywood’s Night at the Oscars.
Learn of one such clothing entrepreneur in the Meridian Magazine article: Keith Hall takes on Fashion Industry with Beautifully Modest Clothing.
For years Latter-day Saints and people of many faiths have been imploring clothing manufacturers to provide clothing with more cloth. But the response was always the same: modesty does not sell.
When I went shopping in St. Louis a couple years ago to buy my daughter a prom dress there were none that didn’t show a whole lot of shoulder and revealing necklines. We had to retrofit a dress to make it modest by adding a short crop jacket in complementary fabric.
Kudos to Chatfields! I can now shop locally for a modest dress and I don’t have to pull out my sewing machine.
Best of all, how reassuring it is to know that modesty does sell!
And thank you, Tim, for bringing this story to our attention.
So what does this say about our society that a clothing store featuring modest clothing would be making news?
Is modesty a trend? Can it be?
What does modesty mean to you?
Related articles: TIRED OF LOW RISE AND LOWCUT? MODESTY CAN BE CHIC. Christian Science Monitor
Various articles on lds.org
Above photo is courtesy of Meridian Magazine.



Dana King, 45, volunteers in public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- St. Louis Missouri South Stake. She chairs the annual Discover Your Roots conference and serves on the Friends of Dred Scott committee. Dana is a contributor to outreach initiatives: knowyourneighbornet.org and BlackLDS.org. Dana is married, mother of two teens, and runs her interior design business.
I think you have it backwards, Dana. You can sell modesty but sex sells. See the following link to a blog about Hayley DiMarco’s book “Sexy Girls: How Hot is Too Hot” where she uses a sexy cover to sell modesty: http://blogs.modestlyyours.net/modestly_yours/2006/07/selling_modesty.html