Modest Swimsuits 101

So if typical swimsuits aren’t the answer, what do you do? I used to think there were absolutely no other options besides avoiding water at all costs for the rest of my life, but I was wrong. There is another way, and I recently tested it on a trip to a resort in Mexico.

First of all, let me say that this was not always easy. As the trip came closer and I started shopping for Caribbean worthy clothes, there was a HUGE temptation to abandon all I had learned in the past year, buy an oh-so-cute bikini, and worry about modesty when I’m 60 and wrinkly. It took a lot of prayer by me and for me and a great amount of grace and strength from God to decide to unwaveringly pursue the modesty standards that He had impressed upon me.

A few days before the trip, I went to a sports store (Sports Authority, Academy, etc.) to look for something to wear swimming. During my trial run last summer, I wore board shorts from the guy’s department and a sports shirt that is a polyester/nylon blend over a tankini. However, because that made me feel like a cross-dresser, I really wanted to buy something from the women’s department. I found two pairs of board shorts (these were 97% cotton/3% Spandex) and a pink(!) sports shirt. The shirts are athletic shirts that I think are mainly made for cycling. I also bought a one-piece swimsuit to wear under the shorts and shirts.

On the trip, I made the commitment that I would always wear shorts and a shirt over the swimsuit-no exceptions. The results? I ended up liking it! Really. I never had to worry about the swimsuit staying in place or covering what it was supposed to cover. I was a lot more comfortable with myself. And surprisingly, I didn’t feel like a freak. Yes, I was the only one dressed like that, but honestly, it didn’t bother me. I was much less self-conscious while wearing the shirt and shorts than I used to be in a regular swimsuit. I didn’t feel like people were judging my body as they walked by since there wasn’t much to see. And, bonus-I didn’t get sunburned at all since so much of me was covered.

Of course, it wasn’t a perfect experience. With being in an extremely humid climate, the clothes didn’t dry like they do here. Once I got wet, I stayed wet. This was more uncomfortable than wearing a typical swimsuit because I had a lot of wet material sticking to me. Solution? Next time, I’ll change out of the wet clothes more often if I’m bothered by it. The only other problem I had was wearing the one-piece swimsuit under my clothes on a trip to the Mayan ruins and beach. It was a really hot day, and the swimsuit didn’t allow me to cool off since it was clinging to my front and back. For that, a two-piece would have been cooler. However, I did like the coverage of the one-piece in general. Also, I found that the polyester/nylon shorts dry more quickly than the cotton ones.

I know this view of swimsuits is wildly unpopular. I have been met with resistance from both my peers (guys and girls) and older women. From the younger set, the general attitude is something like this: “If you want to do this, that’s fine. But really, it’s unnecessary to make this kind of statement. This is 2007, not 1900. Just pick a modest swimsuit, and that’s enough in the modesty department.” The responses from women around my mom’s age are different, yet still unsupportive. “You’re young and beautiful! You’ve got a great body-show it off while you can!” However, I have come to believe that these attitudes leave Christ out of the picture and allow the world to define us. In my experience, buying a swimsuit has been all about me-and not at all about Christ. In general, I think that as girls we tend to have a mental checklist for buying a swimsuit: “Do I look fat anywhere? Does my (favorite body attribute here) look good in this? Will people (hot guys) think I look good?” If the answers are no, yes, and I hope so, then we’ve got a new swimsuit. The trouble is that with this attitude, we fail to seek and honor Christ with our hearts, minds, and bodies. Remember, the goal of swimsuit designers is not to further your walk with Christ-it’s to sell swimsuits.

To any girls who may identify with what I’m saying: I would love to help you find something else to wear while swimming. If you live near me, let’s go shopping! If not, I would be more than happy to work with you online to help you get started. Leave me a comment, and I’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading! This modesty series is coming to an end. (Yay! I’m ready to write about the other amazing things God is doing in my life.) I’ll finish up with a closing post sometime soon.

For His glory,
Katie

Let's Talk About Swimsuits!

Hello again!

Now it’s time to discuss the most drastic change I’ve made in the pursuit of glorifying God through modesty…swimsuits! There is so much to talk about; let’s dive in!

Our culture in the United States, virtually without question, accepts that when we swim, do water activities, or tan, we wear a typical swimsuit. For women, this essentially means taking off our clothes and wearing something as revealing as underwear and leaves almost nothing to the imagination. Think about it: even the “modest swimsuits” (tankinis (two-piece with longer top to cover some of the stomach), bottoms cut into short shorts instead of bikini style) are clingy, especially when wet, and expose A LOT of skin. Somehow, this is culturally acceptable. It is something we do without question and without reservation. But should we? Is it possible that Christians need to not agree with the worldly standards in this area and go in a different direction with the area of swimwear?

We have trained ourselves to think that when someone is wearing a swimsuit, they are appropriately covered. Really? Then why is it not acceptable to dress like that in a normal setting apart from some body of water? We don’t wear our swimsuits to Bible study or church. We don’t wear our swimsuits to a movie night with friends. When removed from its normal context, a swimsuit would easily be labeled as immodest. So are they really appropriate to wear ever? Why do our standards of modesty change so drastically, without question, when we get around the pool or the ocean? In general, I (and the girls I know who also maintain a good sense of modesty) would never be seen in such tight or so little clothing in any other setting. So why do we take off our clothes (in front of boys!) to swim?

Getting past the mentality that I had to stay within the boundaries of typical swimsuits was a struggle for me. Accepting the idea that I had to change and be different from essentially everyone else was almost impossible. However, by God’s grace, He is showing me another way. I once belonged to the world in this area, and it is something that I have come to regret tremendously. I had the “modest swimsuits”, and I also had the tiny two-piece. I thought, “I’m young and thin-I can and should wear what looks good!” Because of that choice, I allowed anyone who saw me to see most of my body uncovered, and the rest covered by little material. How sad. They did not deserve that temptation, my future husband does not deserve my previous exposure, and I regret that so many have seen so much of me. Back then, my attitude was one of great selfishness and pride. I wanted to draw attention to myself. At that time, I had a boyfriend, and I wore what I thought would be attractive to him. Where was Christ in all of this? I was glorifying myself, not Him. Ouch. I didn’t value His creation, my beauty as a woman, enough to save it for the man who would be my husband. It was available for the taking to anyone and everyone.

Even as I began to be convicted in this area last summer, I desperately fought the idea of changing. PJ can vouch for this-my arguing, crying, and sulking as we worked though this issue. I was full of the excuses-the same ones that I’ve heard from every person that I’ve talked to about this issue: “There’s nothing else to wear... It would be impossible to change… It’s not really necessary to change my ways... Swimsuits aren’t a big deal as long as they’re modest… If everyone’s wearing a swimsuit, no one’s going to notice me... Swimsuits aren’t a temptation to boys when they’re swimming” And on and on…but really, I think that these are lies of the world that we so readily accept. Being mostly naked in front of everyone (men) should be kind of a big deal to us as Christians. You are being noticed. Boys are looking. Married men are looking. Creepy men are looking. Old men are looking… We’re conforming to the world, but not to Christ. And believe it or not, we do have other options.

This is getting kind of long, so I’m going to break here and save the options for my next post. Before I end, though, I want to make it clear that I did not come to these conclusions on my own. This comes from a lot of prayer, a lot of hard talks and questions, and a tremendous amount of grace. I’m trying to be obedient to the call of Christ in my life, and I truly believe that this swimsuit issue needs to be addressed by other Christians.

Let me know what you think so far. The next post is coming soon!

At Long Last...

So by a few days, I guess I meant two months between posts. With the end of a semester, finals, packing and moving PJ, his graduation, sending him to Africa, starting a job, getting adjusted to life at home, and wedding planning, let's just say life is full. And blessedly so! But I'm ready to finish up with the modesty series, so I hope to get the last posts out quickly (which for me probably means by the end of summer!) Anyway...here's the next one.

In the last post, I told you what I stopped wearing. Now it's time to find out why!
The things that I changed are clothes that are really common for girls to wear, but that doesn't mean that we should accept them without careful consideration (or at all...?). Also, I promise to provide wearable, real-life-tested alternatives to everything that I suggest that you consider changing.

About those tank tops...they were one of the hardest things to stop wearing. It's hot during the summer, and a lot of the cute tops are tank tops! PJ explained it to me like this: strapless tops are BAD for guys, spaghetti straps and other thin straps are better but in no way good (read: bad), and covering the shoulders is by far the best way to go. In general, tank tops equal more skin. More skin can very easily equal more lust, or at least temptation to lust that was triggered specifically by a clothing choice. Is it worth it? For me, that answer is no. According to The Modesty Survey, 57.6% of guys who took the survey agree that tank tops are generally immodest. 73.5% of them agree that halter tops are immodest. These numbers are high, and in general, the majority of guys would prefer to not see girls in tank tops. In contrast, 21.1% of guys consider sleeveless shirts (covering the shoulders but leaving the arms bare) immodest. We can consistently see that more material on top leads to less of a problem with immodesty.

What can you wear instead of tank tops? Wool parkas, of course. No? Ok...any other (modest!) short sleeved shirt. I switched my solid colored tanks for solid color t-shirts. I have not yet died of heat stroke. :-)

Shorts! To be fair, I really like wearing cheer shorts. They're great to sleep in, and I used to wear them to work out. At the gym today, every girl that I saw wearing shorts was wearing cheer shorts. (In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here.) But honestly, there's no good reason to be wearing shorts like this, and there are plenty of bad ones. First of all, that's a lot of bare leg. Second, shorts don't stay perfectly in place when you run or sit. That's more bare leg. Is it necessary?

83.8% of guys who took The Modesty Survey say that shorts above mid-thigh are immodest. Yep. Also, for those of us with long legs, remember that shorts on shorter girls aren't going to hit at the same place for taller ones. In general, I think it's a good idea to aim for lower thigh, which is going to cut out a lot of the typical work-out shorts.

Solution...boy shorts! No, I'm not kidding. My running shorts are from the boys' section, and they are one of the most comfortable things I own. Guys have the right idea when it comes to shorts...long and comfortable, not short, tight, and uncomfortable like so many girl shorts. I first bought boy shorts to wear on a mission trip, and I've loved them ever since. Give it a try. I promise you won't turn into a boy.

Good news! Long shorts and skirts (knee-length-ish) are in style right now! I love this trend, since it gives a good alternative to too-short shorts and pants in the summer. Girls, use this as an excuse to go shopping. Guys, support your girls in their quest for modesty. :-)

Coming up...the swimwear edition! It's been an interesting experience for me, and I can't wait to share it with you. Keep checking back...I do promise to finish this series!

In Him,
Katie