What do your clothes say about you? 3 great holy Doctors of the Church explain it

When it comes to dressing and using accessories and makeup, the concern may arise about being fashionable without lacking modesty and charity. The thoughts of these three great saints “Doctors of the Church” can help answer that question.

First of all, it is worth mentioning that a “Doctor of the Church” is a title given by the Pope or an ecumenical council to some saints who have reached the level of eminent “teachers of the faith.”

Regarding the way of dressing, it is a moral act, so it must be look at the act itself, the person’s intention, and the circumstances surrounding it. Here are the reflections on the virtue of modesty in dress from Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Mary Liguori.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas understood that modesty is part of the virtue of temperance (see Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 160), which is what helps us moderate our desires.

In that sense, temperance helps us not to exceed our desires and to act in accordance with reason. For example, we use it to avoid eating too much or too little and to help us fast on fast days and eat celebratory foods moderately on holidays. Humility is a type of inner modesty: we must be honest with ourselves that we are limited creatures who need God.

Therefore, when Saint Thomas Aquinas talks about modesty in dressing, he explains that honesty is reflected in our clothingand that this applies to men and women, boys and girls. What we wear portrays something to others about who we are and what we are doing..

Likewise, Saint Thomas quotes Saint Ambrose stating that “the body must be adorned in a natural and unaffected way, with simplicity, with more carelessness than care, not with expensive and dazzling clothing, but with ordinary clothing, so that it does not lack honesty and necessity, however, nothing will be added to increase its beauty” (ST, II-II, Q. 169, Art. 1). The way we dress should be beautifully decorated.

Saint Francis de Sales

This saint has a similar explanation when he talks about elegance in dress, and emphasizes that Appearing clean and tidy demonstrates respect for oneself and others:

“Study to be organized and do not allow anything about you to be neglected or disordered. It is an affront to those with whom you associate to be dressed inappropriately, but avoid all presumptions, vanities, finery and affectation. Adhere as much as possible to modesty and simplicity, which are undoubtedly the best adornments of beauty and the best atonement for its deficiency. (Introduction to the Devout Life, III.25).

The interesting point here is that dressing modestly is for both men and women, and should emphasize the beauty God gave them. If we put a nice frame around an artistic photo or an amazing painting, how much more care should we put into the way we dress our God-given bodies.

If modesty is a form of temperance, then one is not dressed modestly when one does not dress moderately. Saint Thomas explains that a lack of moderation in dress is not dressing according to the customs of our society and according to our status in life. (ST, II-II, P. 169, Art. 1).

Saint Francis de Sales also talks about following the customs of our culture: It is modest to dress fashionably and not make a show of ourselves by dressing in a way that stands out..

He explains that “as to the material and fashion of clothing, ownership in these respects depends on various circumstances, such as time, age, rank, those with whom it is associated; and it varies on different occasions” (Introduction to the Devout Life, III.25). What we use must match what we are doing.

For example, I wouldn’t wear gardening boots and muddy jeans to Easter Mass, nor would I work in the garden in my Easter attire. We should dress appropriately so we know where we are and what we are doing, since to do otherwise would be to dress dishonestly and therefore be immodest.

Saint Thomas explains that It is also immodest to have excessive attachment to what we wearThat is to say, the clothes we wear are more important than what is really important.

For example, if we spend more money on clothes than we should, we are focusing excessively on their comfort, regardless of whether they are necessary for the occasion; as well as if we spend too much time thinking and paying attention to how we dress and how we look. We might be overly concerned about whether our clothes are fashionable, or if, on the contrary, we are completely lazy in dressing.

It is a courtesy to others to dress appropriately, bathe, and have clean hair. We must have humility in the way we dress, not seeking to exaggerate or diminish, but rather be content with our way of dressing according to our means, and not long for more than we have or need.

In article 2 of question 169 of the Second Part of the Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas delves into the discussion of “the adornment of women,” where he analyzes how men and women can induce lust intentionally or unintentionally. .

First he quotes Saint Paul’s letter to Timothy emphasizing moderation in clothing: “Let women know how to clothe themselves with grace and good judgment, instead of adorning themselves with elaborate hairstyles, gold, jewels or expensive dresses. Let them rather adorn themselves with good works, as befits women who consider themselves godly” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).

When a woman is married, it is modest and proper for her to dress to show her husband her love for him and her closeness. In the same way, the husband should dress in such a way that he pleases his wife; Otherwise, he would be being immodest.

Saint Francis de Sales shares this opinion and adds: “A wife may adorn herself to please her husband, and it is lawful for maidens to desire to please the eyes of their friends.”. (Devoted life, III.25)

In that sense, Saint Thomas also talks about single women and ends with a point about men: “But those women who do not have a husband nor wish to have one, or who are in a state of life inconsistent with marriage, cannot, without to commit sin, to desire to give lustful pleasure to men who see them, because this is inciting them to sin. And if in fact they adorn themselves with this intention of provoking others to lust, they sin mortally; while if they do it out of frivolity or vanity for the sake of ostentation, it is not always mortal, but sometimes venial. And the same applies to men in this regard.” (ST, II-II, P. 169, Art. 2)

Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Intention matters. It is certainly sinful to induce lust in someone or to desire to give lustful pleasure to another person. This is where men and women should be careful with their dress.

St. Alphonsus Mary Liguori discusses this idea more specifically than St. Thomas, especially in regards to how local custom in dress changes what one might consider modest dress. St. Alphonsus speaks of the morality of a woman who “adorns herself” and “uncovers her breasts,” which was a fashion in her time. He explains that If a woman dresses according to local custom and does not know anyone in particular whom she could lead to lust, and furthermore has no intention of leading anyone to desire the way she dresses, then she is not sinning..

“A woman thinks that some people in general will be scandalized by her, but she does not believe that anyone in particular will be scandalized by her, and she does not intend to incite lust, nor would she be pleased by his lust (although she would be glad to be praised for being beautiful), then she is not obliged to refrain from ornamentation, even superfluous ornamentation, such as makeup or baring her breasts if that is the local custom, and it would not be a mortal sin for her to do this. However, it is a mortal sin if the uncovering of the breasts or the ornamentation of her were shameful in themselves and were aimed at provoking lust. (Moral Theology, Book 2, Treatise 3, On Charity, Chapter 2. 55)

We have to see if these ways of dressing fit our local customs and what our intentions are in wearing them. Likewise, men and women must also evaluate the increasing carelessness in dress, and whether that custom is appropriate or adequate to the Catholic traditions’ understanding of modesty.

It’s nearly impossible to set hard and fast rules about what is modest when local customs and circumstances are always in flux. But a reasoned application of all these principles to each situation should help one make a moral decision about what to wear.

For Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Alphonsus Mary Liguori, Local fashion guides the acceptable and modest way of dressing for both men and women.

A woman can dress in a way that in other cultures may be understood as immodest, as long as she does not intend to provoke lust. Men should consider this too, as to whether the way they dress provokes lust.

Even beyond avoiding lust in other people, we are all called to take care of how we dress and consider what is appropriate and conforms to our customs. Likewise, we should not stand out, but fit into our society in a beautiful and decorous way.

This article was originally published in National Catholic Registertranslated and adapted by ACI Prensa on August 9, 2022. It has been updated for republication.