zoegirl wrote:"and the shape thereof"
I think there is a way to dress for women that still reflects our feminine shape without resorting to shapeless sacks and yet still remains classy and modest. At some point, dressing in shapeless sacks can reflect a shame in our bodies, a needless shame.
I would agree with you here. I read a quote somewhere, can't remember from who right now, which was: "Christianity is notoriously hard on female pulchritude" and I think there's a fair amount of truth in this. It is reasonable enough to have a healthy pride in your appearance and to want to look your best without being vain with it, and a lot of the time it's just a matter of taste and what's appropriate to the situation. What looks fine in a nightclub would be outrageous in the office...
I wouldn't bat an eyelid if I had to meet Jesus wearing a mini-skirt - I'm pretty sure he could see beyond what I'm wearing - but I wouldn't wear one in church or show much flesh at all beyond bare forearms, mainly so I wouldn't offend other people with stronger ideas than me about things like that.
I do agree that young girls walking round looking to all intents and purposes like prostitutes is a really bad idea, and frankly, a lot of the worst 'culprits' when it comes to overly-revealing clothes simply don't have the bodies to carry it off, they do themselves no favours. Too much make up never looks attractive - a naturally pretty girl will almost always look her best with either a little or no make up on, it's looking healthy that makes the difference.
Personally I will dress modestly on a day to day basis, but if I"ve got a fancy evening do or I go to a nightclub, I'll wear a beautiful dress, and get my hair done. I certainly don't expect men to be so awestruck and overcome with lust that they'll pounce on me the second I walk through the door, because we live in a society where it's acceptable to display a bit of flesh -but I wouldn't be so free in a Muslim country where it may be seen as an invitation, and I do think women have to be responsible and understand the way men see things, especially if alcohol comes into it. If you have your breasts offered up like watermelons on a plate you can expect to be treated like you're available for sex, but some women can handle that sort of attention pretty well....I don't like it, but there you go, different strokes for different folks.
It's also fair to say that women can be just as overcome with lust as men, though they're probably aroused in different ways. if I'm wearing a dress that's showing my legs in a major way and some guy is being as charming and witty as he possibly can be, trying his very best to turn me on and 'win' me, as it were, then who's being naughty - me, him, both of us, neither of us? It's all relative... I think people can get way too hung up about sex, it's a natural thing, and we can't do much to change the laws of attraction, we just need to keep them in perspective. It's making sex into a taboo, prohibited thing that often makes people desperate with lust, but equally, pornography and the like can desensitise or confuse folk, making something dirty or perverse out of a normal human function. Neither extreme is good.