Polygamist dress a study in faith vs. fashion

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: Polygamist dress a study in faith vs. fashion


Dresses worn by women in the polygamist sect are meant to show modesty and conformity.

(AP) -- For a society accustomed to the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, the images of the women from the polygamist compound in Texas are almost shocking in their understatement: Ankle-length dresses, makeup-less faces, hauntingly uniform hair....

The puff-sleeved, pastel dresses worn by the women in the sect are a combination of original 19th-century wear and 1950s clothing that was adopted when the church took a conservative turn, according to Janet Bennion, an anthropologist who studies polygamist women. The dresses are meant to show modesty and conformity: They go down to the ankles and wrists, and are often worn over garments or pants, making sure every possibly provocative inch of skin is covered.

John Llewellyn, a polygamy expert and retired Salt Lake County sheriff's lieutenant, says the women cover themselves "so that they're unattractive to the outside world or other men." The appearance of unity through uniform dress, however, can belie the jealousy that often arises when the women -- who might all look alike to an outsider -- find themselves in competition with one another over the affections of the same man, Llewellyn says.

The clothing is also stitched with special markings "to protect the body and to remind you of your commitment," Bennion says. She declined to go into detail about the stitchings because she said it would be an infraction against the community -- a fundamentalist sect that broke from the mainline Mormon church, which disavows polygamy -- to talk about their sacred symbols.

Pastel colors evoke femininity and don't come across as bold or strong, says Bennion, a professor at Lyndon State College in Vermont.

Then there's the question of the elaborate hairdos. The women never cut their hair because they believe they will use it to wash Christ's feet during the Second Coming, Bennion says. A Biblical quote says a woman's hair should be her crowning glory. The bangs are grown out and rolled (but usually not using a curling iron, because that would be too modern). There are sausage curls on the sides and often braids down the back. The exact history of the hairstyle is unclear....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/22/polygamy.fashion.ap/index.html

[JuniperLea]

1. It looks very Victorian era to me...

Like pictures of my great grandmother and her sisters. Or pioneer women.




Wow! You can buy patterns for these old dresses... interesting.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Very similar. nt

[DrDan]

2. I heard somewhere yesterday that those wearing the same

color are sister-wives. Not sure if that is true or not - but seems to make a bit of sense.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Interesting! nt

[fasttense]

5. The ruling elite of this sect certainly go to great lengths to control their women.

I wonder what the men are so afraid of?

[tomreedtoon]

6. The junior-high chorus of "Oklahoma!"

Down to the fact that all their dresses were made from the same bolt of material from Wal-Mart. All sewed by Ms. Grundy's Home Ec - er, "Domestic Technology" class.