I once knew a lady who wore cloths several sizes to large to hide her frame, wore a head covering everywhere she went and bragged about how many looks she got, while in public, surmising in her mind that others knew she was holy because of her clothing, expressing it just that way.
That same woman was divorced and remarried, but flaunted her ugly clothing as a badge of honor for holiness. This was disgusting to me. she thought she was impressing me, but just the opposite was the case. We are not more holy by wearing particular clothing or style of covering, our holiness is in the heart and because of Christ. When people place this much emphasis on their outer appearance, we know there is a spirit of legalism and pride.
Those who shout the loudest about style of dress and hair, are very often legalists who have elevated themselves above anyone who does not dress they way they do. God is not please with this. Their claim is that others are too fixated on fashion, but what they forget is they are just as fixated on cloths as those they claim are worldly.
The strong believers I know do not mention cloths very often unless they are terribly provocative and immoral. Their focus is on holiness and God's Word in areas where God is very specific about His principles.
There is room for diversity in modest clothing, and diversity in hair style. God is not a hard task master when it comes to these things or He would have given us much more detailed instructions than He did.
Our response to clothing ought to be to ask the Lord what He wants for each of us and then obey when He speaks. Do not allow the ideas of others to mandate what you wear, listen to their advice, take it to prayer and do what God tells you too.
It is good to listen to advice, but we must be able to discern between legalism and holy obedience. I do not want to do anything because someone else thinks I should based on humanistic unBiblical rules.
This is true of everything in our lives,we should always take a doctrine or idea to prayer while opening the bible for the answers, the Holy Spirit will bless us with wisdom if we ask, we do not have to be at the mercy of legalists who pass out humanistic rules masquerading as mandates from God.
James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him."
