I've been out of the Morg for sixteen years now and I'm just curious if the mormon fashion has changed by now.

because even back then, it was weird. VERY weird.
grown women with puffy bangs and big bows in their hair...

Frilly dresses, prefferably Laura Ashley style with lacey bits and girlish looking..

Ofcourse the poor men were stuck with the white shirt and tie and the dark suit.. they didn't have much choice.

But even in "weekly" clothes.. mormons always looked different..

I wonder if that's changed.
Any newer exmo's that could satisfy my curiosity?

Their form of dress is clearly influenced by the cult.

I'm not in the morridor so I might not have the best perspective...I can only guess based on what I've seen up here and from my Facebook friends (In the Morridor)

It seems like TBM women either dress like teenagers (layers upon layers upon layers) or go out of their way to wear clothes that don't fit. I see a lot of my friends and family on facebook wearing baggy capris and an oversized T shirt. I haven't seen many denim jumpers lately, but even their Sunday clothes seem to be oversized and frumpy. I watch What Not to Wear on a regular basis (mostly because when I'm working from home its the only thing on worth watching) and the #1 rule they give everyone is that your clothes have to FIT. They also have to flatter your body type, but of course TBMs don't think about that (heaven forbid you think about the shape of your legs! Look what happened at BYU)

ESPN was on the other day (I wasn't watching, just happened to be in the same room) and some guy was talking about something sports related...but in the background I could see the cheerleaders warming up. All of them were wearing capris (must be the style now? I avoid them like the plague. Can't stand anything that ends at my knees) and a few were wearing shirts with sleeves. Totally modest by TSCC standards (except maybe it was too form fitting? I think BYU outlawed leggings) But everything was covered that would be required by garments. And these gals looked amazing. Fit and happy. It seems like TBMs equate "modest" with "frumpy" There are some that work out at my gym and I can tell they are TBM just by how they dress. They just have this vibe of "Look at me I'm being modest and how dare you work out in a tank top and shorts!" No one else cares what I wear in the gym. Well, maybe some of the gals because we talk about where to find the best deals on workout clothes. The TBM women rarely get involved in those conversations =)

Mormon fashion is essentially no fashion at all. The main thing that I consistently notice is that they try ways to make it seem like they are following trends whilst still pursuing garment modesty. So they are still attempting to be cool whilst failing miserably. What they really need to do is be like hot Australian Mormon biking mom. Then we'd all say, "Yeah! Mormons are cool!"

I was watching another episode of "Big Love" and Nicki was wearing a pale pink floral Mormon 90's style dress complete with the lacey sailor's collar. I was wondering if women in the mainstream LDS still wear that stuff. I know I had a few of them in the 90's, but they were curve hugging, not loose and frumpy.

The last time I lived in UT, the current Molly fashion was the big "bumped" hair and/or bangs, capris, and 3 layers of camis and a t-shirt. I don't know about the Sunday dress.

OK, but thinking back to the Princess Diana years, in all fairness a lot of women were into that frilly, Laura Ashley look for a while. The problem was, when that look got old and even Princess Diana gave it up, the Mormons kept running with it and the FLDS took it up with almost a religious fervor. It probably appealed to their "be as a little child" goal or something.

I agree that there are two main looks in Mormonism these days.

1) I raided my 14 year old's closet and don't see what is wrong with that.

2) My body is a temple so I will cover it with large paint cloths instead of fitted clothes.

The second one I understand a bit better because if you are hung up on modesty, you might go a bit overboard and not just avoid tight clothes but well-fitted clothes too. I'm not saying it's a good look, all those overlong skirts and tent dresses. But I can at least understand why they choose that. The first one is beyond me because nothing makes you look older than wearing clothes meant for a pre-teen/early teen. You see this little size 2 with cute blonde hair from behind at a distance and you assume she's 14. When she turns around and is 40, the contrast is so shocking, she looks 60. She looks like that story of the bride who climbed into a trunk on her wedding day to hide and got locked in and was found dehydrated and decomposed 25 years later. Dreadful. If you are my age, dress like a sexy 40 year old ... or 30 year old if you can get away with it. But unless you are trying to attract a pedophile, leave the kiddie clothes to the children. You are creeping the rest of us out!!! And frankly, most women who dress like that are actually very attractive, skinny women who ruin what would be a hot, hot mama by dressing badly. It's unfair for those of us who have to work hard to look "nice" that there are women out there who are actually pretty hot and throw it away to dress in the junior section.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 10:11AM by CA girl.

I'm going to visit family this weekend. TBM, of course. I'll see what I see Sunday morning as we leave them to their rituals.

Last funeral I went to, my mother sported the usual paint cloth draperies, and my sister looked like she had done a good job scavenging from the 50s section at a thrift store.
I wish they took a little more care about their appearance. I'm still trying to figure out my fashion sense, but compare to only a few years ago, I've got it going on! Having a husband to say, "Oh honey! What is that?" on occasion, has really helped me figure out what looks good on ME, not just a hanger.

I am a female living in the Morridor of NW Meridian. Here are two websites when I see a lot of fashion come from:

www.downeastbasics.com
http://bella-bird.com/

It's the white or black tight shirt with a sleeveless shirt over it. It's longer capri or shorts to knees. Lots of layering too.

I see the poor overwhelmed ones at story time with their "Y" shirts and 4 kids. Baggy jeans not put together. Then at dance I see the layered shirts, jeans with bling, all done up moms. Lots of layers of clothing. The little girls all have fancy braided hair.

Hmmm....honestly, the bella bird clothing looks like work casual wear to me. I would wear that pink ruffly dress, but I wear unique jewelry, so maybe I wouldn't look like a Molly.

This thread makes me laugh because I looked in the mirror today and realized I could easily be mistaken for a Mo mom today. I'm wearing knee length olive shorts, a blue lacy cami, and a tie dyed peasant blouse over the cami. The only things that would distinguish me from a Mo are is my visible tattoo and nose piercing. I don't even recognize myself anymore, hehheh.

"The main thing that I consistently notice is that they try ways to make it seem like they are following trends whilst still pursuing garment modesty."
So true!

"Downeast Basics"! Exactly - see that style a lot!

Dressing with trends, but lots of layers. Tight/form fitting does not seem to be an issue as my TBM SIL wears very form fitting shirts and pants in the heart of Utah County, as well as others I've seen. I really don't get this, because what's the difference really?

Shelf hair was pretty big a few years back, but not sure if it still is. (you know, teased at the back of the crown so that it creates sort of a plane or shelf from the front of the head, off the back of the head)

Saw a billboard in Utah County last weekend that was advertising some kind of clothing, calling it modest sexy. What IS that?

Statements like this worry me: "The first one is beyond me because nothing makes you look older than wearing clothes meant for a pre-teen/early teen. You see this little size 2 with cute blonde hair from behind at a distance and you assume she's 14. When she turns around and is 40, the contrast is so shocking, she looks 60. " A lot.

I'm 42, a size 0/2, and totally ripped. I dress almost exclusively from Old Navy and Target. I wear short skirts to work and short shorts to walk the dog. I have no clue what teenagers wear because I don't live with one and don't know any. I often have to choose clothes from the juniors' section because that is all I can find that fits. For work clothes, I'll at least order the petite-extra tall so the length will be more suitable for work.

Am I this creepy woman who is way underdressing for my age?
:: worried ::

My sister is in her 40's, very fit and petite. She also looks more like she is in her early 30s (oily skin means less wrinkles, yay!) She wears short shorts, skirts, and really cute club outfits. Because she takes care of herself, she can get away with wearing "younger" clothing.

Contrast this with a bar regular I used to know in her late 40's- She was super skinny, but she looked older than her age. Imagine this with borrowing her teenage daughter's stripper boots and a schoolgirl outfit (No it wasn't Halloween.) It was kind of sad.

I'm often mistaken for being in my 20s. Most of the girls I pole with are half my age. One girl was born the same year I graduated from high school. I actually had trouble convincing her that I'm really 42 -- had to show her my DL. LOL

I'm not sure if people get that impression because:
• I really look much younger than I am;
• People are being polite and trying to flatter me;
• I'm immature and act like I'm in my 20s; or
• I dress like I'm in my 20s, but shouldn't.

I know some women my own age who really look our age in their face. We wear similar styles of clothing. Sometimes I look at some of them and think, "My god woman, you have to shop in the grownups section!" So I worry people look at me and think the same thing but are too polite to tell me to my face that I can't get away with it anymore.

Hopefully, one of my friends will take pity on me and tell me when I need to start dressing like a granny. Because, yeah, that denial-of-my-age look really starts to look pathetic at some point and I don't want to be THAT chick. :>) Still, when that day comes, there won't be any denim jumpers, Laura Ashley crap, or t-shirts under tanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 03:54PM by dogzilla.

Thank you for asking, because I am a size 4 and dress almost exclusively from Old Navy/Target too. I wear short shorts (5") and tank tops. I am told often I look 23-25 even though I am 32. I work out regularly and use a cleanser and facial moisturizer so wrinkles aren't a problem. Hopefully I am not dressing too young for my age as well!

Same here. I'm a size 3/4 and work out five days a week. I'm 33 years old but people think I'm in my early to mid 20s. I sometimes wear short shorts or skirts and tank tops. If I do wear knee length shorts (bermudas) or capri pants, I usually offset it with a tank top because I don't want to look like a Mormon.

One Stake Priesthood meeting I attended every talk was on the theme of wearing a white shirt and tie to Church. Not just mentioning the point in passing, but totally dedicated to one single topic. I thought, "Surely, there must be greater things to discuss?" But I suppose when your eye is 'single to the glory of God,' then you can discern what is important.

Where we are men don't just wear white shirts and ties but also suit jackets or, at least, sport jackets except for those who have come from Utah who only wear the white shirts and ties.

The women, especially the real TBMs dress down - avoiding any show of better clothing or any jewelry except rings. I can understand not over-doing it with fancy clothing but women should dress attractively. I also think a little showing of legs, shoulders, arms, and shape are good! I also like bright colors.

I see Mormon women wearing a lot of layers, in that Downeast Basics look, and most who are endowed tend to wear capris more than knee length shorts because the capris cover garments better than the shorts do. I haven't been inside a Mormon church in 10 years, so I have no idea if they still wear tent style dresses or jumpers and turtlenecks all year long. The jumper thing I call it a frumper because it's like a tent and everything is covered from the neck down.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2012 03:46PM by adoylelb.

oxymoron. Or better yet, an oxymormon. Can I get credit for coining that? Probably been used I'm sure.