Author: edebock

Rocky Mountain getaway

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After being cooped up at home and going almost nowhere except to medical appointments for several months, we desperately needed a change of scenery. First thing Wednesday morning, we packed the vehicle and drove almost five hours to Banff National Park where we enjoyed a couple of days surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. One of the things we most wanted to do was some snowshoeing. We’d hardly done any this winter as we’ve had much less snow than usual this year.

Snowshoeing on Lake Louise

We woke to an absolutely perfect day on Thursday. The cloudless sky was a brilliant blue and there wasn’t a breath of wind. After several days of thawing and freezing, the snow around Banff itself was very crusty, but we found powder at Lake Louise. Strapping on our snowshoes, we set off across the surface of the lake toward the majestic Victoria Glacier at the other end.

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We made it most of the way to the far end of the lake before turning around, realizing how far we’d come, and deciding that it was time to head back toward the iconic Chateau Lake Louise in the distance.

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The Chateau has a special place in our hearts as we were treated like royalty when we stayed there on our honeymoon over 44 years ago.

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Marble Canyon Hike

After eating a picnic lunch in front of the Chateau and watching the skaters on a cleared section of the lake, we headed off on another adventure. This time, we crossed the BC border into Kootenay National Park to hike the short, but impressive Marble Canyon trail. Multiple bridges span the narrow gorge and the views were spectacular. My photos don’t really do them justice. 

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To celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, Parks Canada placed pairs of bright red Adirondack chairs in select National Parks and Historic Sites across the country. “Connect with nature in the country’s most unique and treasured places. Whether it’s a place to rest after a leisurely stroll or to cheer your successful completion of a strenuous hike, our red chairs offer a place to slow down, to relax and to truly discover the best that Parks Canada has to offer,” reads a statement on their website. It’s always a delight to come across these chairs in unexpected places. This set were half buried in snow, but I couldn’t resist sitting in one anyway!

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After a wonderful day in the great outdoors, we welcomed a soak in the outdoor hot tub back at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort where we were staying! Due to Covid restrictions, we were able to book 25 minutes each evening and have the 16 person tub all to ourselves! There are definitely a few perks to travel during Covid. Banff, which is usually overrun with tourists, was fairly quiet during the week and affordable accommodations could be booked just a few days in advance. We had a cozy little one bedroom condo with a full kitchen and a living room with a wood burning fireplace for approximately $115/night, much less than it would normally cost. 

Hoodoos Trail Hike

Yesterday morning we enjoyed a second hike. This time we accessed the Hoodoos Trail just across the road from the Tunnel Mountain campground. According to the map, it’s a short 10 to 12 minute walk from there to the end of the trail overlooking the pinnacles of weathered sandstone known as hoodoos. 

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We soon discovered, however, that the trail continued much further along the ridge overlooking the Bow River below. We followed the trail to it’s very end. Out and back took us over an hour.

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Again, we were surrounded by beauty in every direction!

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And again, we found red chairs!

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On the way home today, we stopped in Calgary to help this little cowboy, our youngest grandson, Simon, celebrate a Covid compliant front porch birthday complete with an amazing Minecraft cake from Crumbs Artisinal Bakeshop.

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When is a bargain not a bargain?

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LogoIn anticipation of spring (I saw my first robin earlier this week!) I’ve been looking through my winter closet and thinking about which items to keep for another season and which to get rid of. In the process, I’ve stopped to ponder a few pieces that I’ve rarely ever worn. Why did I buy them in the first place, I’ve asked myself, and why don’t I wear them? That led to the topic for today’s post. When is a bargain not a bargain?

As a frugal fashionista, I’m always drawn to the sales racks and I love thrift store shopping. Much of my wardrobe was purchased at a fraction of it’s original price. I’ve learned, however, that a bargain isn’t a bargain unless it’s something you’re actually going to wear!

When considering whether a bargain is actually a bargain, here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Does it fit properly? Shop for the body you have right now, not the one you wish you had or the one you hope to have someday in the future. If you can’t wear it today, put it back on the rack unless you intend to have it altered. If you do, unless you have the ability to do it yourself, you also need to factor in the cost of tailoring.

Does it fit your lifestyle? Do you actually have somewhere to wear it?

Does the colour flatter your complexion? This is especially important to consider if it’s something that will be worn close to your face.

Does it work with your existing wardrobe?  Know what’s already in your closet and where the gaps are. If you have to buy several other items to make something work, it’s no longer a bargain.

Does it say what you want it to say? Choose 3 to 5 adjectives that describe what you want your wardrobe to say about you and keep them in mind when you’re shopping. When I look in the mirror I want my outfit to say classy, confident, and comfortable. I also look for pieces that might add a bit of creative flair.

Do you love it? My shopping mantra has become “If you don’t love it, don’t buy it!”

When deciding whether or not something will be a bargain, another factor to consider is cost per wear. Let’s look at a couple of examples from my closet. One of the first pieces of cabi that I bought was the Shirttail Cardigan from the Fall 2016 Collection. I still love it and I wear it frequently during the winter months. The original price was $149 CAD, but as a party hostess, I was able to purchase it at 50% off. I have no idea how often I’ve worn it, but I’m guessing maybe 100 times. If we do the math ($74.50 ÷ 100) that works out to 75¢ per wear. The following year, I bought the cabi Silk Blouse, also at 50% off. It originally sold for $159 CAD, but I paid $79.50. I’ve probably worn it half a dozen times. That works out to $13.25 per wear! It’s easy to see which of these items was a bargain and which wasn’t! That doesn’t mean that the blouse wouldn’t have been a bargain for someone else, just not for me.

I’m sure I’ll still make some shopping mistakes, but I’m hoping that there will be less of them in the future!

International Women’s Day 2021

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Today is International Women’s Day. It saddens me that we should even need to set aside a day to focus on women’s rights, to remind the world that women deserve equality. It was never meant to be this way. 

I’ve been focusing a lot on what the Bible has to say about womanhood in recent weeks as I’ve started leading a ladies Bible study on women of the Bible. The very first statement about women in the Bible comes in the first chapter of Genesis. Verses 27-31 say: 

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. 

Do you see what I see? First of all, we’re told that God created men and women in His own image! Both were meant to be His image bearers. Second, He gave both of them dominion over and responsibility for His creation. It was a joint assignment. God did not give men dominion over women! That was never His intention. And finally, God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. His plan was equality for men and women and it was very good. 

In chapter 2 of Genesis we’re given a more detailed creation story. Verse 18 says, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The King James Version of the Bible uses the words help meet to describe the woman’s role. “Meet” is an archaic adjective meaning suitable or proper, so the phrase simply means a suitable helper. Perhaps this is where the idea that men should dominate came from, but that was never God’s intent. In the original language, the word translated as helper or help meet was ezer. Ezer is a word that appears 21 times in the Old Testament; twice in Genesis for the woman, 3 times for nations to whom Israel appealed for military aid, and 16 times to refer to God as Israel’s helper, their shield and defence. It was used consistently in a military context. That hardly brings to mind a meek or subservient helper! Perhaps strong helper would be a better translation. 

Sadly, God’s plan for a partnership between men and women didn’t play out in human history. It didn’t take long for the relationship to deteriorate to the point where women were simply possessions of their fathers or husbands, barely a step above their livestock. Their primary role was to serve the men in their lives and to produce sons to carry on their husband’s family line. 

These may be radical thoughts for a woman who attends a patriarchal church, but I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and women’s issues have been a passion of mine for a very long time. The reality is that we need to do much more than set aside one day a year to draw attention to the plight of women worldwide. It is something that needs to be addressed 365 days of the year! 

As long as there are places on this planet where parents sell their daughters because they can’t afford to feed them, where girls walk an average of 6 kilometres a day to collect clean water for their households, where they are denied education, where they are forced to undergo female genital mutilation and/or forced into child marriage, we must do more than celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women on International Women’s Day. It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the atrocities inflicted on women in foreign lands when they aren’t happening in our own backyard, but there are women living in abject poverty in Canada, the United States, and other developed countries. Objectifying and exploiting women is still alive and well in our culture. Violence against women is still prevalent. Human trafficking happens in our own neighbourhoods.  

Though the situation may have improved over the years, women have yet to achieve equality in the workplace. As a current example, women are at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 as front-line and health sector workers, scientists, doctors and caregivers, yet according to a UN report, they get paid 11 percent less globally than their male counterparts!  

What, then, can we do to press for progress for women? First of all, we need to educate ourselves, to look beyond our comfortable lives and become aware of what the issues are and which reputable organizations are working to change them. If you’re serious about wanting to have an impact on the lives of women around the world, I would suggest that you begin by reading Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This book was a life changer for me. Kristof and WuDunn are upfront and clear; they hope to recruit their readers to get involved, to become a part of a movement to emancipate and empower women by helping provide the economic resources that can help transform their lives.  Half the Sky not only inspires the reader to get involved, it gives many suggestions how.

It was after reading Half the Sky that I began making micro loans to women in third world countries through Kiva, the world’s first online micro-lending platform. It’s one small step, but it’s something I can do. Kiva is a non-profit organization that allows a person to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in one of 77 countries around the world. When a loan is repaid, the money can be withdrawn or used to fund a new loan. I choose to lend to women with children at home. All too often, money in the hands of men goes to alcohol and prostitution but in the hands of women, it nurtures children, feeds families and promotes education.

It’s International Women’s Day. What will you do? 

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Dressing for a fantasy pub night

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LogoOver the past year, while Covid has left most of us missing the opportunity to socialize safely, Sue Burpee, writer of the blog High Heels in the Wilderness, has hosted four fantasy get-togethers for her readers. The first, in early April, was an afternoon tea party at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa. In mid July, Sue invited us to her home overlooking Ontario’s Rideau River for a backyard book party and in early December, we spent a weekend in Paris! Then, most recently, we crossed a magical bridge in the falling snow and gathered for a fantasy pub night in the small village of Ashton, Ontario. 

A retired high school English teacher, Sue is a fashion, lifestyle, and travel blogger, but she’s also a delightful storyteller! A couple of weeks before each fantasy event, without giving away too many details, Sue issues an invitation on her blog. She tells us the basics of what we’ll be doing or where we’ll be going and gives us some suggestions about what might be appropriate attire for the occasion. Then she asks us to send her photographs of what we would wear. By the time we’ve read the resulting blog post and enjoyed the photos, we feel like we’ve been on a wonderful adventure and enjoyed the company of a group of likeminded women! 

Sue’s invitation to the recent pub night suggested that we choose an outfit that would be “dressy enough to make you feel good, and casual enough to wear to a pub.” The pub would probably be a bit drafty, she advised, so we should try to come up with some winter layering ideas. Here in Alberta, we were in the midst of an extreme cold snap at that time, so I was dressed warmly even in the house. In fact, I looked at what I had on that morning and realized that I was almost ready to go! I was wearing dark wash jeans, a favourite animal print t-shirt, a cozy sweater jacket that feels like I’m wrapped in a blanket on a chilly day, and a pair of silver earrings. 

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All I needed to add was a pair of black ankle boots and a bright blue pashmina scarf for a pop of colour. I purchased the pashmina in a market in Cambodia several years ago. If I got too warm, I could easily remove the sweater and drape the pashmina over my shoulders.

How’s that for a good reason to get dressed in the middle of a pandemic shutdown instead of spending the day in your pjs? You never know when you might be invited to a fantasy pub night! 

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What’s your thing?

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Yesterday’s post included this quote from Donna McNutt, Instagram’s Cancer Fashionista, “It has now become my mission to tell others, find your thing, the thing that makes you whole, do not let cancer take it.” 

For me, that thing, apart from my faith, is writing. Fashion is fun. Travel is a passion. Reading, dancing, golfing, camping, hiking, kayaking, keeping fit, and participating in community theatre are all things I enjoy doing, but writing is the one thing I have to do. Long before cancer, writing was who I am.  

I first knew this in Mr. Geary’s grade 12 English class. I knew it in university when I loved the hours and hours spent researching and writing papers. I knew it when, as a young stay-at-home mom, I put my babies down for their afternoon naps, pulled out my typewriter, and worked on a correspondence course on non-fiction technique offered by the Alberta Culture Film and Literary Arts division. I knew it when, as a member of the now defunct Flagstaff Writers organization (Alberta, not Arizona), I had occasional pieces published in our column in the local weekly paper. I knew it when I sold a few articles to larger publications and savoured the feeling of a cheque in my hands. 

When my children were a bit older and I returned to teaching school, I discovered that there simply weren’t enough hours in the day for writing. Thankfully, for that period of time, passing on my love of reading and writing to my students fulfilled the same passion in me. As soon as I retired, however, the need to write was back. I’d always assumed that I would return to freelance writing, but then came blogging. As many of you know, I started Following Augustine to share our year of teaching English in Japan with friends and families at home. I had no idea then that it would still be going strong more than a decade later! 

Though receiving those cheques for published articles was nice, I discovered that I didn’t need to sell my writing to feel fulfilled by it. I just need to know that someone enjoys reading it. That’s one of the reasons that I haven’t attempted to monetize the blog. I prefer to maintain the freedom to write whatever I want without having to consider whether or not it’s consistent with the values of the brands that I’d be representing. For me, writing is not a job, it’s simply who I am.  

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Now, back to Donna’s wise advice, “find your thing, the thing that makes you whole, do not let cancer take it.” How has writing been part of my cancer journey? Has it helped me cope? There’s no question that cancer added another dimension to the blog. Within three days of hearing that I had cancer in August 2013, I’d published my first post about it and I’ve lived my cancer journey out loud on Following Augustine ever since. There are several reasons for that. First of all, since the blog was already well established and read by many of my close family and friends, it was an easy way to keep them informed about what was happening without having to repeat myself over and over again. Second, because writing is who I am, it helps me process the things that are happening in my life. That’s incredibly important when you’re dealing with something as complex and confusing as cancer and its treatment. And third, I’ve tried to use the blog to raise awareness of neuroendocrine cancer (NETs) which, while no longer rare, is still relatively unknown. Cancer is not who I am, but writing is!  

And now it’s your turn. What is that one thing that makes you whole; the one thing that you have to do? Have you found it yet? Please let us know in the comment section. 

The Cancer Fashionista: fighting cancer one outfit at a time

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When I first read about Donna McNutt, Instagram’s Cancer Fashionista, I was instantly intrigued and so inspired that I immediately started following her. I identified so strongly with her message that cancer could break her down, but it wasn’t going to take who she is! Today, I have the privilege of introducing you to Donna.

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Donna, please tell us a bit about yourself and your cancer story. 

In early 2015, at age 55 and after raising three children, I had just moved into my dream cottage in Laguna Beach, California when I began experiencing rib pain. About three months later, on Easter morning of that year, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t do the one thing I always do, get dressed. I went to the hospital where it was discovered that I was in the last stage of multiple myeloma and my kidneys were failing.
 
After a two week stay,  I began a chemo regimen to prepare for a stem cell transplant at City Of Hope (one of the leading cancer hospitals in the United States) that would put me into remission. Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer, so although the transplant was a success, I will always be on some form of treatment.
 
Multiple myeloma is a relatively uncommon blood cancer that starts in the plasma cells which are mostly found in the bone marrow.
 
Please tell us about your involvement with the Rose Bowl parade. 
 
City Of Hope is where I got a second chance at life. I was so honored when I was asked to ride on their 2020 Rose Parade float, representing patients and the hope we feel being a part of COH’s family.
 
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How has fashion helped you cope with having cancer?
 
I’ve always loved getting dressed. It’s probably the most defining part of me.  I knew that the only way I was going to survive cancer was by continuing to get dressed. So little by little, I would wear lipstick, maybe a cute pair of shoes, and  eventually I started rocking the cutest outfits when I went for my treatments. The Cancer Fashionista was born!
 
Getting dressed is my distraction from all the many tests, treatments, and procedures that I endure. It also shows the people I love, I’m going to be ok. Look, I’m getting dressed! It has now become my mission to tell others, find your thing, the thing that makes you whole, do not let cancer take it. For me, that thing is getting dressed.
 
Even in the hospital, Donna chose to wear her own colourful pyjamas instead of hospital gowns. 
 
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How would you describe your style? Has it changed over time?

Because I love fashion so much, my style has changed many times over the years. I dress for what I want to project. Date night is when I wear heels, a red lip, and maybe experiment with a style I wouldn’t wear during my day. For me, dressing starts with shoes and then I build my outfit around them.
 
Some people knit, paint or exercise as hobbies, I try on clothes and create new spins on old favorites. I believe that whatever makes you feel confident, no matter what age you are, people will see that. That confidence is the most important thing you’ll be wearing.
 
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Who takes your fashion photos?

My husband takes all my photos. I call him Hubbyrazzi. It’s been amazing having him by my side and a part of my cancer journey. When he takes my photos, he gets to see and capture the best part of my day and for this I am grateful.  

You’ll meet Hubbyrazzi and hear his perspective in the video below. When I look at these photos and so many others on Instagram, I see colour, imagination, and creativity, but I also see courage and a woman telling cancer that it can’t rob her of who she is. In my mind, that’s beautiful and very inspiring! 

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Through a program at City of Hope, Donna mentors other patients who are preparing for stem cell transplants. She’s made it her mission to share her journey whenever she has the opportunity to help other cancer patients not feel so alone and to show them that there can be another side of cancer.

I tell them that I have fought cancer one outfit at a time. We have to have a little humor when dealing with cancer!

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Perhaps this message, which I also found on Donna’s Instagram, says it best. 

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Now, please take a few minutes to watch the video and if you’ve found Donna’s story inspiring, you might also want to follow thecancerfashionista on Instagram.  

14 wardrobe essentials

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LogoWhat are the items that every woman should probably have in her wardrobe regardless of who she is or where she lives? Before I created my own list, which you’ll see below, I searched online and came up with several lists of 10 to 25 items. I was astonished to see what some women consider essential. A leopard print midi skirt? A striped sweater? A wrap dress? On the other hand, there was a lot of agreement on some very basic items.

For the purposes of this post, I’m not going to include underwear, socks, sleepwear, or overcoats. It goes without saying that we all need good undergarments. I’m reminded of my grandmother who always told us to make sure that our underwear was clean and in good condition in case we were in an accident. I sincerely doubt that that’s a high priority for first responders, but good undergarments do provide the best foundation to build an outfit on. What we wear to bed, or if we wear anything at all, is a matter of personal choice and varies greatly, and what kind of outerwear we need really depends on the climate where we live.

So, aside from those items, here’s my list of essentials:

  1. A little black dress. Of course, if you’ve read this post, you know that it doesn’t actually have to be black. 
  2. A basic knee length skirt. You can’t go wrong with a pencil skirt in a neutral colour. 
  3. A basic cardigan.
  4. A classic, go-to blazer.
  5. A jean jacket.
  6. A pair of black dress pants.
  7. A pair of blue jeans in the cut of your choice. If I had to have only one pair, they would be dark wash, bootcut, but who ever has only one pair of jeans? 
  8. A long sleeve t-shirt. My absolute favourite is my grey and white Breton tee. 
  9. A basic white V or crew neck t-shirt. I don’t actually wear mine very often, but I’m including it because it was on every list I read! 
  10. A button-up shirt. Most of the lists that I read suggested that this should be white, but too much white close to my face totally washes me out. For the photo below, I included my black and white plaid shirt, but I have a light blue one on my wish list. 
  11. A dressy blouse.
  12. White sneakers. 
  13. A pair of black ballet flats. If you prefer heels, you could replace the flats with black pumps, or you might consider both essential. 
  14. A pair of basic loafers or similar shoes that are comfortable to walk in. Menswear inspired loafers are on trend for 2021, so this would be a good time to pick up a pair. 

After compiling my list, I went through my closets and assembled the “essentials collection”. 

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This is not to say, of course, that this is all you ought to have in your closet, but most or all of these items should probably be there. These pieces, all in neutral colours, build the foundation of a wardrobe. If I had nothing else to wear, think of how many combinations I could create. The outfits would be somewhat drab or boring though. The real fun comes in adding creativity and individuality through colour, pattern, and perhaps some interesting shapes. Finish it all off with some great accessories and you have a complete wardrobe.

Is there anything else that you would add to your list of essentials? Anything you’d delete from the list above? 

Good news!

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In these days of political turmoil, Covid variants, earthquakes, avalanches, and ice storms, we seldom seem to hear any good news, but today was different for us.

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It started with a phone call 45 minutes before we were planning to leave for the city to meet with the doctor to receive the results of the CT scans that I had last Friday. Scans that would tell us whether or not my neuroendocrine cancer (NETs) had grown or spread. Would I be okay with a phone consultation instead of meeting with the doctor in person? You bet I would! I’ve been feeling fine. I didn’t have any specific reason for needing to see the doctor in person and a phone call would save us four and a half hours of driving! 

The really great news came with that second phone call, the call from the doctor himself. Almost immediately, I heard the word I’d been hoping for. Stable! But then I heard, “for the most part.” For the most part? What did that mean? “It’s good news” he hastened to assure me.

There has been a change, but it’s a change for the better! Twenty months after my final PRRT treatment, after feeling like I was stepping off a cliff because I would no longer be on any treatment other than the monthly injection that I’ve been receiving since diagnosis in 2013, I’m still improving! A spot on my liver has decreased in size since the last scan almost seven months ago!

Another indication of how I’m doing showed up in the blood work that accompanied my scans. Chromogranin A, a protein released by neuroendocrine cells, is the most valuable marker of neuroendocrine tumours. In December 2019, six months after that final PRRT treatment, my Chromogranin A level was 112, which in the words of my doctor, was “at or slightly above normal, but not worrisome.” By last August, it was down to 49 and now it’s 27! This, too, is pretty remarkable. 

Neuroendocrine cancer is incurable. I’ll have scans and blood tests again six months from now and once again, we’ll wait for the results and hope to hear that wonderful word. Stable! In the meantime, we’re praising the Lord for today’s good news! 

Do we ever age out of fashion?

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I love the Baroness von Sketch clips that pop up on my Facebook News Feed from time to time. They’re irreverent and funny and touch on real life, everyday situations. If you haven’t seen this one, take three minutes to watch it and then we’ll talk about whether or not we ever age out of fashion.

If she’s aged out at 48, I’m in big trouble! I’m 20 years older than her! No, ladies, what we like might change and what looks good on us might be altered by time, but we’re never too old for style; never too old to look our best.  

Take Jane Fonda for example. She’s 83! Yes, she’s had cosmetic surgery and colours her hair, but look at how she’s dressed. She isn’t trying to look like a teenager, but she hasn’t given up on fashion either. She hasn’t aged out. 

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I’m sure you can think of others. Diane Keaton, Helen Mirren, and British actress, Charlotte Rampling, all age 75, come to mind. You can probably think of older women you know whose style you admire. One thing that I suspect they all have in common is that they care about their appearance; they haven’t given up on themselves simply because there are more candles on their cake than there used to be. They wear what they like, what makes them feel good about themselves, and they don’t worry about following arbitrary “age appropriate” rules. 

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What fashion is NOT

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LogoI’m noticing a common theme amongst the fashion bloggers that I follow and I completely identify. As the pandemic drags on and on, we’re finding it increasingly difficult to come up with new and interesting content. I refer to Following Augustine as a “lifestyle, travel, and fashion” blog, but when life is mostly stay-at-home, travel has been non-existent for almost a year, and I’ve only shopped for absolute essentials, what do I write about? I’ve been depending on my own closet for most of these weekly fashion features, trying to come up with new ways to wear old pieces, but I’m rapidly running out of ideas!

In preparation for a weekly study that I lead, I’ve spent quite a bit of time lately looking at what the Bible has to say about women, so I’m going to draw on that for today’s post. 1 Peter 3:3-4a says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.” Does that mean that a Christian woman shouldn’t concern herself with style, dress in fine clothes, wear jewelry, use make-up, or write a fashion blog. Not at all! 

When looking at the Bible for guidance we need to ask ourselves what the timeless principles behind the scriptures are and how we can stay true to them in our day and age. First century Israel was under Roman rule. It was the practice of the upper class Roman women to flaunt their position by wearing elaborate hairstyles adorned with genuine jewels. They intentionally used their clothing and jewelry to set themselves apart from the lower class women. I believe that it was this attitude that the apostle Peter was warning against.  

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Wall painting from the Vila San Marco, Stabiae, 1st century

I’ve written before about the 3Cs, the things I want my wardrobe to say about me. When I look in the mirror, I want what I’m wearing to say classy, confident, and comfortable. I could add to that casual and creative. I do NOT want my wardrobe to say that I think I’m better than anyone else! Fashion is not, or should not be, a competition! 

I actually had no idea where this post was going when I started writing it, but perhaps I’ll just leave you with this thought.

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