Distinguishing ourselves as humans from animals is the crux to knowing how to dress.

Some fashion trends suggest that showing more and more skin  makes us look more trendy and appealing. However, we might not realise that we may be falling into a subtle degradation of looking more like animals and losing our vital human sense of being unique from animals. 

Let us look at animals in contrast. Do dogs ask to wear clothes? (Unless their owners dress them, dogs do not naturally wear clothing.) Do dogs ask to sit at tables? (They obviously do not sit at tables in their natural habitat.) As humans are made in the image of God, created to rule over the earth, it is intrinsically in our human nature to want to look presentable and sit at tables to eat decently.

“Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.”

Ecclesiastes 7:18

Just as we avoid extremes in all things, we need to avoid extremes in the spectrum of dressing – the extreme of always needing to look prim and proper – as well as the extreme of being naked. As discerning humans, we need to find a point in this spectrum that is somewhere in the middle.

The fashion industry is constantly coming up with new fashion ideas. And sometimes, they come up with the idea of showing more skin. Regardless of trends, it is my impetus to show dignity through my dressing – for example, my underlying message behind my dressing could be to protect myself or to look professional. 

Therefore, take note: the way you dress can go both ways. Does it dignify you as a human being or demean you to be like an animal?