Why modesty?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

I was surprised to read a news article a few weeks ago about supermodel Halima Aden quitting the fashion industry. She was acclaimed for challenging the industry’s norms and was British Vogue’s first hijab-wearing cover model. I was an admirer of Aden’s success and her determination to express herself in a way that she felt was truly herself.

Like so many people over the past year, the Covid-19 pandemic allowed her to take stock of where she was going and she realised that her modelling career was asking for too much. Her decision to quit then seems to have been borne from this desire to be true to herself, as well as a determination not to give way on respect and modesty, which she felt she was beginning to lose.

Someone not something

Modesty can mean various things for people, which ultimately seem to boil down to the same thing: dressing for who you really are, having an internal sense of self.

Being someone not something.

It is not about hiding your body it is about revealing your dignity. To quote the philosopher Josef Pieper, “Beauty is not so much a fulfillment as rather a promise”. 

It means not relying on others to feel good about yourself—not needing their approval of your body to feel happy, and a conviction that who you are and what you're doing is worthwhile. It is about keeping a part of yourself in reserve, away from the public gaze because it is personal and private to you.  

It is this sense of modesty that gives real intimacy its true identity.   

Modesty a fashion staple

But what about the relationship between fashion and modesty -  is there one?

Halima Aden has spoken in the past about modesty being a ‘fashion staple’ and not just for one culture or group of women.

I had never really thought of modesty as a fashion staple before, but a quick glance at what was on the (virtual) runway for London Fashion Week 2021, seems to align with this idea. Apart from the artistic and eye-wateringly elaborate creations that we couldn’t exactly throw on (or afford!) for a trip to the supermarket, many of the collections were ‘modest’ in their tailoring.

It might not be that low hemlines and high necklines are necessarily in fashion, but it seems to indicate that modesty doesn’t really go out of fashion. 

It also seems that the days of the ‘woman object’ are coming to a reckoning point. A number of designers are reacting to the objectification of women and turning away from the indiscrete designs that were less than subtle in their attempts to be provocative.  

Although we might think that we are quite removed from the world of high fashion and haute couture, our everyday style and ‘high street’ purchases are very often influenced by that very world of high fashion – something that Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada very memorably reminds us of.   

Taking ownership of our innate beauty

With this revolution against positioning women as mere objects of desire, it’s worth thinking a bit deeper about modesty and why it really matters. 

Rather than being that passive consumer, why does it matter to me and how can I define modesty? In current times, it’s not so acceptable any more to suggest that dressing modestly is somehow dull or twee. In fact, it might be the opposite – it’s empowering.

Modesty is less about looking like Anne of Green Gables and more about revealing your God-given dignity. 

It’s more about taking back ownership of our innate beauty and much less about shame. Philosophy Professor Eleanor Stump has spoken about how honour is a remedy to shame. Perhaps a way to honour oneself is by honouring this dignity – and the dignity of others – by upholding modesty as an important virtue. 

Authentic modesty is all about protecting a person’s dignity and their uniqueness.

It indicates that what might be considered most personal to someone is of such value and beauty that it is not for everyone’s consumption or gaze.

There is also something to be said about the person whose dress or lifestyle is said to be ‘modest’, where nothing is done to excess and they possess this elusive je ne sais quoi. The charm is in the discretion rather than flamboyance. 

And, as current trends are showing us – it is anything but uncool.