Question:
Should women wear silk or cotton hose?
Answer:
The position and circumstances of some women make very impracticable the wearing of silk hose, and of others, the wearing of cotton hose. But the wearing of sheer silk hose, being neither modest nor practicable in any way, is of course clearly out of the question for all Christians. If, though, service-weight silk hose prove more serviceable and economical as well as more comfortable than cotton hose, then the service-weight are the best choice. But if lisle or cotton, are the more serviceable and economical as well as the more comfortable, then obviously they are to be preferred. There is no hard and fast rule for all. This is a matter for the exercise of individual judgment and conscience.
"Economy in the outlay of means is an excellent branch of Christian wisdom. . . . Money is an excellent gift of God. In the hands of his children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and raiment for the naked; it is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of health to the sick. Means should not be needlessly or lavishly expended for the gratification of pride or ambition. " --Testimonies, Vol. 4 p. 571.
"In the establishment and carrying forward of the work, the strictest economy is ever to be shown. "--Counsels on Health, p. 319.
Question:
My hair is so plain that it makes me appear odd. Would it be wrong to curl it?
Answer:
Since the world's licentious fashions are condemned in the Word, we cannot encourage you to do as the world does. The Christian is admonished to dress modestly, neatly, and becomingly. But while shunning the world's extremes and licentiousness, the Christian should be careful not to go to the other extreme, not to appear unkempt. Keep in the middle of the road; that is, arrange your hair in such a way as to avoid attracting the attention of the public eye by reason of either extreme. (Read Isaiah 3:16-26).
Question:
Is it all right for a woman to wear slacks while engaged in defense work? Are they not men's garments?
Answer:
If the wearing of slacks should be restricted to men because men today universally wear trousers, then anciently skirts should have been denied women because that garment was then the common garb of men.
But as both men and women then wore skirts the question should not be as to whether skirts or slacks should be always or occasionally worn by women, but as to whether the dress of the women should be precisely like the dress of the men.
Let us remember that there is no Bible command as to what form of dress the church laity should wear, save the command that it should be modest, not costly (1 Tim. 2:9), and that of a man should be distinctive from that of a woman. "The woman," says the Lord, "shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. " Deut. 22:5.
Now if slacks have the distinctive appearance of a garment pertaining to a woman, then they cannot be classed as man's apparel.
There is also another phase of the question to be considered: If the garment is modest, not extravagant, made to meet the need of the wearer, not the caprice of the world's everchanging styles, then we see no evil in wearing it. We think that modest slacks are much better than the short, immodest dresses. But even slacks publicly worn do not afford to a woman that modest appearance of Christian apparel. Except it be on a certain occasion or at a certain work when or where the dress is a hindrance, the slacks must not replace the neat and modest dress that becomes a Christian woman.
If, though, the wearing of slacks is required of one who works in a plant, then we see nothing wrong in wearing them during working hours.
Question:
I think it a sin for my daughter to wear wristwatch. Is it?
Answer:
There is no objection to carrying a watch of any kind. But when one makes a display of it, whether it be on the wrist or elsewhere, it then lends itself to ornamentation, and only cheapens the character of the wearer, makes him proud, and others envious and jealous. When, moreover, a piece of jewelry, worn for display, is of cheap make and quality, it not only cheapens the character and the taste of the wearer but also brands him as a pretentious imitator. A Christian will abandon all vain appearances, and be altogether blameless. If he needs to carry a timepiece, he will do so inconspicuously, as a necessary accessory, and not wear it prominently so as to appear for style or display.