Yoga Pants – A New Kind of Modern Vanity
Women wear yoga pants these days and they wear them every day and every where. I’m not sure about you but I wouldn’t dare wear them out in public like many women do today. My main reason for not wearing them is how immodest they are because they show every single curve of a woman’s front and back side; some are worse than others. Yes, honest men will tell you that they are immodest as well. Kerry Folan has another reason why women shouldn’t be wearing yoga pants all the time. She wrote an article in the Washington Times called Yoga pants are comfy. They’re also an assault on manners and a nihilistic threat.
Yes, I had to look up what nihilistic means since it’s not a word I use. The definition: “rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless.” Wow! I thought I was hard on yoga pants! She in essence wrote that women wear yoga pants because they’re too lazy to get dressed and look put together. They care more about their comfort than anything or anyone else. I agree with her. Yoga pants aren’t something that women should be wearing outside of their home or exercise class unless they wear long shirts over them that cover their front and back side.
We, as Christian women, should care more about others than we do ourselves. “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). When women wear yoga pants, they most likely are not thinking about anybody else but themselves. They aren’t thinking about all the men who will see them and either have to look away or possibly lust. They don’t care about the grandparents who will see them and wonder what happened to having manners and putting proper clothes on for the day. Women who don’t wear yoga pants and are modest won’t enjoy having their husbands see other women in yoga pants.
“Yoga pants make a statement about comfort and modernity. When we board a flight or run to the grocery store swaddled in cotton-lycra, we are saying to the people around us that our own comfort is our first priority. We are expressing a new kind of modern vanity where dressing down, rather than dressing up, is the power move.”
We, as Christian women, are the representatives of Christ on this earth. We should look different than the women of our day and dress in a way that brings glory to the Lord, not dishonor. We should care about our clothing, how it affects others, and how others perceive us. We don’t live for ourselves and our own comfort. We aren’t selfish – looking out for number one. No, we’re looking out for others and care about them and yes, even their husbands.
Every morning, I get dressed. I put on a bit of makeup, brush my hair, and put on clothes that are appropriate to be seen in public. I stay this way all day long until I go to bed and I’m mostly home all day. The only time I wear sweat pants all day is when I am sick. If I wear yoga pants, I wear a long top or dress over them. If I can do this, you can too!
In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
1 Timothy 2:9, 10
30 thoughts on “Yoga Pants – A New Kind of Modern Vanity”
I don’t really think about women wearing yoga pants; however I find them very uncomfortable. When clothes are tight I don’t like it at all. That said I would imagine they would be good for gardening. ???
OUch! This one hit home. I only wear yoga pants when we go to the gym and then I try to make sure to have on a long shirt, but sweats are a different thing. I wear sweats everyday. I justify by saying that I am going to be cleaning and home so what does it matter? Also, I tend to get my clothes stained alot, so I don’t want to mess up my good clothes. I guess I just need to get into a habit of wearing an apron when I cook and that would help. Then if I do have to go to town or out, I don’t change because that feels like I am getting clothes dirty unnecessarily. I also justify by saying that my husband is at work, and I really don’t care about impressing other people, but another way to look at it would be that I am a reflection of my husband, even when I leave the house and he is not with me. I do put on makeup right before he gets home though, but maybe I need to put some on earlier and touch up. Thanks for this post. I needed it.
Living in Podunk, a very rural area, I had to look up on Walmart to find out just what yoga pants are.
I don’t see them in my area. We are behind the times. Some pictures of them were quite loose and others were very tight. I do not care for them and do not find them flattering on any figure, especially the very tight ones. Any woman with on ounce of sense would not wear them out in public. They can be very immodest. However , I figure this is a fashion fad that will fade away in a few years so I can’t get very upset about them. I never liked hot pants either and wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing them even when I was young. and I only weighed 100 lbs. then. In my old age I weigh 110.
Ladies ask yourself, would you wear a bikini bottom around? Because, to a man, yoga pants are about the same. We see everything and you leave nothing to the imagination (Although that will be exercised later in most cases ) so it’s less about modesty and more about how many fantasies you want to be a part of. Sorry but it’s true and I know what I’m talking about because I actively avoid women in yoga pants.
They are soft material and this is why women like them. They cling and outline the body in every area, therefore, they are not modest in any way.
You never know when someone may knock on your door, HH! 🙂
I am not sure they are going to fade away, Annette. They’ve already been around for a long, long time, but godly women want to be modest since the Lord has told them to be.
You would have a hard time avoiding them here were I live, Josh. I am usually the one of the very few not wearing them! Women have zero sense of modesty these days, unfortunately.
The only good thing I can say about yoga pants is they will probably keep my legs warm under my long dresses!
The perfect way to wear them!
You’re right, I hadn’t even thought of that. I need to make me a sign to remind me that I am a reflection of my husband, regardless of the circumstance! And I will be honest here, it’s just laziness on my part. Time to work on changing.
Thank you for this.
I praise God for women who want to motivate other women to godliness and holiness.
My wife used to wear yoga pants everywhere and as I recall, I’m pretty sure there was a better way for me to convey the message of immodest dress to her, but she slowly started to see and I thank and praise God for the blessing of her submission, not just to my request, but to God and His Word, much to the praise of His glory!
That’s wonderful, Daniel. When Ken and I were first married, I put a pair of yoga pants on and as soon as He saw me, he said, “You’re not going to wear those.” So I took them off and haven’t worn them since! 🙂
I wear them under skirts in the fall and winter, but the skirt covers “everything that counts” and they just become like thick, footless stockings.
My husband often chuckles at me because I put on at least a little makeup every day, even if I play to stay home all day. If I dress to be comfortable all day at home, I’ll still pick an outfit that matches and put on some jewelry and feel ready to accept a visitor or run a last minute errand. (No tight pants unless I’m wearing a flowy dress or tunic over the top that covers everything.) He thinks I’m beautiful without makeup, but I know he appreciates the effort I put into my appearance, because he’ll never be seen with a sloppy wife.
Oh, and a perfect example. We were on a date a few days ago and stopped in to Costco to pick up a couple things on our way home. There was a woman shopping there in nothing but leggings, a sports bra, and a tank top with holes cut out of it, and the arm holes reaching down to her waist so you could see everything. My poor husband had to keep turning away and our shopping took longer because he was really trying not to look. It’s very unfair to men who try to be faithful to their wives with their eyes.
I suppose I’m hopelessly behind the times, but I figured since they were called “yoga pants” that they belonged in yoga or other exercise classes. i have some that I wear to an exercise class and I have long exercise shirts that cover the hip line. The rule in our house with regards to leggings is that they are to be worn like tights or pantyhose; under dresses, skirts, or with a very long tunic-style top. My daughters and I are comfortable and modest (and on a budget!) It can be done with some simple common sense, and as you suggest, some thoughtfulness and courtesy towards others. By the way, I have heard plenty of criticism with regards to both yoga pants and leggings from people who I know are not even coming from a Christian perspective; they are just observing these unattractive trends. C’mon, America; you can be comfortable AND dress with honor and respect!
Lori, I believe these are very valid points, I’ve never really thought about that much before, but here’s the thing- lately I’ve been short on money due to having only my husbands income, and seven hungry mouths to feed, and I’ve only been able to purchase yoga pants, seeing as they’re quite enexpensive, now that I read your post, I’ve realized how wrong this is, any suggestions?
Thank you, Lori! If someone wears immodest clothing, what can we do? For example, my brother’s girlfriend is a model and often wears blouses with plunging necklines and shorts that end at the upper thigh. My mother and cousin notice this as well, but when I ask them if we should say something, they both say that it is my brother who should tell her to wear modest clothing. The mother of the girlfriend had a stroke and cannot guide her on this, while the girlfriend’s grandmother and sister do not seem to mind her attire. What can we say to her if any, and how do we say it? Thank you!
The Bible actually tells us that it is the older women who should teach this to the younger women. Maybe ask her out for lunch and talk about it. It will probably fall on deaf ears if she is not a believe or she doesn’t have a softened heart to truth.
I have worn them every day for the last 3 years, or i wear “jeggings” which are a heavier jeans material but still stretchy. i have a medical condition that causes my stomach to get extremely bloated after eating or when i drink too much water. since i’m small, if i buy a size bigger in jeans, they will fall off and look sloppy. so i wear leggings with a long sweater that covers my butt because i prefer it. in the summer i can wear skirts, but i dont like skirts in the winter (too much snow here)
i still have to work and look “put together” and im not going to think about the mental well being of the men out and about if i am in agonizing pain because i cant breathe in my pants.
i also recently had surgery to remove my ovaries and my high waisted leggings are keeping my stomach held strong. my abs are weak because of the surgery and will be for a while. when i get home i put on sweatpants, but i can’t wear sweatpants to my job.
Mary, you took the words right out of my mouth. According to the Bible, any creature with a cloven hoof is unclean, both in and on the body. But if your husband is the head of the household, you should do what he asks. What to do? I look forward to Lori’s answer.
Speaking about what to eat is under the Law and Christ died to free us from the Law, therefore, we are no longer under it. The Church age lives under the New Covenant which is Romans to Revelations and the Apostle Paul told wives that they are to submit to their husbands so this is what we must do.
If your husband asks you to wear yoga pants, wear a long shirt to cover up the areas that should be covered up. We are also commanded to be modest.
Go to thrift stores and buy blouses that are long and cover you up or you can even wear skirts over them to make them modest.
You can still wear a long blouse over them that keeps you modest. There’s always a way to be modest if one wants to be.
You are so right, Tam!
I wear them with long sweaters or tunic-length shirts. They are quite comfortable that way. How else would someone wear them in public?
They are a fetish item and shouldn’t be worn in public. Take it from me… they are the sexiest thing in the world, second only to a really high cut, one piece lycra swimsuit. Both of which I hope my wife will wear to the bedroom if I ever have one 🙁
E excellent, totally agree and appreciate the articulate thoughts on this.
I agree with you, but as a Christian, I am surprised you had to look up Nihilism given that the current President is an example of that towards the Constitution.
I also agree about the yoga pants. They have their place of course, in yoga class.