A Conversation about Clothes

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

Matt. 6:30

Looking raggedy is not really ideal for me, how about you? I have really come full circle with the fashion issue. Growing up I was like a lot of us, trying to impress folk with how many polo, izod, and name-brand jeans I could wear to school. When I graduated from High school I would have won the best-dressed award had not the mostly white year book staff not decided to be funny and awarded it to the school punk-rocker (that's another blog for another time). Matriculating through higher education brought about an evolution in my thinking and several phases about clothes. I have gone from being preoccupied with clothing to - not caring about clothes to - my current place of consciousness. How can we use our fashion choices to be a way to express who we are on the inside rather than becoming slaves to the outer appearance and empty (and BROKE) on the inside?

In the midst of what we do and how we gather for our conventions, we tend to make everybody else rich but ourselves. Even though we lag in earnings we are highly competitive with other ethnic groups when it comes to spending. According to CNBC in 2022 Black spending power reached a record $1.6 Trillion, however that was coupled with a drop in Black net worth by 14%. It would be interesting if someone did a study on the buying habits of church-going African-Americans. For all of the financial strapped conversations we have in the Black Church, our spending habits are very curious. Before we go away to our conferences, Convocations, and conventions, there are usually some shopping trips involved. We spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on clothes (Dresses, bags, suits, ties, and especially shoes). As I stated in the beginning, I'm not mad at it. But I do have to ask the question. What would happen if we fasted from all s2hopping before our next "Spirit-filled Extravaganza" and said to the people not to spend a dime on any clothes or accessories. Instead, bring the $500 - $1,000 you would have spent on clothes to the meeting so that instead of just paying the bills, we can actually impact the world. What if?

E. Franklin Frazier in his famous book, "The Black Bourgeoisie", accused the Church of being one of the main culprits of Black folks financial mismanagement. He called it conspicuous consumption. In his critical evaluation of the black middle class and some of its notoriously strange behaviors, Frazier was unflattering of the cultural elite. With debutante balls, fraternities, and displays of conspicuous consumption, he wrote, the black middle class was living in what he called "a world of make-believe," emulating a white culture that would not open its doors to them. We use clothes to make us feel good about ourselves. Sometimes we use clothes like Adam used the fig leaves when he sinned; to cover what was missing on the inside. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves are we dressing to accentuate who we are OR are we dressing to hide what we're not?

I conclude with the thought that I started out with. My fashion journey has been interesting. I have gone from being consumed with having the most expensive clothes (when I was spending my parents money) to getting joy out of how to find the discounts and creative ways to dress and express who I am on the inside. The issue is not that clothes don't matter. The question is WHY do clothes matter? I have come to decide that clothes matter because it demonstrates that my God will take care of me. I'm not going to go bankrupt though, trying to impress folk who are empty inside. If I'm going to invest my resources in anything, it's going to be in the Kingdom of God and I know he will make a way for me to look like I'm taken care of. Don't dress to impress but rather dress to express how good and creative God is!