(AP) -- For a society accustomed to the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, the images of the women from the polygamist compound in Texas are almost shocking in their understatement: Ankle-length dresses, makeup-less faces, hauntingly uniform hair.
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Dresses worn by women in the polygamist sect are meant to show modesty and conformity.
And while no one would accuse the women of making a fashion statement, the pioneer-style outfits are a rare example of how in an age of overexposure, modesty, too, can give pause.
The puff-sleeved, pastel dresses worn by the women in the sect are a combination of original 19th-century wear and 1950s clothing that was adopted when the church took a conservative turn, according to Janet Bennion, an anthropologist who studies polygamist women.
The dresses are meant to show modesty and conformity: They go down to the ankles and wrists, and are often worn over garments or pants, making sure every possibly provocative inch of skin is covered.
John Llewellyn, a polygamy expert and retired Salt Lake County sheriff's lieutenant, says the women cover themselves "so that they're unattractive to the outside world or other men."
The appearance of unity through uniform dress, however, can belie the jealousy that often arises when the women -- who might all look alike to an outsider -- find themselves in competition with one another over the affections of the same man, Llewellyn says.
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The clothing is also stitched with special markings "to protect the body and to remind you of your commitment," Bennion says. She declined to go into detail about the stitchings because she said it would be an infraction against the community -- a fundamentalist sect that broke from the mainline Mormon church, which disavows polygamy -- to talk about their sacred symbols.
Pastel colors evoke femininity and don't come across as bold or strong, says Bennion, a professor at Lyndon State College in Vermont.
Then there's the question of the elaborate hairdos.
The women never cut their hair because they believe they will use it to wash Christ's feet during the Second Coming, Bennion says. A Biblical quote says a woman's hair should be her crowning glory.
The bangs are grown out and rolled (but usually not using a curling iron, because that would be too modern). There are sausage curls on the sides and often braids down the back.
The exact history of the hairstyle is unclear, but it is reminiscent of the Gibson Girl image of the 1800s. It's a pre-World War II look, exaggerated with the pompadour, Llewellyn says. Chloe Sevigny's character in the HBO show "Big Love," about modern polygamists in Utah, has mastered the 'do.
Celebrity stylist and salon owner Ted Gibson thinks it gives off a "homely" impression.
"It says 'I don't really care very much. I really don't have time to worry about the way that I look, because I have 20 children,"' Gibson said. "'He's going from wife to wife to wife, so why should I look any better than the other ones?"'
Still, it's not outlandish to imagine the prairie look influencing today's styles, given that trends can come from unexpected places, and Sevigny is known as a style-setter. You can already find blouses with high necks and ruffles in stores, and puffed shoulders on short and long-sleeved shirts.
Prairie skirts are in fashion this season, while dusty pastels and neutrals are being introduced to offset trendy bold colors and patterns.
Long hair is also on its way back in, preparing to replace the currently fashionable bobs, Gibson says. Buns never go completely out of style, according to Gibson -- he often gives celebrities a half-up-half-down 'do, essentially what we're seeing in the photographs coming out of Texas.
But for the most part, the looks that arise from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are likely to stay there.
On her blog, the fashion editor of glam.com wondered if the spotlight on the Texas raid would make otherwise innocuous pastels unsavory, given their dubious association with polygamists.
"Unexpected perversion? Right-wing fads?" Susan Cernek wrote. "Sounds like a good Halloween costume ... or Marc Jacobs Spring '09."
Allison Berlin, founder of Style Made Simple, doesn't expect FLDS-inspired fashion to go mainstream.
"Women don't actually want to look like that," she says. "I can see the Brooklyn hipsters rocking a French braid, but not in a serious way. Maybe ironically."
― danbunny, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 12:35 (sixteen years ago) link
Q. You have been married twenty years? - A. Yes.
Q. Have you any children? - A. Why I do not know; my wife has had some.
Q. It may be a good joke for you, but you know you have indicted this woman for a capital offence? - A. Yes.
Q. You have been married twenty years, and have the impudence to tell me your wife has got some children; how many children have you had by your wife? - A. I have had nine by my wife, seven are dead, and two now living.
Q. And yet you have the impudence to tell the Court, and the jury, that you go to Lewkner's-lane with a common prostitute, and triumph in it? - A. No; I called in at the White-hart.
― caek, Sunday, 27 April 2008 17:21 (sixteen years ago) link
Q. Was that all you drank? - A. Yes, before I came to the White-hart.
Q. What did you drink at the White-hart? - A. Threepennyworth of gin, me and the landlord together.
Q. And how much did you drink afterwards? - A. A share of four quarterns of gin.
Q. How much had you of the gin at that house? - A. About three glasses.
Q. Were you drunk then? - A. No.
Q. Half in half? - A. No; I was not.
Q. Not groggy at all? - A. No; I don't think I was at all.
Q. Are you in the habit of drinking a good deal of gin? - A. Yes; beer and gin to.
Q. As much as you can get? - A. Yes.
Q. And you were not drunk? - A. No; I will take my oath, if it was the last day I had to live; I have drank as much to-day, very near, as I did then.
― caek, Sunday, 27 April 2008 17:21 (sixteen years ago) link