Little Homeschool Blessings: Homeschool Fashion Study: The History of Fashion & Set Apart

Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

~ Psalm 4:3

Our focus this week is the history of fashion in America starting in the 1800's. We have been using this interesting resource: Art to Zoo: Teaching with the Power of Objects Series~Perfectly Suited: Clothing and Social Change in America May/June 1995 issue. Using fashion, the 3 step lesson plan looks at how society has changed in America.

We modified the plans for our use. We read about how the roles of men and women from the 1800's to the mid-1900's impacted how people dressed. As new jobs became available, gender roles began to change as well. This had a tremendous impact on what each wore. We used the worksheet on page 7 to compare how styles changed from the 1850's to the 1890's (step 1 of the lesson plan provides some questions to consider). Next we created a timeline of fashion with the figures provided on pages 9-11. Once we read the historical clues and put the fashion models in place, we decided to look at more recent changes in clothing. I found and printed out a few examples of the last 7 decades for us to compare the changes in clothing as well. We also pulled out our Book of Centuries and looked at other time periods of dress from people we have already studied.

The final aspect we looked at was what our clothing reflects about us and our culture. Questions were provided, but we chose to use these:

What do your clothing choices say about society and culture?
What do your clothing choices say about you?
What do you want them to say?
Are you dressing for inner beauty? How? or Why not?
Are you dressing to honor God?
What does dressing for inner beauty mean? What about dressing to honor God?
Psalm 4:3 says, Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him. How can we show that we are set apart in how we dress?

We are in an interesting time in history when it comes to fashion. The possibilities are quite limitless in regards to what we choose to wear. Over the last several decades, there has been a gradual shift in what is considered appropriate in society and culture verses Biblical values. At one point in history, they were closely tied, but not any more. We, as Christians, are called to be set apart from the world. One way we have that opportunity is in our choices of fashion.

Now on to the fashion show...

This outfit is versitle. I can wear it out for dinner, to church, to an evening worship event, or even to a homeschool event.

I love navy. I didn't realize how much until I started looking at some of my favorite go-to outfits. It is a classic color and can be combined with many other colors as well. For this outfit, I paired a navy shirt with a red cardigan (I used to wear this sweater buttoned up, but it as stretched out and looks too over sized buttoned. I've had it for about 5 years). I added navy heals and some corduroys. This could also be worn with my boot-cut jeans and work for several of the places mentioned above.

One of the fun things about having daughters is passing down clothes that are just not the right fit anymore. That's the case with this sweater of Ceesa's. It was given to me and I loved it for several years, but it just doesn't fit the same after all of these babies. So I passed it on. This outfit is nice for church or even singing with the choir at an event.

The cream looks lovely with the peach tulle skirt. The scarf was borrowed from my closet. We sometimes visit a little boutique not far from us. Ceesa saw this skirt and immediately fell in love. It is actually a size bigger than she is, but we've safety pinned it. Tulle skirts lend themselves nicely to tuck in a pin. You don't even notice it and as she grows, she will be able to continue to wear the skirt. Just remember to remove the safety pins from your clothes when you wash them. They can leave rust stains.

Jo-Jo is wearing an outfit that is nice for this time of the year. She can wear it out to dinner, to a homeschool event, or even an evening youth event. And no surprise, it was all hand-me-downs. :)

To be honest, I have found it very difficult to figure out just how to use a jean jacket. My go to is with a dress or with a khaki color pants. This works for just about any color shirt underneath. Jo-Jo picked a striped pink and gray top.

And lastly, Wheel loves his picture to be taken. Like Li's picture from a few weeks ago, Wheel is wearing a church outfit. He has a plaid button-up with a white onsie underneath and khaki pants. With jeans this would make a nice visiting with friends or out to eat outfit.