Why Demure is the new desirable

Grace Kelly in a typical covered up 1950s silhouette.

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​Modesty is the highest elegance." Coco Chanel 

The allure of demure is one of the strongest trends in current fashion. After almost a decade of miniscule body-con bandage dresses and tottering heels, a new refined mood has been evolving gradually over the past couple of years. As hemlines have dropped and necklines have risen, garments such as midi skirts, dramatically sleeved blouses and covered up polo necks have become increasingly visible, even on younger women.  It may be a partial reaction to the physical and literal over exposure indulged in by social media “stars” such as the Kardashians or even a response to the current climate of political uncertainty and morally dubious leadership (when the President of a country endorses the Pussy Grab, choosing to defy that kind of misogyny through covering your body seems like a defiant statement), but its visibility is growing apace. 

This week’s revelations about the behavior of producer, Harvey Weinstein, and Donna Karan’s subsequent comments that appeared to pass judgement on how women dress in relation to sexual harassment, have all drawn attention to the issue of modesty in dress. The veteran designer was reported as stating: “Are you asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality?”  Her comments were met with outrage from most, including Megyn Kelly who replied:” The truth is sexual harassment has nothing to do with wardrobe. It has to do with power and control and sexual proclivities that a superior chooses not to rein in.” Victim shaming has too often been the knee-jerk reaction to sexual harassment or assault, and these sentiments from Karan, a woman who championed female empowerment during her long career are sad, shocking and misplaced. 

While rules and restrictions relating to modesty in female dress have been prevalent throughout history, modern Western women enjoy limitless freedom when it comes to self-expression through their dress. Both Jewish and Islamic culture have defined views on how women present themselves publicly – in Jewish culture the concept of Tzniut or discretion in appearance and behavior is reflected in Orthodox Judaism’s requirement that both men and women cover their bodies, with married women being required to also cover their hair.

Islamic culture, according to the Quran, admonishes women to dress modestly which finds expression in the hijab (a head covering worn most commonly in the West that covers the head and neck – but leaves the face uncovered), the niqab (a head covering and scarf that conceals the face, but leaves the eyes exposed) or the burka the form of Islamic dress that conceals the most, as it completely covers the wearer’s face with a mesh cloth covering their eyes. The wearing of the Islamic burka has been politicised after it has been banned in some Western countries as an affront to secular society. Multiculturalism and immigration are the source of  intense debate so Islamic dress codes have also been the focus of  scrutiny.  While this debate is argued many brands realising the importance of this market have worked to attract Muslim women with dedicated modest collections e.g Uniqlo’s collaboration with Hana Tajima. 

The popularity of collections aimed at women who want to dress modestly has also been expressed through events such as London’s first Modest Fashion Week in February and in the digital sphere, with the launch of The Modist, a fashion site “for the woman who dresses to express her style in a contemporary, feminine and modest way”.  Both developments illustrate that there is money to be made from modest style: Muslim spending on clothing globally is set to double from £174 billion in 2015 to £367 billion by 2019, according to a Reuters/Dinar Standard report. Most of The Modist’s business has come from the UAE particularly Dubai, followed by the USA and the UK.  Middle Eastern clients have traditionally always been important customers of Parisian Couture and mainstream European luxury brands so it was reflective of real life when Max Mara featured the hijab wearing model, Halima Aden in their fashion show. “Society puts so much pressure on girls to look a certain way” she has said. “I have much more to offer than my physical appearance, and a hijab protects me against, ‘You’re too skinny’, ‘You’re too thick’, ‘Look at her hips’, ‘Look at her thigh gap’. I don’t have to worry about that.“

Men and the patriarchy have attempted throughout time to control women’s morality through the imposition of restrictions on their dress. However, this current relationship with modesty is very different, in that women themselves are choosing to opt for a demure and covered up look. One striking champion of this discrete style is Victoria Beckham – she has morphed from wearing abbreviated body-con minis with amplified cleavage to adapting a wardrobe of crisp shirt collars, “Audreyesque” polos, and below the knee dresses with flowing silhouettes. Her entire wardrobe now consists of loose fluid styles that hint at her svelte figure rather than clinging lasciviously to it. Of course, all of us adapt and change as we age and our clothes reflect this, but Beckham’s style evolution is a very clear expression of the current fashion mood’s inspiration. Others who have evolved into modest fashion muses include Alexa Chung, the Duchess of Cambridge and Olivia Palermo.  

 There are many designers as well as Beckham, who are very happy to dress women who want to conceal more than they reveal, including Erdem, Emilia Wickstead, Simone Rocha, Palmer Harding, Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney,  Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten and Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta. All these designers, regardless of their distinctive design aesthetics, draw on a more cerebral approach to style – there is a romantic, bohemian, even demure aura about their clothes. There is also a gentle waft of nostalgia attached to their longer hemlines and  decorous style.  Here in Ireland, designer Peter O’Brien, who is just about to launch a collection with Dunnes, has long been a champion of elegant ladylike style that favours a flash of clavicle over cleavage.

The revival of feminism amongst a new younger generation has no doubt influenced attitudes to dress. The new modesty may carry political undertones – for those discovering the potency of female empowerment, the idea that your identity doesn’t depend on your body can be quickly and effectively semaphored in a more understated dress style. Maybe for millennials brought up on a diet of social media where appearance is all consuming, the revelation that being covered up gives the wearer more power and can be a positive choice is a large part of the trend’s appeal. 

The idea that your personality, character, and sense of self confidence are equally as attractive as a pair of long legs may be inspiring women to realise that you don’t have to expose all your physical attributes to be fashionable. Women are constantly judged on their appearance and if the movement towards more modest styles allows them some respite from this constant analysis and the competitive exhibitionism of social media, who cares if men are rather perplexed by the trend. Covering up is now increasingly perceived as cool while body con and bare flesh is looking increasingly jaded and tired. 

If all fashion is about nuance and subtle difference then the shift from over-exposure to modest dressing quite a profound change.  While women will always love fashion, and I am not suggesting that we all adapt monastic garb, it is apparent that women are increasingly dressing for comfort, confidence and a sense of self-celebration rather than the male gaze. Balzac said that “Modesty is the conscience of the body” and as someone who has always tended towards a slightly Amish aesthetic I am all for the less is more approach of modest dressing.  Women can now dress as they want – if they are choosing to conceal rather than reveal, then it is not only telling us something about their psyche but also about the wider state of modern society.  Fashion reflects our society back to us and while we may not have a definitive reason why modesty is newly fashionable, we can deduce that we are living in very interesting times.       

Simone Rocha Autumn Winter 2017