Christian clothing

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Christian clothing has been around since the earliest days of the Christian church. Members of the clergy have traditionally worn Vestment to distinguish themselves from lay worshippers and church members during Sunday services and to project an image of piety and humility. As such, Religious Dress has traditionally been marked by androgynous looking garments in somber colors like brown and black that often seek to quietly shy away from attention.

For church-goers and congregation members, Christian fashion is best described by the phrase "Sunday best" and has traditionally meant saving one's finest clothing for Sunday services [1]. In the early days Churches not only fulfilled the religious needs of communities but often served as the main social center for local residents. As such, dressing in fine clothing for Church (ironically) was more often dictated by a need to project status and influence among peers than to dress up for God. Church clothes also helped members feel a sense of cleanliness and pride that carried through in worship and in fellowship.

Various Christian holidays such as Easter have traditional clothing associated with Sunday celebrations today. Women often wear their newest bright and colorful Easter dresses and bonnets while gentlemen don their best suits and ties. Christmas brings assorted sweaters in greens and reds for both men and women, and on Mothers day many Christians wear red or white flowers in honor or remembrance of their mothers.

Over the past several years, many churches have encouraged a more informal dress code, especially with the rise of non-traditional churches and Mega churches around the country. In fact, many clergy have abandoned the traditional robes and vestments in favor of golf shirts and khaki pants to close the perceived gap between clergy and layperson.

Outside of Church, there is very little distinction between Christian and secular fashion for most believers. However, during the late 1980s, apparel producers began selling parody t-shirts that featured familiar brand logos changed to project Christian messages [2]. Some examples include a design meant to look like the Hershey's chocolate logo with the word "Hershey" replaced with the words "He Saves" and Abercrombie and Fitch inspired designs branded "A Breadcrumb and Fish" in reference to Jesus' feeding of the multitude using just five loaves of bread and two fish. These Christian clothing designs met with limited mainstream buy-in and were often pushed upon ungrateful teens from well-meaning parents and grandparents. Unfortunately these messages were also met with scorn and disgust from non-Christian peers and often served to alienate Christians from mainstream society. This type of Christian clothing is part of an entire category of goods that is sometimes referred to as "Jesus Junk."

In the late 1990s many smart, artistic Christians realized that fashionable Christian clothing was possible and set out to create brands that connected with mainstream consumers but were rooted in faith values. Many of these brands sought to distance themselves from the "Christian clothing" moniker and instead prefer the term "faith-inspired" or positive lifestyle brands. Companies like Jedidiah have met with mainstream success while still staying true to their roots in faith, love, and grace.

Many of the companies, such as NOTW (Not of This World), currently operating in the faith-inspired clothing space are located along the west coast of the United States and take much of their fashion cues from skate and surf culture. As such, some designs take an edgy look at Christianity much the way that Christian hard-core punk music takes the message to an extreme. Other companies like Simple Letter and Messenger seek to uplift through cheerful designs inspired by Biblical messages.

To support the growing number of faith-inspired clothing brands, retail outlets have been springing up around the country to carry clothing for Christian teens and adults alike. C28 operates a chain of mall-based stores in California and GoFish franchises Christian clothing stores across the southeast. Online retailers such as Unity3 seek to gather the best designs from the top faith-inspired brands so consumers can find the newest styles available. While many communities have Christian bookstores, Christian clothing stores are not nearly as prevalent and point to the nascent state of this market. Sales at Christian retail stores totaled $4.34 billion in 2004 while apparel sales accounted for just $84 million (less than 2%) of the total [3].

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