Heels At The Cross

Lovely shoes, aren't they... By their trademark red soles, yes, these are Christian Louboutins shoes, specifically Christian Louboutins Lady Super Platform Mary Jane shoes, and these are the sort of shoes that the young ladies wear every Sunday to the church where I worship.

I'm not quite sure how it started. All I can remember is that it wasn't always like this. Those were simpler days where the ladies in church were content to look decent, clean, with only a hint of style, maybe in an ear ring, bracelet or pendant, but right now, it is an all out fashion exhibition at Sunday services. And I kinda like it, to be honest. It has its good parts, and its downsides, unfortunately. Let's do the good parts first.

Previously, I have never been one to invest so much in how I look to go anywhere, quite frankly, and if not for some concerned female who pushes me, whether it be my mum, sister or dear friend, I could care less, but these ladies invest so much in how they look, and for the most part they pull it off, and we men are nicely assaulted with beautifully dressed ladies, most of which pull of simple and decent, but chic with minimum effort, or just a nice accessory here and there, and we even have some fashion icons who have made their appearances into a fashion science. Sundays at church are a beautiful affair because of these young ladies, especially since a good number of the guys at church are still obsessed with dressing like Lil' Wayne, Cabo Snoop and Kanye West, or some celebrity who has decided that his belt does a better job securing his butt than his waist. Very immature, but a topic for another day.

On the downside, unfortunately, the church has become an avenue to display what items of clothing you have in your wardrobe, and it all becomes about showing off what you have. The instant church becomes about ANYTHING or ANYONE except Christ, we have a problem. We've seen Louboutins, Jeffrey Campbells, Vince Camutos, etc., Sunday in, Sunday out. I've even had statements credited to the fact that since they cannot compete appearance wise with the other girls, because as we know, these shoes don't come cheap, and there is no responsibility tying them down to attending church mandatorily, they have chosen not to come to church anymore. And I must admit it is kind of intimidating to walk into church and see someone wearing shoes which cost the same as your total monthly allowance.

I asked myself why the girls go to such extents to present themselves so, and one reason I came up with is, in the workings of a girl's mind, presentation is a very big deal. How a girl looks is not a matter to EVER be trifled with. I have made some rash statements, and I acknowledge that they were very wrong, not because they were untrue, but because how a girl looks matters to her, and any negative statement or criticism is not unnoticed, and could even hurt. So at every point, a girl/lady wants to look her best. Also, for most of the ladies in my church, this being a school environment, they have no where else to really dress up to go to, except church services on Sundays. There are hardly any formal events to attend, so church is the only place that they can properly dress up to, and so, they make the most of it.

After all has been said and done, church is, and will always be about God, not who we are, what we look like or how we appear. We will never stop dressing well to church, but it will not be the reason why we come in the first place. I know for a fact that it is not just here that this is obtainable, as it is very common, especially for Nigerian women, to always dress fashionably to church, but as long as Christ is the focus, then we carry on looking good. Ladies, you are much more than what you wear, or look like or say. A woman's heart and mind is delicate, but also very intriguing, strong, and sometimes inspiring too. If you must invest in something, invest in you, making yourself the best you could possibly be, just as God created you to be: special, each and every one of you.

Please feel free to leave your comments below, so that I can also learn more on this topic, or if I have said anything wrongly, or out of context, feel free to mention too. Thanks for reading my piece.