Duggar Style Evolution: How the Family's Looks Changed

The Duggars first made their television debut in the 2004 special 14 Kids and Pregnant Again, and their style caught the attention of viewers.

From long skirts and even longer hair to plaid dresses and clunky collars, fans were just as fascinated by their looks as they were their big brood.

Back in 2013, Duggar family matriarch Michelle Duggar — who shares 19 kids with husband Jim Bob Duggar — explained the reasoning behind the famous family’s modest dress code.

“After I was born again and became a Christian, I really began to cover up,” the former cheerleader said during a TLC Q&A at the time. “I felt like the Lord was saying to me, ‘You know what, you probably shouldn’t be wearing that. It’s a little bit low cut, or a little bit too high, you know?’ I just really felt like I needed to obey what God was saying to me first and understand later. And then I saw in the scriptures a lot of things that helped me understand why I was feeling uncomfortable with my previous clothing choices.”

Soon after, the reality TV mama said she cleaned out her closet and started fresh, picking up skirts and dresses from local thrift shops, and her daughters did the same.

In the book Growing Up Duggar, Jessa, Jill, Jinger and Jana described their clothing, noting that they “do not dress modestly” because they are “ashamed” but rather the “contrary.”

“We realize that our body is a special gift from God and that He intends for it to be shared only with our future husband … ” they wrote. “We avoid low-cut, cleavage-showing, gaping or bare-shouldered tops; and when needed, we wear an undershirt. We try to make it a habit to always cover the top of our shirt with our hands when we bend over. We don’t want to play the peekaboo game with our neckline.”

Over the years, however, several members of the family seemed to have forgotten the “rules.” These days, Jinger can be seen wearing skirts and dresses cut above the knee. She also enjoys wearing sporting pants and shorts, later reflecting on her decision to stray away from her family’s traditions in her 2021 book, The Hope We Hold: Finding Peace With the Promises of God, which she cowrote with husband Jeremy Vuolo.

“My mom had always dressed us girls in skirts and dresses, a standard that was taken from Deuteronomy 22:5, which says, ‘A woman shall not wear a man’s garment,’” Jinger explained in her book. “Modesty was a huge topic in our house, and we believed that wearing skirts instead of pants was a central part of being modest. But I wanted to discover for myself what the Bible had to say.”

The social media influencer also shared that she “never found a passage specifically forbidding women from wearing pants,” adding, “Growing up, I had a set of standards that I took as givens … [But] my convictions were changing.”

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“I thought I had to wear only skirts and dresses to please God,” Jinger told People in January 2023. “And if I step outside of what I think is expected of me, I would think God’s going to be so displeased with me and it could bring harm on myself.”

Sister Joy-Anna Duggar explained how she and husband Austin Forsyth came to the conclusion that it was OK for her to wear pants in a March 2023 YouTube video. The pair began discussing the topic “within the first year of marriage” and it was something the pair talked about “on and off for the last three or four years.”

And, in a shocking turn of events, matriarch Michelle was photographed in a pair of skin-tight leggings while posing with her nine daughters in April 2023. Appearing on Jessa’s Instagram, Michelle was all smiles while wearing her head-turning pants and a cute blue top. “Is Michelle wearing pants? Did I miss something?” one stunned commenter asked, while another chimed in, “Wow! Look at all the pants. Times have changed.”

Scroll through the gallery below to see photos of the Duggars’ initial television appearance on 14 Kids and Pregnant Again through today.

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Jana Duggar Now

Jana’s learned how to better style a ponytail, and a lot of that has to do with the proper use of side-bangs. Bless! As far as her actual outfits go, she knows how to complement colors in a mature and thoughtful way (navy with a bright red pop of color is a cute look) and she has a knack for finding nice necklaces with a singular focal point.

Jill Duggar Dillard Now

Jill has come quite a long way from her days wearing scoop neck T-shirts with maxiskirts. She rocked a pair of skinny jeans while pregnant with baby No. 3 in 2022, and underwent a glamorous makeover featuring long, blonde curly hair after giving birth. In recent years she’s taken to wearing daring above-the-knee bike shorts as workout wear, albeit with a tennis-style skirt to cover her behind.

Jessa Duggar Seewald Now

Despite having four little ones, Jessa always finds time to put her hair into prom-worthy curls. And look at her being so brazen as to nearly show off her kneecaps and wearing a skin-tight shirt that her belly is almost bursting out of.

In all seriousness, Jessa likes to be a bit more feminine than Jill. And what’s fair is fair, her wedding dress was the only one that looked like it was part of the 21st century.

Jinger Duggar Vuolo Now

Jinger was always looking to experiment with style more than her siblings. Even before she wed Jeremy, who allowed her the blessing of pants, Jinger was already playing around with her look. She loves wearing skinny jeans and wowed fans when the former reality star donned distressed cutoff shorts in March 2022, after she and Jeremy made the move to suburban Los Angeles.

When Jinger hit the promotional tour for her 2023 tell-all book, Becoming Free Indeed, she glammed it up in fitted sweaters and narrow leg trousers, as well as high heels! She’s completely rebelled against the strict dress codes of parents’ church: the Institute of Basic Life Principles, or IBLP. Jinger has even taken to wearing leather motorcycle-style jackets on chilly date nights with Jeremy.

Her Own Lane

In April 2021, Jinger rocked pants again in a playful portrait captured in her current hometown of Los Angeles, California. The mom of two later explained why she forged her own path with fashion in an excerpt from her new memoir, The Hope We Hold.

“Modesty was a huge topic in our house, and we believed that wearing skirts instead of pants was a central part of being modest,” Jinger wrote. “But I wanted to discover for myself what the Bible had to say.”

Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth Now

Jeans, tight leggings and above-the-knee denim skirts are just some of the looks that Joy-Anna has shared via Instagram in 2022.

She opened up about her decision to stop wearing conservative skirts in a March 2023 YouTube video. “[We] felt like there wasn’t anything in the scripture that’s black and white on dress,” Joy-Anna explained during the clip about how she made the call. “I think biblically, we just kind of looked through scripture for a long time and feel like this is OK for our family … I feel like you can be modest and wear pants.”