
TLC
The Duggars Wear Long Skirts and Dresses So “There’s Not Any Defrauding Going On”
For a long while, you'd never see a Duggar woman in anything but long skirts or long dresses. And though these gals have been changing up their wardrobe recently, the family's religion — and the spiritual journey of matriarch Michelle Duggar — influenced their sartorial decisions for years.
As In Touch previously reported, these reality stars are Independent Baptists, a branch of Christianity that's already more conservative than most. But the modest dress code is also a personal choice for Michelle Duggar, as she explained in a 2013 TLC Q&A.
"After I was born again and became a Christian, I really began to cover up," she said. "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."
After this revelation, this Duggar mama said she cleaned out her closet and started fresh, picking up skirts and dresses from local thrift shops. And her children followed her lead.
"As we studied as a family, we found we could come up with our idea of what we thought modesty was, but we really wanted to see what the scriptures said about it," she told fans. "Our interpretation was that from the neck down to the knee should be covered. By keeping those private areas covered, there's not any 'defrauding' going on."
If you're wonder WTF "defrauding" even means, it turns out, that's another part of the Duggar belief system. "My kids are taught the definition of defrauding as stirring up desires that cannot be righteously fulfilled," Michelle explained. "We don't believe in defrauding others by the way we dress."
We were all surprised to see this 51-year-old wearing pants during her recent Hawaiian vacation with husband Jim Bob Duggar, but even back in that 2013 Q&A, Michelle reserved the right to change her mind. "Jim Bob said, 'What about when we're riding bicycles or going hiking? Do you think the Lord wants you to wear a dress then? How are you going to do that? What about swimming and all these other things that we do?' And I said, 'Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there.'"
So there you have it. When it comes to dressing the Duggar kids, Michelle has been the one calling the shots. And we can only wonder what she thinks of their recent rebellion!
Love the Duggars? Be sure to join our Duggars Facebook group to chat about all the latest updates and juicy gossip!
Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.