The spirituality of expressing beauty

While some may deride the practice as a sign of vanity (and I'll be the first to admit I am a vain bitch), I do find a certain spirituality in dressing lolita. It probably goes back to being a young girl and my parents' weekly battle to get 3 girls under the age of 7 all dressed up in their best frills to go to church. Even though we behaved so badly throughout every service that my mom spent all her time alternately pinching us and feeding us Cheerios to shut us up, there was still a tangible holiness to being in God's house. And the effort we ourselves put into preparing for this experience was always repaid, because if I know nothing else about God, I know this: He gives back exactly what you give Him, whether good or evil. (This might be why I always felt so "off" straggling into church, sleepy and half hung-over in jeans and a T-shirt, while in college.)

Though I haven't been inside a church in some months now, I resonate with the idea of dressing and presenting yourself at your absolute best for God. There is a command to women in one of the Indian scriptures, that regardless of whether or not God has given you physical beauty, you should still dress and adorn yourself as though you were the most beautiful woman on earth. The book of Ecclesiastes confirms this command as well: "Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head," signifying to always dress in a manner that signifies joy, purity, and innocence. Is there any better way to do this than lolita?

My mom invited me to go to church with her this Sunday. Perhaps I will actually go, and wear lolita. I'll do it in the same toned-down manner suitable for wearing to work, and I'll totally pass under the radar among the army of perfectly formed women and fashionable little girls in A-line skirts and pretty blouses. Out of my wardrobe, Innocent World's Classical Angel print would work the best, seen here with some friends outside the Ba'hai temple in Wilmette: