Jumpstarter 3 of 10

Direct Answer Bercot doesn’t give a modern dress code, but he does provide a principle: clothing that clings and outlines the body defeats the purpose of covering, because it still “invites attention.” A serious Christian group would have to apply that principle thoughtfully in its own culture without turning Clement’s Egyptian standard into a universal law.

Support from Transcript:

• Clement: clothing that “cannot conceal the shape of the body is no longer a covering… clinging… outlines the woman’s figure.”
• Bercot summarizes the goal for sisters: “you never want to call attention to your body in the way that you dress.”
• He notes Clement’s veiling/covering guidance surprised him and showed modesty is “something more than just following the customs and fashions of the times.”
• He explicitly says, “I’m not suggesting that we all have to follow Clement… He wasn’t laying down laws… In 21st Century America, I’m not sure that modesty has to be practiced just as it was in 2nd century Egypt.”
• Yet he insists “the principles were the same,” and even less-strict regions still had “very, very modest” dress.
• He emphasizes modest dress includes being “clean and tidy,” not “crudity… squalor and slovenliness.”