Is there a value-neutral term for dressing 'modestly'?

[Tapiotar]

@Ulfreida

This discussion begs the question of what clothes are for, after basic physical warmth/shade/freedom from abrasion needs are met.

I wil proffer that clothes are for signaling. In which case any kind of description will contain an assessment, which will contain a judgement.

If someone’s clothing was described as “modest” I would picture a woman, not a man, with some as-yet unidentified religious belief. Mennonite? Nun? Need more data.

The word presently connotes a belief system. There is no real equivalent.

I agree that, after protection, clothing is for signaling. I don’t think that "modest"implies a religious or belief system. To me, it means quiet, neutral, not calling attention to oneself. Neither virtuous not non-virtuous. For example, a shy person may choose to dress modestly in order to be unnoticed. Jeans and a t-shirt when others are wearing sundresses or shorts, for example. In that case, the jeans may provide a kind of psychological armor, I guess.

[thorny_locust]

@Ulfreida

noticed a guy wearing a gimme cap, greasy hair that was five inches long, baggy cheap pants. This guy had his back to me, he was walking away in the parking lot. In a couple seconds I had made a total judgement about this guy’s education, economic reality, and politics. Then a thin, long-legged woman in her thirties came past with thick, styled, hennaed hair, mascara, black leggings with giant shiny rainboots, and a slim-fitting parka vest, and some kind of high-heeled clog sandals. Ditto, took me a few seconds

You may, of course, have been entirely wrong about one or both of them.

[PatrickLondon]

@brossa

So, are there any terms in use to describe such clothing or style of dress that don’t skew toward moral judgment?

The only terms that would sound objective are those that distinguish between the clothing itself and the source of any inherent subjectivity in the description, so something like “fitting X’s idea of modesty” at one extreme, and at the other “dressed to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window” or some such.

[Two_Many_Cats]

@Annie-Xmas

As a cashier, I do not set store policy. It’s “clean and what the men who own the store think is appropriate.” I just happen to agree with them that shorts are not appropriate on anyone (male or female) when working.

Not really relevant to the OP, but amusing true story:

We were trying to translate our restaurant workers manual into Spanish for the convenience of our cooks. One of the lines in English said, “Cooks are not allowed to wear shorts”

In Spanish, it read, “Cooks are not allowed to wear underwear.”

[Melbourne]

decorous. decorously.

[Baal_Houtham]

@brossa

The choice of what clothing to wear is fraught with social judgement. This is true for women much, much, much more so than for men.

Clothing that covers more skin than locally typical, or conceals rather than reveals the shape of the body underneath is referred to as ‘modest’ in my neck of the woods. I find this term irksome, because it assigns a moral dimension to the clothing choice. Modesty is a virtue, after all, and its antonym, immodesty, is definitely no bueno.

So, are there any terms in use to describe such clothing or style of dress that don’t skew toward moral judgment? ‘Concealing’ vs. ‘Revealing’ are the best that come to my mind, but I’m wondering if there are better ones.

Maybe think of the issue this way: if you knew a man who always wore long pants and long-sleeved shirts buttoned up to the top, how would you describe his style of dress? If he always wore running shorts and a tank top, what term would be used then?

Hi brossa. I don’t believe there are one-word descriptions that cover all the ways that clothing can be revealing or unrevealing. (I do think that “unrevealing” is a slightly less judgmental than “concealing.”)

Clothing can be tight or loose, heavy or diaphanous. It can be minimal (according to local laws) or elaborate. It can direct the eye toward a physical feature, or away from a physical feature. I think a writer or speaker would need more than one word to deal with all those aspects, and would need to provide the reader/listener with a little information about the social setting.

[control-z]

Maybe business or professional attire. As opposed to leisure/casual attire.

Business casual may be a good compromise.