4modesty.com was developed on a trip to Israel in 1994. It was very apparent that there was a modest way of dress among all the religious women of many faiths.

The women who were walking around in the Old City of Jerusalem all displayed their own personal level of modesty. These women of such a diverse background however all had a very similar desire to wear clothes that were non-revealing. The level of modesty was similar however the essence of fashion and design really seemed not to be considered. There was not a hint of fashion even though the statement of “the less you show, the more you say” was very prevalent.

That is when the challenge became an opportunity because there were few clothing manufacturers producing fashionably modest clothing. Woman who wanted “fashion” were forced to buy (2) two identical dresses. The second dress was used to make the necessary modest modifications. When we returned to the US, we approached different name brand manufacturers with the idea of designing fashionable modest clothing.

They thought we were nuts. On a department store floor, you cannot have a very revealing, sexy and immodest outfit across from a modest and less revealing outfit. The confusion would be overwhelming. They did not see the market nor have any interest in catering to “a new marketplace”. DING DING…. New opportunity was presented.

With high fashion, in constant change, style coming in and going out is the life blood of the fashion industry. Who was going to create the next best “outfit” that everyone had to have. Style is the common thread that is woven and flows through fashionable garments; however, that thread keeps changing from year to year. There are very few classic designs that are sold with modesty as the focus. It may be a bye product but not the direct intent.

Design pressure generates continuous modifications which keeps theWomen’s Clothing industry in flux with changes.