Are Christian Woman Permitted to Wear Shorts, Slacks or Trousers?
1) Direct answer
No. A Christian woman should not wear shorts, slacks, or trousers. She should dress in modest, feminine apparel that does not expose the thigh and does not borrow the man’s garment.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Deuteronomy 22:5: “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man… for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD.” Pants/trousers are the man’s garment. When a woman takes that pattern to herself, God calls it an abomination, not a style choice.
- 1 Timothy 2:9: “Women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety.” Modest apparel means a decent, humble, and covered manner of dress—loose, not form-fitting; feminine, not masculine.
- Exodus 28:42: “Make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach.” God defined the thigh as part of nakedness that must be covered. Shorts expose the thigh—so they expose nakedness.
- Isaiah 47:2–3: “Make bare the leg, uncover the thigh… Thy nakedness shall be uncovered.” Uncovered thigh equals uncovered nakedness.
- 1 Corinthians 11:3–15: God set a visible order and distinction between male and female. Our outward appearance should honor that headship order, not blur it.
- Matthew 5:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–7: We are to walk in holiness and not stir lust. Immodest, tight, or revealing clothing defrauds others.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- God made male and female distinct. Clothing is part of that testimony. When a woman puts on a man’s garment (trousers), the line God drew is crossed. Calling them “women’s slacks” doesn’t change what they pertain to or the way they shape and display the body.
- Shorts reveal the thigh. The Bible calls that nakedness. No believer needs a new rule—just obey the plain Word.
- “Culture changed.” Did God’s Word change? If the Scripture still says it, then the disciple still does it.
- Holiness is not bondage; it is freedom to please the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never lead a woman to dress in a way that denies modesty or blurs the sexes.
Practical counsel
- Choose modest, feminine dresses or skirts that fall well below the knee, not tight, not sheer, not split to reveal the leg when walking or sitting.
- For work or weather, add layers underneath, but keep a modest, feminine covering outwardly. There is always a way to honor God without violating His Word.
Short reinforcement
Now notice, this is not about legalism; it’s about love and obedience. The Bible says what it says. A Christian woman, led by the Spirit, will gladly keep the distinction of the sexes and walk in modesty. That’s the testimony of a heart sanctified unto the Lord.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The World is falling apart
63-1115 §37
A few days ago, a fine tailor out in Tucson was cutting some trousers for me. And he was Jewish. And I heard his broken English, and I said, "What are you, Jewish?" He said, "Yes, sir." And he said, "I suppose you're a Christian?" I said, "Yes sir." So he went ahead fixing on my trousers. And I thought, "I'll let him lead next." And he said, "Well," he said, "I have nothing against you Christians." I said, "Thank you, sir. I have nothing against you." And he said, he said the ... I said, "What is your opinion of Ch...
Questions and Answers on Hebrews, part 3
57-1006 §76
Now we're getting right down to the question you're asking, see. All right, now it is wrong for a lady to cut her hair, according to the Bible. Now you listen right here and see if the Bible don't give a man a legal right to put away his wife if she cuts her hair; see if this is right or not. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head [that's, have long hair], forsomuch as he is in the image and the glory of God: but the woman is in the glory of the man. [Did you ever think of that?] Now I want to stop here, beca...
All the days of our life
59-0612 §25
You may be a slave to your religion. You may be a slave to a bunch of creeds. And let me tell you, creeds is nothing but framework for communism. It's the scaffold work that the devil can use to build communism, is a cold formal church. For men and women will go to that church, and become a slave to their religion, become a slave of the devil; going into the church, and putting your name on the book, and paying money into it. Or either they'll go there and there's never nothing said about wrong. I don't like to say...
Jehovah-Jireh, part 1
64-0402 §51
Therefore, when a woman acts masculine, there's some ... there's a perversion there somewhere. And when a man wants to be a big sissy, there's something wrong somewhere. God made a man and dressed him like a man, and a woman like a woman. He ever remains them to be that way. Amen. And when you see them doing something else, there's something wrong. It's perverted. And the whole thing has become a bunch of perverts. It's exactly right. The whole race, the whole generation, it's... The whole thing's a putrefied sore,...
Does God ever change His mind about His Word?
65-0418E §89
Yet He grants you permission for ... permits your will, a permissive will, knowing what's in your heart. He knows it. You say, "Well, Brother Branham, I do so-and-so. It don't bother me. God blesses me every day. I sing in the Spirit, I dance in the Spirit, I..." He'll permit it. Go ahead. That's right. But what are you going to do? "I wear shorts, and I do this---it don't bother me. I know my faith is in Christ, not in what I wear." But the Bible said there is something to it. What'll you do? You'll make a stumbli...