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.
Hear ye Him
58-0324 §23
And now to you holiness people: Pentecostal, Free Methodist, Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness. I remember the time when it was wrong for you women to cut your hair. What happened? Do you know the Bible gives a man a right to get a divorce from his wife when she cuts her hair? The Bible said that a woman that cuts her hair dishonors her husband. That's the truth. And you get out here with these little old, dirty, nasty, filthy clothes on, called shorts, to mow the grass in the back yard, and call yourself a Christian? Ho...
Jehovah-Jireh, part 1
62-0705 §51
And the Bible said, "It's a dishonorable thing for a woman to cut her hair." She does it, she dishonors her head. She dishonors the angel, the angel of light. The seven church angels, the one bringing the light will stay with the Word. Dishonorable! She ought to have hair on her head. My, such! It used to be wrong for them to do it. In first Pentecost, it was wrong. What happened? You did run well, what happened? And some of our Pentecostal women dress in them dresses, look like a skin over a wiener, out here somew...
Conferences
61-0410 §71
I said to a lady the other day... She said, "I tell you I don't wear them little shorts." Said, "I wear slacks." I said, "That's worse." Right. Yes, it is. The Bible said it's an abomination for a woman to put on a garment that pertains to a man. That's filthiness. Yes. Some woman said they don't make any more clothes... They still make sewing machines and you can buy goods. There's no excuse. What you need is the baptism of the Holy Ghost ... [unclear words] this mockery. That's true. Amen. You think I'm beside my...
Life
58-0519 §48
And you women, at ten o'clock at morning when you ought to have prayer meeting, you listen to some old ungodly thing like Arthur Godfrey with his old dirty jokes and things with that bunch of women, and then call yourselves Christians. Go on. That's the truth. You say, "Brother Branham, I don't wear shorts. I wear slacks." That's worse! The Bible said that a woman that will put on a garment pertaining to a man is an abomination in the sight of God, and God doesn't change. And you wear these little old skirts that's...
Faithful Abraham
61-0312 §56
One day I was speaking against women wearing shorts, and a woman said to me, "I don't wear them." I said, "What's that you got on?" She said... What is them things? Pedal pushers, or ever what it was, like that. I said... No, dungarees. I said, "That's worse than ever. The Bible said it's an abomination for a woman to put on a garment that pertains to a man." Right. Up in Klamath Falls recently a lady wrote me a big long letter. She said, "What about a woman, then, out riding horses in a mosquito infested area out...