Mothers who have spent hours sorting through the pre-shrunk, double-shrunk, Barbie-size ensembles trying to find clothing that will cover their daughters, let alone comply with school dress codes, will welcome more modest clothes with open arms and credit cards.

I never did well with the Red Light Look. I was the mother muttering in the store when everything on the rack looked like it was pulled from Britney’s closet.

First it was boys with their pants hanging beneath their boxers. Pants sagged so low, the boys had to stoop over and grab their crotch hovering somewhere between their knees and ankles to keep from tripping. Unable to walk in an upright position, fit young bucks were reduced to doing a slow geriatric shuffle with a macho quotient of negative nine.

As soon as the boys began hiking their pants up, girls let theirs down. The ensuing backside reveal became known as plumbing. (My sincere apology to every plumber with pants that fit.) Plumbing became a hallmark of postmodern feminism: Equality through overexposure.

And now, modesty is making a comeback. The great divides are back under wraps and it’s so long, thong.

Modesty may be touted as the latest fashion trend, but in truth, it is not.

Fitted jackets, pencil skirts and pointed-toe boots are fashion trends.

Leather belts, beaded necklaces, chocolate brown, caramel and cranberry are fashion trends; modesty is not. Modesty is a virtue, and as such, it is a classic; always lovely, always in style.

Modesty defies changing hemlines and ruffles with flounce. Modesty transcends fabrics, feathers and the height of heels. Modesty is like the little black dress, a timeless standard with which you can never go wrong.

While modesty is not a fashion trend per se, it does share a common thread with fashion. Both modesty and fashion trends are spoken through the language of clothing. The language of fashion can be one-dimensional with a crude and unflattering let-it-all-hang-out transparency, while the language of modesty is spoken with a complexity layered in beauty and dignity.

Fashion critics frequently speak of a young starlet being able to pull off wearing a particular designer gown. They have the cart before the horse and the ball gown before the beauty. A woman does not become worthy of a manner of dress, a manner of dress becomes worthy of a woman of her body, her soul and all that she is.

Who knows, maybe modesty the fashion trend will be as short-lived as red pleather. That’s all right, because modesty the virtue will always be in style.

Lori Borgman is the author of “Pass the Faith, Please.” (WaterBrook).

Comments may be sent to her at P.O. Box 30092, Indianapolis, Ind., 46230 or via e-mail at loriloriborgman.com.