Web site sells FLDS-style clothes

From the compound to the catwalk, "fundamentalist chic" could be poised to be the next big thing.

A Web site that purports to be from the Fundamentalist LDS Church has debuted, selling children's clothing worn by members of the polygamous sect. FLDSDress.com sells the pastel prairie-style dresses and modest shirts, trousers, long underwear and nightgowns so common to the FLDS.

"This site is dedicated to provide children with clothing that meets the FLDS standards for modesty and neatness," the site said. "Our commitment is to offer quality, handmade, modest, affordable clothing. Each piece is made with joy and care."

Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City attorney acting as a spokesman for the FLDS people, said Tuesday he did not know if the Web site is linked to the church. The registered operators of the site are protected, the same as other Web sites created by the FLDS Church.

An e-mail message sent to the site's operators was not immediately replied to on Tuesday. Pro-FLDS blogs have claimed it is a church-approved site with sales going to the women and children affected by the raid on the YFZ Ranch. Blog commenters are raving about the clothing — and the reasonable prices.

FLDS women have been ridiculed for their appearance on late-night TV talk shows and blogs. The FLDS style of clothing is based on their beliefs of dressing modestly, although critics have cited it as an example of control. FLDS women have long been praised in southern Utah for their sewing skills. Their clothing style has even been copied on HBO's popular series "Big Love," about a Utah polygamist and his family.

The fashionista Web site Glam.com offered a catty review of the FLDS clothing earlier this year, declaring them a "cross between Victorian woolen mill uniforms and the corduroy numbers Delta Burke sported on 'Designing Women.'"

In its defense, FLDSDress.com features quotes from scriptures about dressing modestly.

"And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty of the work of thine own hands," said a quote from Doctrine and Covenants.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com