‘Counting On’ Mom Michelle Duggar Weighs in on Pants Drama, Says She’s OK With Jinger Having Different ‘Convictions’
Michelle Duggar doesn’t have a problem with Jinger Duggar’s pants. On the October 22 episode of Counting On, the mom of 19 opened up about her daughter Jinger’s decision to embrace a slightly less conservative style of dressing. And it turns out, she doesn’t have a huge issue with it, despite what some fans might think.
Jinger has added pants to her wardrobe
At some point after marrying Jeremy Vuolo in 2016, Jinger started wearing pants. Counting On fans know that’s a major shift from what she wore when she lived under her parents’ roof, where girls wear dresses and skirts because they are more modest.
The addition of jeans to Jinger’s closet — along with her moves to Texas and then California — had some people wondering if there was a rift in the famous family and if the 25-year-old was drifting away from Jim Bob and Michelle’s ultra-conservative values.
In the most recent episode of their TLC show, Jinger addressed those rumors.
“I know a lot of people have had different speculations or ideas or whatever about conflict between us over the matter of pants,” she said. But she said her parents didn’t exactly freak out when she changed her style.
“We had conversations before I started wearing pants. I just shared my heart with them about where I saw the Lord leading me,” she explained. “I was really grateful for their response,” she went on to say, adding that her parents simply urged her to honor God and maintain modesty in her dress.
Michelle realizes her kids might not follow her lead in every way
Jinger’s mom Michelle was by her side as she talked to producers, and she explained that her daughter wearing pants wasn’t causing problems in their relationship.
“It’s OK that my kids may have different convictions than me,” she said. “I know that he’s leading them and that’s the most important thing — their walk, their relationship with God. And they really love the Lord. And I can honestly say I can have no greater joy.”
The Duggar’s approach to fashion has evolved
In their 2014 book Growing Up Duggar, Jinger and her sisters Jill, Jessa, and Jana discussed their clothing choices.
“We prefer to wear modest and feminine skirts and dresses,” they wrote.
“We avoid low-cut, cleavage-showing, gaping, or bare-shouldered tops; and when needed, we wear an undershirt,” the Duggar girls explained. “We try to make it a habit to always cover the top of our shirt with our hand when we bend over. We don’t want to play the peekaboo game with our neckline.”
While the oldest Duggar girls still dress modestly, they’ve loosened up a bit over the years. In addition to pants, Jinger is occasionally spotted wearing sleeveless tops. Her older sister Jill also dons jeans and shoulder-baring shirts from time to time. Jessa has also been seen in pants. But Jana seems to stick to skirts and dresses, even going so far as to Photoshop more modest attire onto two strangers who appeared in the background of one of her Instagram posts.
