The fabric really wasn't very durable, and after a while, I began to feel that I looked sloppy. And, as wise women have pointed out to me, a woman is a reflection of her husband, particularly when they are out in public together. I decided that I had to start presenting a better witness to my vocation through my appearance, and concluded that I might have to drop the seven-dress idea if it no longer helped me in my vocation. I will mention here that a lesson I began to learn as a young wife and mother was the importance of the apostolate of beauty. This idea, well articulated by Cricket Hayden, is the special vocation of women in today's world, their special charge in building up the culture of life.
Women are the creators of culture, culture which begins in their families and in their home life.
Cricket encouraged me and other young women in this apostolate. Catholic men seem to either have no time, or are naturally indifferent to this concept. So I concluded that dressing and 'what to wear' is important, and continued to try to work out the problem. Early on in our marriage, I was trying to make myself a new Sunday dress. She's the most beautiful woman in the world.