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Way back in the day,\u00a0Michelle Duggar<\/strong><\/a> made the executive decision that her girls would grow up exclusively wearing skirts and dresses. Over the last few years, though, rebel daughter Jinger Duggar<\/strong><\/a> decided that she was ready to live by her own rules<\/a>. Not long after tying the knot, she started wearing pants \u2014 and now her sisters are following suit. These days,\u00a0Jill Duggar<\/strong><\/a> is regularly rocking ripped jeans<\/a>, and even\u00a0Jana Duggar<\/strong><\/a> has been spotted in shorts.<\/p>\n But how did that whole skirts and dresses thing start? The girls explained in their 2014 book, Growing Up Duggar<\/em><\/a>, why their parents came up with such strict rules when it comes to their dress code \u2014 and it has to do with their traditional, religious values. \u201cWe do not dress modestly because we are ashamed of the body God has given us; quite the contrary. We realize that our body is a special gift from God and that He intends for it to be shared only with our future husband,\u201d they explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe avoid low-cut, cleavage-showing, gaping or bare-shouldered tops and, when needed, we wear an undershirt. We try to make it a habit to always cover the top of our shirt with our hand when we bend over. We don\u2019t want to play the peekaboo game with our neckline,\u201d they said. They also explained how the TLC<\/a> stars use a \u201csafe word\u201d when coming in contact with a woman dressed ~inappropriately~ in order to signal to the rest of the family to look down and keep it moving. When they spot someone in a less-than-modest outfit, they say the word \u201cNike\u201d \u2014 and the boys direct their eyes to their sneakers instead of straight ahead.<\/p>\n The move is used to keep any of the men in the family from being \u201cdefrauded\u201d while out and about. And as it turns out, being careful not to defraud anyone<\/a> is also where the whole skirts and dresses thing comes into play. \u201cWe really wanted to see what the scriptures said about [modesty],\u201d Michelle wrote in a 2013 blog for TLC. \u201cOur interpretation was that from the neck down to the knee should be covered.\u201d But it was also important to her that she do that in a feminine way. \u201cI really should be defining who I am as a woman by choosing to wear dresses and skirts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Jinger opened up about why she felt compelled to only wear dresses and skirts during her childhood. \u201cI thought I had to wear only skirts and dresses to please God,\u201d she told People<\/em><\/a> in January 2023. \u201cAnd if I step outside of what I think is expected of me, I would think God\u2019s going to be so displeased with me and it could bring harm on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Two months later, younger sister, Joy-Anna Duggar<\/strong><\/a> opened up about her decision to wear pants<\/a> during a March 2023 YouTube video.<\/p>\n \u201c[We] felt like there wasn\u2019t anything in the scripture that\u2019s black and white on dress,\u201d the mom of two explained during the clip. \u201cI think biblically, we just kind of looked through scripture for a long time and feel like this is OK for our family.\u201d<\/p>\n Joy-Anna revealed that she and her husband, Austin Forsyth<\/strong>, began having conversations surrounding dress \u201cwithin the first year of marriage\u201d and it was something the pair talked about \u201con and off for the last three or four years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI had always worn skirts my whole life and so for me, like I don\u2019t know, I just wasn\u2019t in a rush,\u201d the former TLC personality continued. \u201cI feel like you can be modest and wear pants and that\u2019s kind of where we came to. I do try to be modest in my pants, like in wearing pants, and not things too tight or too short.\u201d<\/p>\n But now that the girls are old enough to start making that choice for themselves, who\u2019s following in their mom\u2019s footsteps? More importantly, who\u2019s branching out?\u00a0Check out the gallery below to see which of the Duggar girls have rocked a pair of pants.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n