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Here's The Deal With Joy-Anna Duggar & Her Stance On Wearing Pants

by Casey Suglia

When you have 19 children in your family, it's only expected that there will be a lot of chaos and a serious lack of order, which is why rules can come in handy. It seems like the Duggars have rules for everything — from how they can date to how they can dress — and their dress code is a hot topic. The women in the Duggar family are rarely seen wearing pants, but this is one rule that several of the family members are threatening to bend. So does Joy-Anna Duggar wear pants, too? Well, it seems that this mom-to-be plays by the rules.

During an episode of Jill & Jessa: Counting On, earlier this year, Joy-Anna revealed her stance on wearing pants to her older sisters, according to In Touch Weekly. Joy-Anna told her sisters that she actually enjoys wearing pants, but that she also enjoys pleasing her husband, Austin Forsyth, too. Joy-Anna said, according to In Touch Weekly:

I said before that I don't like dresses but Austin likes them on me, so I'm branching out and I'm wearing some dresses now. I don't really have fashion. I just kind of wear whatever Austin likes. Before, I just wore whatever was in the closet. I'm trying to improve that.

Joy-Anna and Austin's shared Instagram account further shows her preferred fashion style and outfit choices.

Joy-Anna isn't the only Duggar sister to venture into the idea of wearing pants. Joy-Anna's older sister, Jinger, does wear pants and became one of the first Duggar daughters to be seen wearing shorts this past June, according to In Touch Weekly. This is because, according to the magazine, Jinger's husband, Jeremy Vuolo, is OK with her wearing pants or shorts — just as long as she maintains a level of modesty in her everyday wear. Knowing the Duggar sisters, maintaining a level of modesty shouldn't be too hard — especially since they've been dressing that way their entire lives.

In 2012, Duggar matriarch Michelle Duggar explained to TLC why she makes her family members dress modestly and not wear pants or shorts — a decision based on their religion and their family's decision to dress modestly. Michelle said:

And so in our dress — whether we're doing activities that require us to climb, ride a horse, bike, swim, or whatever — we just want to keep the thighs and torso covered; we don't want to play peekaboo so that there's a visual element that might defraud someone. For us, the definition of defrauding is to stir up desires in someone else that cannot be righteously fulfilled. Now, granted there are a few people out there who could be stirred up by a cardboard box all the way from head to toe, but regardless we want to maintain modest dress.

Michelle also explained why her daughters are comfortable wearing dresses, in a 2013 question and answer session on TLC's website. Michelle said:

My daughters are the second generation of modest dressing in this family. They've grown up being dressed modestly, and in clothes that are definitely more feminine apparel. I've told my daughters this has been a joyful journey to learn what my Lord has called me to.

Jinger isn't the only Duggar daughter to wear pants. This past November, Jill Duggar became yet another Duggar sibling to be seen wearing pants in a Facebook post, according to the Inquisitr.

This isn't to say that Joy-Anna hasn't ever worn pants or won't wear pants, eventually, especially with her older siblings now wearing pants, too. But given her thoughts on modest dress and her husband's thoughts on the way she dresses, it doesn't seem like she'll be adding pants to her wardrobe soon. But in this new year, anything is possible. Who knows? Duggar fans might be seeing the new mother to be wear pants in 2018.

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