Posted on 12/24/2023 4:13:41 AM PST by cutty
Millennial Aria Lewis is infatuated with the 1940s—and has been since she was 15 years old, growing up in a somewhat "vintage" family in North Carolina.
Mrs. Lewis, now 22, has embraced the role of a “tradwife” (traditional wife), a neo-retro lifestyle trend adopted by some conservative newlywed women that has garnered a following on social media. She and her husband, Andrew Lewis, 28, embrace this choice, living together on a farm they purchased in Missouri.
Growing Up an Old Soul ..
As a child, I grew up on black and white movies,” she told The Epoch Times. “Dad really likes jazz. It was something that was a part of my life that I thought was normal. I read so many historical fiction books about the ’40s.”
Mrs. Lewis’s great-grandfather, who passed away in 2017, served in World War II—which probably instilled in her a strong sense of connection to this particular period.
“I started listening to more of the music and really started to get more vintage clothing,” she said. “It was just a really fun way to experiment with a different lifestyle.”
...
As she grew older, she incorporated more modern items into her fashion, she said. Though her style was still eccentric. “I never felt like I needed to fit in.”
“I enjoy more old-fashioned clothing and stuff like that,” she said.
Now married, having left the nest and high school behind, Mrs. Lewis embraced her penchant for vintage-era things and took the next step by living it.
Meeting and Marrying Andrew..
Mrs. Lewis met Mr. Lewis in May 2019. She reminisced about meeting her future husband for the first time. It was very traditional.
“We sort of have mutual friends,” Mrs. Lewis said. “My grandfather had friends within the church that my husband was going to at the time.”
Mr. Lewis spoke with her dad, in traditional fashion, and drove out from 12 or 13 hours away to meet her, a true act of chivalry.
Their first meeting was in June 2019. A week later, they were in a relationship.
...
We’ve been together since,” she said.
They married in June 2020, and Mrs. Lewis became Mrs. Lewis. The pair even saved their first kiss for that day.
Both Christians, they chose to glorify God in how they manifested their marriage, both leading biblical lives.
“I quit my job as a photographer,” she said. “I felt like I didn’t need to be as professional and modern and super relatable to clients because I didn’t need to do that anymore.”
Instead, she dove back into her roots.
“My purpose in life is to honor and glorify God,” she said. “I don’t see very much of that in modern society.
...
"I just like historical things—I always have. And I feel comfortable with it.”
One thing the Lewises shared was a desire for a farm, which helped in their decision to buy a fixer-upper house on a single acre.
They were married for a couple of years prior to being able to buy a house, while she was still working as a wedding photographer. By the time Mrs. Lewis quit, she'd saved money for an entire year for the downpayment.
It’s been really great, she said. Farm life has bestowed self-sufficiency on them. She keeps a garden now but later hopes to move to a bigger lot with room for chickens.
Marriage has taught the Lewises to respect each other’s space. She loves the ’40s, but Mr. Lewis can dress however he wants.
“I haven’t ever asked him to look vintage,” she said. “I want him to wear [what] he feels is most comfortable. And I wear what I feel is most comfortable.”
Some people who follow the couple on social media have asked, “Why doesn’t he look vintage, too?”
She said, “Because that’s not what he feels most comfortable in, so I’m not going to ask him to wear that.”
Living the Tradwife Dream..
Mrs. Lewis said that, unlike today, in the past men's and women’s roles were clear.
“Embracing who God made me to be as a woman is like embracing my femininity,” she said. “The very specific roles of men and women in older times, when our grandparents or great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents were alive, were defined.”
She laments how the media today tells us we can be anything with no consequences. But that’s not true.
Being a homemaker in 2023 is less common, and even shamed. Many feminists jockey against men for positions in the workplace, intent on shattering glass ceilings.
Mrs. Lewis and the tradwife trend defiantly and deliberately turn the feminist revolution on its head.
[Tradwifery] is hard to explain to people who just don’t get it,” she said. “The world has changed so much in the last 100 to 150 years. I just see it as almost completely opposite of what has been normal for thousands of years.”
That’s not to say there weren’t periods in history when society was rough, and women were persecuted. Yet today things have reached the other extreme, she thinks.
The role of the traditional wife means just that: filling the role of wife as it has long been defined. For Mrs. Lewis that means following the Bible.
It also means having particular standards in how you dress, what you say, and how you treat other people. And it might mean sacrifice, accepting what you don't have while embracing what you do.
“I think we’re headed for even harder times," she said. “I think we need to bring back a lot of these more frugal skills like I do.”
The traditional lifestyle isn’t for all women as adopting such values entails sacrifice and making do with what you have, even if it’s meager.
She said, “You make the most of what you have, and you seek to find beauty in that. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing.”
Totally agree. Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
100% - too many look for the likes and social media justification. Just do your thing.
Ok whatever
Gather around the radio as a family.
You act like electricity is a modern invention.
But women entering the workforce, greatly increased the available supply of labor, putting downward pressure on wages.
That was then, you and I are from a different generation.
They’re both cute! Good for her! I have been seeing a trend in young wives beginning to ditch the world’s Marxist nonsense that a woman has to militantly place work in front of her family and home to be fulfilled. That’s not everyone’s calling. Happy to see young Christians leading the way.
As I see it every day, everything is transactional with the younger generations. They haven’t shown a propensity of doing anything long term. Those that do are more the exception than the rule. I see young women like her getting roasted online for her choices. The Feminazis demean her as being the antithesis of freedom.
That was my entire point.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
It was a time of declining manufacturing jobs and women largely benefited from the growing service sector. Job opportunities increase wages in some instances because the shift in the labor participation is caused by increased demand.
She looks more confused going out to brave the prairie on Instagram. Who gets hitched at 18 to a guy introduced by the parents because they always dreamed of marrying young ? There has never been an era where that is the norm. Fortunately no kids involved yet (besides herself :).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.