Andrea Chavarro, model and beauty pageant winner, loves fashion. But the Pembroke Pines, Fla., 14-year-old also likes to dress modestly.

That's why she wanted to join the South Florida chapter of a group called Pure Fashion, a program that trains girls ages 14 to 18 to model -- with an emphasis on modesty.

"It's like the answer to my prayers," said Andrea, a freshman at Everglades High School in Miramar, Fla., who refuses to accept modeling jobs that require her to wear revealing clothes.

"Right now she's a model," said Andrea's mother, Pilar Chavarro. "But I want her to be a role model."

As body-flaunting starlets like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan fall from grace, a move toward modesty is getting its own attention.

Pure Fashion, based in Atlanta with more than 20 chapters throughout the United States and internationally, is only one example of the push toward wholesome but stylish clothing.

"The fashions have become so much more risque and provocative over the last 10 years," said Brenda Sharman, Pure Fashion's national director. She said everything from the pouty Bratz dolls to Hollywood celebrities are portraying women as sex objects.

"I think a lot of women are seeing so much of it nowadays and they're saying enough is enough," she said. "This is really not elevating the place of women in our culture and our world."

The group offers practical guidelines for those who aspire to modesty: Shirts should be no lower than four fingers below the collarbone. Skirts and dresses should be no shorter than four fingers above the top of the kneecap. Neither bra straps nor panty lines should show.

Ciele Gutierrez, 15, of Miami, said she likes to shop at Hollister Co. and Abercrombie & Fitch, but has a hard time finding modest clothes. So she'll pair a tank top with a sweater vest over it, or wear a tank under a lower-cut shirt.

"Layers work," said Ciele, a sophomore at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami.

For the South Florida fashion show earlier this year, some girls modeled casual or beach looks wearing Bermuda shorts -- a welcome trend for teens who don't want to show a lot of leg.

Being a modesty-oriented group in South Florida, said local director Mariana O'Naghten, is "a challenge."

"It's really needed in our community," she said. "How do we take these guidelines and apply them to our lives? This is a resort town."

It's not an effort to keep women hidden at home or out of the workplace, organizers say, but rather a move to empower them with self-confidence.

"I really believe that if women understood the power of the way they look. . . . If they used it properly and got dressed all the way and stayed dressed, we really could change the world," Sharman said.

Kina de Cordoba, 15, said after she participated in Pure Fashion last year, she started thinking about why she was dressing certain ways.

'LADY WITH DIGNITY'

"Did I pick this because I wanted guys to see me in it?" said the Our Lady of Lourdes Academy sophomore. "Now it's important to kind of present myself as a lady with dignity."

Like Pure Fashion, affiliated with a Catholic organization, most of the groups promoting modest-but-fashionable attire are rooted in faith.

Shade Clothing, a line that features undershirts for layering, grew out of the shopping frustrations of a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And Funky Frum, an online clothing boutique, was created by a woman with "a commitment to a modest Jewish lifestyle."

On a group blog called Modestly Yours, 20 women "who value modesty in its various forms" comment on culture and current events.

The blog and the site that hosts it, www.modestyzone.net, were founded by author Wendy Shalit. Her most recent book, published by Random House, is called "Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good."

Shalit said many girls want to find wholesome role models, but often find themselves ridiculed by people who say "she's a prude, she's repressed, she's not comfortable with her body."

"In a funny way, the good girl is the rebel because she's rebelling against these preconceptions," said Shalit, 32. "It's not coming from the peers. Very often it's coming from the baby boomer parents."

She said girls should have the option to choose modesty without fear of public scorn.

"You have the right to opt out," she said. "And you can live a different kind of life that's based on who you are and not just trying to squeeze yourself into this objectified sex-toy box."

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Indeed, groups like Pure Fashion don't stop at discussing hair and makeup. A large part of the program is devoted to spiritual growth; a commitment to chastity is a core belief.

"We want young women to understand that they were created by God to be dignified human beings who have something to share with the world," said Sharman, a former model. "They don't have to expose their bodies or share their bodies with others."

Don Browning, the Alexander Campbell Professor of Religious Ethics and the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, said the quest for modesty is widespread.

Immigrants who bring with them strong religious practices are likely to inject those beliefs into their lives here, adding diversity to the modesty movement, said Browning, who has edited books about religion and family in America.

"The more pluralism we have in American life -- in contrast to what a lot of people think -- may not create more liberalism, but may create a new, more conservative and modesty-oriented ethos," he said.

In South Florida, organizers are hoping that 50 to 60 girls will participate in Pure Fashion this year, compared to 40 last year.

The group holds workshops throughout the year on topics like beauty, public speaking and spirituality, culminating in a fashion show in April.

Somaly Barquet, who volunteers with the local group, said she tells the girls they can be fashionable without wearing a "V-neck all the way down or a micro mini."

Andrea Chavarro, Ms. Pembroke Pines Princess 2007, said she wore a dress that covered her knees for the pageant. It was strapless, but she wore a shrug -- a make-it-work approach that she uses regularly.

"If I find something that is really nice but is inappropriate, I'll wear a tank top under it or sweater over it," said Andrea, whose favorite store is Guess. "I work around it."

Danielle Moore, 15, a sophomore at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, was part of the group last year and signed up again this year. She is also treasurer of the Pure Fashion club at her school.

Dressed Sunday at an interview for aspiring Pure Fashion models in skinny (but not skintight) jeans, heels, a golden mustard top and vintage Italian belt, Danielle said she enjoys being modest while staying chic and cute.

"Being modest doesn't have to mean you're in a grandma sweater and a skirt down to your ankles," she said.