Dress Like a Man

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Xantippe said:
Not to monopolize the thread, but I thought I should mention that we aren’t poor, but that when you have a family, you have to choose between different good things.

Do I want 2-3 church outfits for everybody in the family (with new ones for the kids as they grow or have mishaps) or music lessons for my oldest?

Do I want those church outfits, or do I want to be able to send the kids to the camps and classes they want to go to?

Do I want the church outfits, or do I want my big kids to be able to see their great-grandparents while they are still living?

There are so many choices like that, not between good and bad things, but between different good things.
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You’re not monopolizing the thread at all. I think that you’re comments are very helpful.

Just because I have 2-3 outfits doesn’t mean that everyone else has to do the same. My closet space is tiny. Some of these old houses like mine just didn’t provide much space for clothing. I put other-season clothes in a box for storage. What did people do in the “old days,” I wonder? Probably only one or two different outfits for Mass, and a coat or sweater to go with it when it was cold. Or something like that.

I get clothes really cheap at thrift stores, and I wear the same ones year after year because they’re pretty basic and don’t go out of fashion. I’m fine with Catholics wearing whatever they feel is appropriate, but some of us think that maybe the bar can be raised a bit higher. If you disagree because of practicalities or other reasons, that’s fine.
 
Xantippe said:
Not to monopolize the thread, but I thought I should mention that we aren’t poor, but that when you have a family, you have to choose between different good things.

Do I want 2-3 church outfits are for everybody in the family (with new ones for the kids as they grow or have mishaps) or music lessons for my oldest?

Do I want those church outfits, or do I want to be able to send the kids to the camps and classes they want to go to?

Do I want the church outfits, or do I want my big kids to be able to see their great-grandparents while they are still living?

There are so many choices like that, not between good and bad things, but between different good things.
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I wonder if we are seeing regional differences among the U.S. posters.

When I visited the south, almost all of the women were dressed to the nines, makeup carefully applied, hair styled just right. I mean you can tell that they spent a lot of time on their appearance. Contrast that to other parts of the country where women are dressed a lot more casual, make-up optional. In the south, make-up was de riguer.
 
Sarcelle said:
I wonder if we are seeing regional differences among the U.S. posters.

When I visited the south, almost all of the women were dressed to the nines, makeup carefully applied, hair styled just right. I mean you can tell that they spent a lot of time on their appearance. Contrast that to other parts of the country where women are dressed a lot more casual, make-up optional. In the south, make-up was de riguer.
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I am in the South.

If anything, the women’s dress up clothes here are a problem, because the cute dressy younger women’s clothes for summer that are popular here tend to show a lot of skin. (I try not to be a critic, but I was blown away several weeks ago when I saw a young woman at Mass that was wearing a mantilla with a strapless dress–with a little sweater, fortunately.)

If I see someone seriously unkempt at Mass (like the untied shoelace example above), I assume they must have some sort of mental illness, mental disability, or addiction or other serious problem. I encourage everybody else to do the same.
 
Xantippe said:
If I see someone seriously unkempt at Mass (like the untied shoelace example above), I assume they must have some sort of mental illness, mental disability, or addiction or other serious problem. I encourage everybody else to do the same.
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What is it exactly that you are encouraging others to do?
 
Xantippe said:
I am in the South.

If anything, the women’s dress up clothes here are a problem, because the cute dressy younger women’s clothes for summer that are popular here tend to show a lot of skin. (I try not to be a critic, but I was blown away several weeks ago when I saw a young woman at Mass that was wearing a mantilla with a strapless dress–with a little sweater, fortunately.)

If I see someone seriously unkempt at Mass (like the untied shoelace example above), I assume they must have some sort of mental illness, mental disability, or addiction or other serious problem. I encourage everybody else to do the same.
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Or don’t assume anything, and focus on the mass.🤷
 
How does a dress code regulation get established?
Would this be done individually by the priest of each church?
Or would this originate by the bishop of the diocese so that All Catholic churches have the same dress code?
 
CyrilSebastian said:
How does a dress code regulation get established?
Would this be done individually by the priest of each church?
Or would this originate by the bishop of the diocese so that All Catholic churches have the same dress code?
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Don’t you realize how appalling that would be?

Not all Catholics are the same



http://clarionherald.info/clarion/images/article_images/_2013_issues/10_05_13/new_mexico3433.jpg

http://asianjournal.com/news/files/2013/03/pcatholics.jpg

When James Joyce wrote of the Catholic Church “Here’s comes everyone” what do you think he meant?
 
Denise1957 said:
What is it exactly that you are encouraging others to do?
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Assume that everybody is doing their best and may be encountering difficulties that you are unaware of. You might even want to ask your pastor, “Is so-and-so doing OK? He didn’t seem like himself.”

(For instance, what if the usher had a hip transplant and can’t bend over to tie his own shoes?)
 
triumphguy said:
Don’t you realize how appalling that would be?

Not all Catholics are the same

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Catholics.jpg/440px-Igbo_Roman_Catholics.jpg

http://clarionherald.info/clarion/images/article_images/_2013_issues/10_05_13/new_mexico3433.jpg

http://asianjournal.com/news/files/2013/03/pcatholics.jpg

When James Joyce wrote of the Catholic Church “Here’s comes everyone” what do you think he meant?
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I think the lady in pink with the crossed arms may post here!
 
triumphguy said:
Don’t you realize how appalling that would be?

Not all Catholics are the same

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Catholics.jpg/440px-Igbo_Roman_Catholics.jpg

http://clarionherald.info/clarion/images/article_images/_2013_issues/10_05_13/new_mexico3433.jpg

http://asianjournal.com/news/files/2013/03/pcatholics.jpg

When James Joyce wrote of the Catholic Church “Here’s comes everyone” what do you think he meant?
Click to expand...
Hey, at least the women in the first photo are wearing head coverings! 😃
 
Xantippe said:
Assume that everybody is doing their best and may be encountering difficulties that you are unaware of. You might even want to ask your pastor, “Is so-and-so doing OK? He didn’t seem like himself.”

(For instance, what if the usher had a hip transplant and can’t bend over to tie his own shoes?)
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I do think it’s a good idea to assume the best of everyone. Why would you think that some would not do this?
 
What’s your response to, “But you can go to thrift stores!”

Mine is, “That’s quite a lot of effort to do for five people (several of which are rapidly growing) in order to get clothes that then have to be ironed and dry cleaned,” but I’d like to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

How do you feel about the thrift store option? Or is it that you are already all tapped out just buying day-to-day clothes and necessaries, and dress up clothes aren’t even on the table at this point?
 
It seems like you are saying that you would like nice clothing for mass but you don’t have the means to find something in your size (I’m overweight and understand how hard it is to find appropriate clothes. I think I have it easier as a woman because I can just buy a long skirt with an elastic waste that can accommodate a slight weight loss or gain).

Let’s say you won the lottery tomorrow. Would you then go to mass in “fancier” clothes? Because I think this is the crux of the argument here. At least in my posts, I was specifically referring to those who had the means to buy nicer clothes (and already have them) but choose not to wear them to mass.
 
I have two jobs. It can add up to 70 hours a week. I also have two dogs, laundry and more. Despite all of this, I still attend Mass and teach a class at the church every Tuesday. While my situation may not be typical, there are still others with similar time constraints.

I consider myself luck to attend church at all, and go to confession. If I had to dress up to go to church, that would mean hauling around cloths, dry cleaning, and changing cloths at work which would be weird on either of my jobs considering the setting, I think it would also be ostentatious to redress into a suit at either place.

To go home would add even more time to my commute pattern. Thankfully, I don’t feel uncomfortable going to Mass in my work cloths. You see everything from jeans to silk dresses. No one seems to mind.

We all dressed to go to church when I was a kid. No jeans ever, yet it felt far more like a country club than a church. The jewelry, the furs, the French cut suits. Eating cheese-straws and sipping punch in the “parlor.” [yes that is what it was called]

People came to see Jesus wearing the cloths they slept in the night before in addition to those dressed in finery. It is what in your heart that matters, not on your back.
 
Funny, our churches (we are blessed and have 2 excellent ones within a few kilometres) are in the neighbourhood, and I occasionally will pop in for adoration, a rosary, or a daily Mass outside of my planned visits when I find myself with extra time because I enjoy visiting God and the desire to do so arises spontaneously sometimes. I’m in my ordinary clothes then, usually jeans and a sweater in winter or capris, sandals, and short-sleeve top in summer.

Also, there is a parish I sometimes attend that is en route to the grocery store and gym. If I am out and about but not attending Mass at that time, I will still typically stop into the church to spend some time with a Jesus and offer him a few prayers in person in thanksgiving as I walk by.

Do you think a great king would rather his subject consolidate her worship only around those times where she is dressed her very best, or do you think he would appreciate more the person who tries sincerely to pay him tribute frequently and in all she does, focusing instead on dressing herself inwardly with the qualities he enjoys most while maintaining a reasonable, moderate standard of dress? I could either spend that time cleaning and depreciating high-maintenance garments I don’t need, or I can donate that money to the poor and spend some time with Jesus while looking clean-cut.

By the logic of this thread, I am being disrespectful to God and creating an overly casual attitude to worship in my parish because I am not consciously planning to attend church in my best attire. Get real!
 
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