Getting confirmed next month - dumb, frivolous question

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Pixie_Dust

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Is there any type of clothing color tradition regarding adult Confirmation and First Communion? I saw several First Communicant girls wearing the white dresses and veils a few months ago. Should I plan to wear a white dress or is that not something an adult does? I’m not planning to go crazy and spend a bunch of money on a new dress - I’m looking at thrift shops where a dress costs $3-5. I found a lovely blue dress but I didn’t get it because I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to wear blue for my First Communion.

Thanks for answering my dumb question. :o
 
Personally, I think a blue dress would be very appropriate. I honestly think that a dress or a skirt outfit that is in good condition, modest, etc. would be perfect for a confirmation.

And congrats, by the way! I’m really happy for you.
 
Pixie_Dust said:
Is there any type of clothing color tradition regarding adult Confirmation and First Communion? I saw several First Communicant girls wearing the white dresses and veils a few months ago. Should I plan to wear a white dress or is that not something an adult does? I’m not planning to go crazy and spend a bunch of money on a new dress - I’m looking at thrift shops where a dress costs $3-5. I found a lovely blue dress but I didn’t get it because I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to wear blue for my First Communion.

Thanks for answering my dumb question. :o
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White is a great symbolic color for this, although it is not necessary.

Because I made my wedding dress myself out of $15 worth of window-curtain material (about $45 in todays $$$), I decided that THIS would be my “wedding” dress.

I had a long-sleeved, calf length, funnel-neck coat dress made out of ivory-colored (not TOO white) wool crepe. Very dignified; I wear it every Easter for the Vigil Mass. My guess is that most people did not even register that it was “white” for the sake of whiteness; it was just a really good dress.

A couple of years later, a friend came into the Church and wore a beautiful white suit with cutwork lapels. Nice (and rather inexpensive, actually).

Certainly the frilly little girl thing with a tulle veil would make you look silly but a dignified grown up dress or suit in white or off white is perfectly appropriate.
 
mommyof4 said:
Personally, I think a blue dress would be very appropriate. I honestly think that a dress or a skirt outfit that is in good condition, modest, etc. would be perfect for a confirmation.

And congrats, by the way! I’m really happy for you.
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Many of the adult converts in our parish wear blue – dresses or even pants suits. As you note: decent condition, modest . . . . 👍
 
mommyof4 said:
Personally, I think a blue dress would be very appropriate. I honestly think that a dress or a skirt outfit that is in good condition, modest, etc. would be perfect for a confirmation.
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I suppose if it’s still there when I go back to the shop then I’ll know for sure!
And congrats, by the way! I’m really happy for you.
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Thank you! 😃 I was really happy when I found out my parish has a “RCIA Summer Intensive” program. :dancing:
 
mercygate said:
Many of the adult converts in our parish wear blue – dresses or even pants suits. As you note: decent condition, modest . . . . 👍
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The dress I have in mind is an ankle-length sleeveless dress, light blue with a medium blue large flower print. It’s one of those with the sheer layer that has the print, on top of an opaque satin-y fabric, kwim? I know I’m not describing it very well, but I will say, it practically leapt off the rack into my arms when I saw it. Might as well have had a flashing, neon “This is IT!” sign hovering above it. 😃 I’ll know for sure if it’s still there when I go to buy it. :gopray:
 
As you are not a little girl any more, you don’t want to do the frilly dress and veil thing. A blue dress is quite appropriate- after all, Our Lady is often depicted wearing blue.

In our parish, we have had several young women on Easter Vigil change from modest swim attire to white dresses that resembled simple bridal attire (no veils). These were purchased on close-out sale at David’s Bridal or Penney’s, and were actually white versions of bridesmaid dresses.

Liturgically, the hightest vestement color to wear is not white, but red. In the 40s, 50s and 60s, kids used to wear red robes (boys) or red and white robes with red beanies (girls) to be confirmed. And red is the color of the Holy Spirit.

So, if somebody has made off with the pretty blue dress, consider adding red to your color choices, if you can find a red to match your complexion and hair color. Perhaps you could find a nice suit in white or blue with a red blouse.🙂
 
Pixie_Dust said:
Is there any type of clothing color tradition regarding adult Confirmation and First Communion? I saw several First Communicant girls wearing the white dresses and veils a few months ago. Should I plan to wear a white dress or is that not something an adult does? I’m not planning to go crazy and spend a bunch of money on a new dress - I’m looking at thrift shops where a dress costs $3-5. I found a lovely blue dress but I didn’t get it because I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to wear blue for my First Communion.

Thanks for answering my dumb question. :o
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Hey Pixie! The dress you describe sounds fine. Just so you know, I was confirmed as an adult (21) and didn’t wear white. At the Easter vigil this past year (when it was freezing cold!), many of the adult confirmandis actually wore black. I think that had more to do with what was available in their wardrobe that would fit a formal, evening event part of which was held outdoors in a snow shower! LOL My dd wore a purple dress that she has always loved. You’ll be beautiful no matter what you wear!
 
Pixie – although there is no written-in-stone rule, I would definitely avoid a sleeveles dress. Just to be punctilious about the “modesty” thing. Today, brides are getting married in strapless concoctions, so the old long-sleeves-high-neck rule is out the window, but for Confirmation, well . . .

But hey! That’s just me. I am a certified dinosaur.
 
One caution, Pixie: beware! Those of us who were all confirmed on the same night ended up with catastrophic wardrobe damage due to splashing chrism. I thought my dress had escaped, but a couple of months later, when I took it out of the closet, there was a big brown stain on the sleeve. That stuf fis TREACHEROUS. Fortunately, I had enough fabric for the dressmaker to make another sleeve. My classmate had to bury her dress. Chrism is blessed; you can’t just wash it out in the laundry.
 
mercygate said:
Pixie – although there is no written-in-stone rule, I would definitely avoid a sleeveles dress. Just to be punctilious about the “modesty” thing. Today, brides are getting married in strapless concoctions, so the old long-sleeves-high-neck rule is out the window, but for Confirmation, well . . .

But hey! That’s just me. I am a certified dinosaur.
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I understand what you’re saying. I almost hesitated to mention the sleeveless-ness of the dress because I’ve seen it come up in a few other threads. Trust me, in my parish (it’s a campus parish) I’ll still be the picture of modesty. :rolleyes: The reader a couple weeks ago was wearing a tank top and mini-skirt. :eek:
 
mercygate said:
One caution, Pixie: beware! Those of us who were all confirmed on the same night ended up with catastrophic wardrobe damage due to splashing chrism. I thought my dress had escaped, but a couple of months later, when I took it out of the closet, there was a big brown stain on the sleeve. That stuf fis TREACHEROUS. Fortunately, I had enough fabric for the dressmaker to make another sleeve. My classmate had to bury her dress. Chrism is blessed; you can’t just wash it out in the laundry.
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Oooh, thanks for that info! Yet another reason why a $3 thrift shop dress is a good idea. I won’t feel terrible if it does get chrism-ed and I can’t wear it again. 👍
 
Pixie_Dust said:
Oooh, thanks for that info! Yet another reason why a $3 thrift shop dress is a good idea. I won’t feel terrible if it does get chrism-ed and I can’t wear it again. 👍
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Excellent thought! My ‘classmate’ was really upset that her beautiful blue jacket dress (that she had splurged on because she wanted to wear it for years) was absolutely destroyed: COVERED with spots.
 
OutinChgoburbs said:
RE: Chrism- It shouldn’t splash.

However, there IS wash n’ wear…
ohioline.osu.edu/outside/stainrem.html#cos
Slide down to “oil-based stains”. A stain treated promptly should be removable.
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The point isn’t whether you CAN get it out – the point is that it’s chrism and must be treated as a sacramental. (But I’m not going to look over anyone’s shoulder.)

As for splashing – our Pastor is a great believer in “amplifying the symbols” – so he pours from his oil horn until the stuff

“. . is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!”
 
A blue dress would be nice. When I was confirmed last month I wore a white skirt with a light blue flower print on it and a light blue jacket to match.
 
mercygate said:
The point isn’t whether you CAN get it out – the point is that it’s chrism and must be treated as a sacramental. (But I’m not going to look over anyone’s shoulder.)

As for splashing – our Pastor is a great believer in “amplifying the symbols” – so he pours from his oil horn until the stuff

“. . is like the precious oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!”
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I LOVE that psalm! I want all of God’s blessing pouring down into my ‘beard’ and the collar of my robes!! 😃
 
Sr_Sally said:
I LOVE that psalm! I want all of God’s blessing pouring down into my ‘beard’ and the collar of my robes!! 😃
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Yeah but it’s a real bummer when it’s burning a hole in your $600 custom-made dress. :mad:
 
Pixie_Dust said:
Perhaps God’s way of saying you shouldn’t have spent so much on a dress? :hmmm: 😉 (I’m joking - truly!)
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No: maybe it’s not a joke, because it is reasonable to look sideways at such an expenditure even though such things are relative.

But this was one of the two most important days of my life, and I had chosen a style that could (and DOES) go for decades and is good for many occasions, I’ll be buried in it, AND there’s that bit about the $15 wedding dress AND having it custom made enabled the dressmaker to salvage the dress despite the damage . . .
 
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