Mass Dress Code, Church 'Uniform'?

[cargopilot]

A ‘Wearing Jeans to Mass’ thread prompted me to start this one.

I wear a plain, black suit and tie to mass. The same one year in, year out. I only wear it to Mass, and it’s the only thing I wear to Mass. It’ll ‘work’ at any parish I care to visit. I like not having to worry about what I’m wearing to Church. It’s really like my own ‘Mass uniform’. I will eventually replace it, but no one will notice, because the replacement will be about the same. It’s kind of a ‘Dragnet’, ‘Blues Brothers’ look.

I can do this, because men’s dress is easy. Could a female also do this? What could a female wear as a Mass ‘uniform’? Is there an outfit that would be very affordable, durable and somewhat timeless in style?

If Mary designed an outfit for Mass, what would it be?

 

[LoneRanger]

cargopilot:

A ‘Wearing Jeans to Mass’ thread prompted me to start this one.

I wear a plain, black suit and tie to mass. The same one year in, year out. I only wear it to Mass, and it’s the only thing I wear to Mass. It’ll ‘work’ at any parish I care to visit. I like not having to worry about what I’m wearing to Church. It’s really like my own ‘Mass uniform’. I will eventually replace it, but no one will notice, because the replacement will be about the same. It’s kind of a ‘Dragnet’, ‘Blues Brothers’ look.

I can do this, because men’s dress is easy. Could a female also do this? What could a female wear as a Mass ‘uniform’? Is there an outfit that would be very affordable, durable and somewhat timeless in style?

If Mary designed an outfit for Mass, what would it be?

she is probably more interested in what’s in your heart more than what is on your back…IMHO

 

[dumspirospero]

YEah…but a lot of times you can tell what is in a persons heart by the way the dress and act…someone who dresses provocatively and talks during Mass obviously doesn’t have the right intentions in their heart…to them, it is a burden they must suffer through every Sunday and they can’t wait to get out of there.

LoneRanger:

she is probably more interested in what’s in your heart more than what is on your back…IMHO

 

[netmilsmom]

dumspirospero:

YEah…but a lot of times you can tell what is in a persons heart by the way the dress and act…someone who dresses provocatively and talks during Mass obviously doesn’t have the right intentions in their heart…to them, it is a burden they must suffer through every Sunday and they can’t wait to get out of there.

The problem that I see is that when someone does tons of volunteering in a parish and knows that mom and her kids dress up to go to Ground Round on Saturday Night but can’t dress up for the Lord on Sunday, it’s noticed.
Other people may be right, Mary doesn’t care what’s on your back, but I’m sure She cares if your butt or belly.

 

[Jakub]

Yea,

And I love to see those navel rings with diamonds and below the hip huggers etc , & ushers with shorts and heavy metal/harley t-shirts on Sunday.

Lord have mercy.

james

 

[cargopilot]

I’ll admit, I didn’t really notice the change in dress over the years, unless it was really obvious, like a goth, a punk, or a semi-nude. I guess it’s sort of like watching your own face in the mirror. It looks OK, until you see a picture from 30 years ago.

Then, I started attending a TLM. All the males wear a suit and tie, all the females wear a dress and veil. Female modesty is the rule.

It just sort of made my regular parish look like a trip to the mall. It made me long for the so-called ‘Novus Ordo’ mass combined with the respect and reverence of the TLM.

 

[Lucania]

dumspirospero:

YEah…but a lot of times you can tell what is in a persons heart by the way the dress and act…someone who dresses provocatively and talks during Mass obviously doesn’t have the right intentions in their heart…to them, it is a burden they must suffer through every Sunday and they can’t wait to get out of there.

:yup:

 

[LoneRanger]

…ok, ok, black tie and tails…sheese…:bowdown:

 

[Faustina]

cargopilot:

A ‘Wearing Jeans to Mass’ thread prompted me to start this one.

I wear a plain, black suit and tie to mass. The same one year in, year out. I only wear it to Mass, and it’s the only thing I wear to Mass. It’ll ‘work’ at any parish I care to visit. I like not having to worry about what I’m wearing to Church. It’s really like my own ‘Mass uniform’. I will eventually replace it, but no one will notice, because the replacement will be about the same. It’s kind of a ‘Dragnet’, ‘Blues Brothers’ look.

I can do this, because men’s dress is easy. Could a female also do this? What could a female wear as a Mass ‘uniform’? Is there an outfit that would be very affordable, durable and somewhat timeless in style?

If Mary designed an outfit for Mass, what would it be?

Are you wearing the same suit?

The only reason why I asked is because, I don’t think a woman could get away with that. All dark suits look the same, with minor changes in cut and fabrics, however a woman’s black basic suit, there are so many. If a woman wore the same one every Sunday, then everyone would think that is all she has. Does this make any sense?

I do not have a problem with the more casual dress, like business casual. I do have a problem with dress that is immodest, such as midriff baring clothing, heavy metal tee shirts and such. I remember at Easter Vigil Mass, there was a young woman, probably late teens, early twenties, that wore a skirt that while it was long in length, the “waist” of it hit below her belly button. Her shirt length was just above the belly. She had the figure for the outfit, adn she looked quite lovely (she had great abs, and yes I was envious of that) but I didn’t feel it was appropriate for Mass.

 

[cargopilot]

Faustina:

Are you wearing the same suit?

The only reason why I asked is because, I don’t think a woman could get away with that. All dark suits look the same, with minor changes in cut and fabrics, however a woman’s black basic suit, there are so many. If a woman wore the same one every Sunday, then everyone would think that is all she has. Does this make any sense?

Hi Faustina,

Yes, it is the same suit.

I feel a little guilty because for a man to wear the same suit, no one knows or cares. But if a woman did the same thing, you’re probably right, the other females would probably chatter. It’s sad that females are that way about other females. Why is that, and why is it important what other females think about how one dresses?

I think that it is highly unlikely that any males would notice, or care. If they did, they would probably think, ‘My, how practical’.

School uniforms seem to make so much sense. There is no pressure to have a certain style. The focus is on study. No one gets their feelings hurt for having on last years style.

I guess it all comes down to who we are trying to impress.

So, if Mary could design the ideal outfit for Mass, combining cost, durability, comfort, style and modesty, what would it be?

 

[netmilsmom]

netmil(name removed by moderator):

The problem that I see is that when someone does tons of volunteering in a parish and knows that mom and her kids dress up to go to Ground Round on Saturday Night but can’t dress up for the Lord on Sunday, it’s noticed.
Other people may be right, Mary doesn’t care what’s on your back, but I’m sure She cares if your butt or belly.

Forgot the…are hanging out!

 

[Elizabeth_B]

Faustina:

Are you wearing the same suit?

The only reason why I asked is because, I don’t think a woman could get away with that. All dark suits look the same, with minor changes in cut and fabrics, however a woman’s black basic suit, there are so many. If a woman wore the same one every Sunday, then everyone would think that is all she has. Does this make any sense?

I keep two Church outfits on hand – one for cool and one for warm weather. Only once has someone commented, but it didn’t bother me. We have better things to do with our money.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

cargopilot:

I feel a little guilty because for a man to wear the same suit, no one knows or cares. But if a woman did the same thing, you’re probably right, the other females would probably chatter. It’s sad that females are that way about other females. Why is that, and why is it important what other females think about how one dresses?

It isn’t really important, although nobody likes being the butt of snide remarks. When a woman wears the same thing all the time, it’s really obvious (unlike the generic appearance of a man’s suit), and she’s likely get remarks such as “Doesn’t she ever wash that thing?” or “She’s been wearing that same exact dress for the last five years.” I personally wouldn’t care, as I don’t keep track of what people wear to church.

As for me, separates are the way to go. A few tops, and a few bottoms, in colors that go well together, then you can mix and match, and have several different outfits, for little money. I don’t wear the ladies’ equivalent of a suit, because the only stores I can afford to shop in, don’t sell suits. I couldn’t get away with a suit in the summer, anyway – our church isn’t air-conditioned, and I am extremely sensitive to heat – unless I brought in a bottle of water, and sipped continuously, I would end up with heat stroke in about 10 minutes.

If Mary were designing an outfit, she would probably design something appropriate to her time and location. How it would look in the US today, I don’t know. Floor-length robe or tunic with a long veil? I don’t really see anyone adopting that style here, as lovely as it must have looked on Mary.

 

[tcraig]

I have a female version of a suit, though it really isn’t a suit.

I have two black skirts, one knee-length and one around ankle length in “seasonless” fabrics. I also have three pairs of black shoes - boots, dressier pumps and ballet flats. These plus a few different tops take me through any occasion. I can dress warmer or cooler as the need arises, and different tops or jewelry can make the look dressier or more casual.

I lived overseas quite a bit growing up, where people tend to have much smaller wardrobes than Americans (also, most European homes/apartments don’t have built-in closets). Over there, people will wear the same outfits all the time and not think twice about it. I guess I absorbed that, and carried it over into my adult life. I repeat outfits all the time, and will even wear the same thing several times in one week, if it isn’t dirty. After all, if you like your clothes, what’s wrong with wearing them? If anyone has ever wonderered at my lack of wardrobe variety, they’ve been polite enough not to mention it.

I think a “uniform” of sorts for mass (or other dressy occasions) is a good idea.

 

[cargopilot]

CarolAnnSFO:

As for me, separates are the way to go. A few tops, and a few bottoms, in colors that go well together, then you can mix and match, and have several different outfits, for little money.

If Mary were designing an outfit, she would probably design something appropriate to her time and location. How it would look in the US today, I don’t know.

Hi CarolAnnSFO,

It looks like you have solved the equation. It appears that nearly anyone can have a flexible set of outfits that are attractive, respectful, modest and fit a tight budget. All without having the ‘sameness’ that generates those fore-mentioned remarks.

Still, I would love to see what kind of designs Mary would create for the American woman of 2005. Anyone have some web links?

I have to admit, the women at the TLM, with the veils and dresses are beautiful and oh, so feminine. It seems odd that they are somehow so much more attractive than those with the low-cut jeans and the belly sticking out. I wonder why that is?

 

[cargopilot]

tcraig:

I have a female version of a suit, though it really isn’t a suit.

I have two black skirts, one knee-length and one around ankle length in “seasonless” fabrics. I also have three pairs of black shoes - boots, dressier pumps and ballet flats. These plus a few different tops take me through any occasion. I can dress warmer or cooler as the need arises, and different tops or jewelry can make the look dressier or more casual.

I lived overseas quite a bit growing up, where people tend to have much smaller wardrobes than Americans (also, most European homes/apartments don’t have built-in closets). Over there, people will wear the same outfits all the time and not think twice about it. I guess I absorbed that, and carried it over into my adult life. I repeat outfits all the time, and will even wear the same thing several times in one week, if it isn’t dirty. After all, if you like your clothes, what’s wrong with wearing them? If anyone has ever wonderered at my lack of wardrobe variety, they’ve been polite enough not to mention it.

I think a “uniform” of sorts for mass (or other dressy occasions) is a good idea.

Brilliant!
It sounds like the reason no one has mentioned your ‘lack of wardrobe variety’ is probably because you look GREAT!
Where do you shop? Do you know of any online stores?

 

[ridesawhitehors]

cargopilot:

A ‘Wearing Jeans to Mass’ thread prompted me to start this one.

I wear a plain, black suit and tie to mass. The same one year in, year out. I only wear it to Mass, and it’s the only thing I wear to Mass. It’ll ‘work’ at any parish I care to visit. I like not having to worry about what I’m wearing to Church. It’s really like my own ‘Mass uniform’. I will eventually replace it, but no one will notice, because the replacement will be about the same. It’s kind of a ‘Dragnet’, ‘Blues Brothers’ look.

I can do this, because men’s dress is easy. Could a female also do this? What could a female wear as a Mass ‘uniform’? Is there an outfit that would be very affordable, durable and somewhat timeless in style?

If Mary designed an outfit for Mass, what would it be?

Chino’s
Khaki’s
Knee length skirt
Flats
Fitted Tee
Button-down white shirt
Cable-knit pullover
Zip Hoody
Knee length coat
and…
Clean Modest Western Jeans, Dress Cowboy Boots, clean tee shirt and Zip front hooded Sweatshirt for Saturday Night Vigil Mass.

 

[cargopilot]

ridesawhitehors:

and…
Clean Modest Western Jeans

Would those be Levis or Wranglers?
It’s hard to beat a cowgirl in Wranglers.

Cowboy-up!

 

[Melissa]

I have a black velvet (but washable!) skirt which hits a couple inches above the ankle. I wear that pretty much all the time (barring the occasional–make that, extremely rare, hot days when I wear my broomstick skirt w/ a white cotton blouse. I almost always wear the same sweater (red, mock turtle) and the necklace I inherited from my grandmother.

If anyone were to think my wardrobe is too limited, I would think they’re not spending enough time paying attention to the front of the church (where you will find our Tabernacle, along with a visual feast of stained glass and statues). When I was growing up, I got a new dress for Easter which was my Sunday dress from then until new clothes at start-of-school. When I finally quit growing, I got some variety (I’d have two or three dresses that still fit from past Easters), but otherwise, it was one dress for Easter-September (and man, I really hated early Easters, because it’d be so cold, but if I was going to not swelter in July, I had to go w/ lightweight fabric).

 

[chicago]

cargopilot:

Still, I would love to see what kind of designs Mary would create for the American woman of 2005.

The Immaculata label?