Trad colors to wear to mass?

[D0UBTFIRE]

I was wondering if there is any tradition regarding what colors to wear when attending Sunday mass. Something somewhere somehow gave me the impression that dark colors, specifically black, was traditional? Is there anything wrong/weird about wearing bright colors to mass? Sometimes I feel weird about wearing dark colors, especially in the spring or summer, especially after easter. Thoughts?

 

[WetCatechumen]

I was wondering if there is any tradition regarding what colors to wear when attending Sunday mass. Something somewhere somehow gave me the impression that dark colors, specifically black, was traditional? Is there anything wrong/weird about wearing bright colors to mass? Sometimes I feel weird about wearing dark colors, especially in the spring or summer, especially after easter. Thoughts?

I think that somber colors are called for during Lent and Advent, but during Easter and Christmas, your dress should be joyous. Not shorts and spaghetti straps joyous, but bright and joyous colors like yellow and white.

Don’t know about traditions.

 

[DebChris]

There is a tradition based on social rather than Church tradition that calls for not wearing white shoes after Labor Day.
I tend to wear grey during Advent and Lent, sometimes with a lavender blouse. During Advent I might wear a red blouse, for the Christmas season.
As a young girl I remember being given a new Easter outfit every year which included a nice dress, white shoes, and dress socks. It was the Easter after my 14th birthday that I was given my first pair of nylons.
I think that conservative business outfits and colors are always appropriate; for instance maroon rather than red (except for Christmas).
While Sunday is a time to dress nicely, and not necessarily in business attire, it would not be the time to wear something that would distract from the celebration of the Mass itself. Why not wear pink or turquoise, or a dress with a little flounce?

Many of the Indian women where I currently attend Mass wear their nice saris. Africans, both men and women, often wear their traditional dress. Remember that ours is a Universal Church. We are a Resurrection people called to celebrate the life we have been given through Christ Jesus.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I was wondering if there is any tradition regarding what colors to wear when attending Sunday mass. Something somewhere somehow gave me the impression that dark colors, specifically black, was traditional? Is there anything wrong/weird about wearing bright colors to mass? Sometimes I feel weird about wearing dark colors, especially in the spring or summer, especially after easter. Thoughts?

Having grown up in the pre Vat II church, the only thing I can say is that I never heard of any tradition whatsoever that one must wear somber colors to Mass, and I distinctly remember ladies wearing colorful dresses and big flowered hats. Veils were not usually worn in most parts of the country until close to the 1960’s. Women also wore fur coats and little fox stoles as well as mink stoles. Men wore suits. People dressed up for Mass. Sometimes I think people make up “traditions”, or observe some in certain cultures and think they apply to the whole church, or say things because they think it’s the way it should be.

 

[Redratfish]

I was wondering if there is any tradition regarding what colors to wear when attending Sunday mass. Something somewhere somehow gave me the impression that dark colors, specifically black, was traditional? Is there anything wrong/weird about wearing bright colors to mass? Sometimes I feel weird about wearing dark colors, especially in the spring or summer, especially after easter. Thoughts?

Black goes back to the days when people would come to Church wearing a suit. Something more joyous is certainly appropriate though.

 

[Marysann]

I also grew up before Vatican II. People dressed up for Mass, even kids. Women wore hats, and men took their hats off. Look at photographs in old prayerbooks to see how people dressed. Speaking for women, I don’t remember any special colors for clothing except for black being worn by some elderly widows. Black or white were not to be worn to weddings, the exception being white for the bride, of course. The only other color rule I remember had to do with shoes, no white shoes were to be worn before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Babies, brides, first communicants, and nurses on their way to work were the only exceptions allowed! I still keep this rule religiously except if I am visiting the tropics where it doesn’t seem to apply.

 

[Onegin]

I also grew up before Vatican II. People dressed up for Mass, even kids. Women wore hats, and men took their hats off. Look at photographs in old prayerbooks to see how people dressed. Speaking for women, I don’t remember any special colors for clothing except for black being worn by some elderly widows. Black or white were not to be worn to weddings, the exception being white for the bride, of course. The only other color rule I remember had to do with shoes, no white shoes were to be worn before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. Babies, brides, first communicants, and nurses on their way to work were the only exceptions allowed! I still keep this rule religiously except if I am visiting the tropics where it doesn’t seem to apply.

Growing up, I had one pair of white shoes and one pair of black “dress” shoes so this makes sense (though I grew up well past Vatican II).

As for what to wear, I grew up learning to wear nice, dress clothes to Mass. From there, it was a matter of discretion and good sense (such as not wearing a wool coat in the middle of summer or a brightly coloured summer outfit in the middle of winter, etc).

Just use good sense.

 

[corsair]

In the local NO parish I attend about twice a month (and twice a month at an EF parish), I always wear a suit and tie. The wife wears dresses and a mantilla. She varies the colors according to the season. Pastels during spring, warm colors during summer and fall and dark colors during Advent and Lent. She wears the white mantilla most of the year but prefers the black one for Advent and Lent and Masses for the dead.

I tend to dress with a light colored suit jacket during spring and summer My charcol suit during Advent & Lent. I vary my tie colors too. Red for Pentecost and feasts of Martyr’s, Violet tie during Advent and Lent and black ties for All Souls and Masses for the dead. The rest of the year I just wear whatever is handy off the tie rack.