What you said makes sense. I have only visited (for discernment) one community and while I was there spent time with their candidates. One cadidate, I remember, wore a blue button up shirt with a light brown skirt. Another I think had an orange shirt though I do not recall if that was the color for sure. They did not specify color with me but did specify skirt length (no pants).

I also might add that the pictures I posted may not be your first choice for visiting a convent but they are certainly modest and could be worn in day to day life. We obviously should choose our outfits based on the required activities and I believe that a lot of the tops pictured above are suitable for many common activities. Also, just because a convent may request black, brown, or white, we are not required to be without color in the world. I don't think that color in the world is distracting. In fact, I think too many neutrals in the world is more of an attraction of attention than color.

Just to add one more comment...I've been on plenty of "Come and See" retreats and other vocational days of prayer, and clothing was never an issue; many people wore whatever they felt comfortable in, including jeans. I wasn't suggesting that color be off-limits totally in general life.

In Laudem's case, she has been pretty open and honest about wanting cloistered life with the traditional (full) habit...having been on a couple of retreats (as an observer), inside the cloister, participating in the life, I was just making a general observation based upon my own experience. It can feel like one is really standing out already not being in the community for starters, and then, just by being in lay clothes and without a habit - and in bright color! - you can really become a stand out. It's just one way of melding into the experience, without feeling too self conscious.

I really don't want anybody to think that I was suggesting that we abolish color in favor of neutral colors.

I <3 colour. I'm currently wearing an ankle-length pink skirt. It's my new favourite

The last time I chatted with a sister about clothes she said "You're not a nun yet, dear. Enjoy it." (With which she didn't mean I should hop around unmodestly, but that as long as I hadn't had any formal instructions, I should just wear what I like regarding colour and the like.)

And to go with Hughey's posts: yes, if you develop "the eye" it becomes much easier to find modest clothing! For example, on almost every "modest" site you'll find spaghetti tops. That's not because spaghetti tops are modest (most would say they aren't) but because layering = your new best friend. A high-covering spaghetti top makes a V-necked shirt instantly modest! Wear a white long-sleeve under a see-through blouse, or a bolero jacket over a cute sleeveless top. Endless possibilities.

(edit for cuddle with my weeble and wub)

I think I found a new shopping buddy!

I've always dressed with general modesty, because my mom never let me get any skimpy clothes, (not that I wanted any) but I've gradually gotten better and better about it over the years, especially recently. I've started layering clothes if a shirt is particularly tight or low-cut, and all my T-shirts are baggy and my shorts are knee-level at least. I wear long skirts or short skirts (knee-length) with leggings.

I used to wear camis alone if I was around the house by myself and then throw on a jacket or something if I went out, but now I never wear them alone. Also, just last summer I was, for the first time, introduced to the idea that two pieces, even tankinis, are immodest, so I've converted to one-piece swimsuits with shorts.

i'm a guy and here's my honest opinion,

leaning over = cleavage


cleavage



see through? too much chest


too much chest, whether you're big or small. magnified if you're big.


good, hides the chest


shows chest too much


short sleeves ok, but not those baby-t tops or anything tight. "fitted" is often too tight for me (on a girl). should be loose.

if you are well endowed, you should wear looser shirts that conceal it more.

a while ago a friend was looking at some women in their jeans in front of her at Mass, and decided that she will try to no longer wear pants, just long skirts.

nothing makes my heart glow more than seeing a girl in a long skirt and modest top. needless to say i am ecstatic when i see a habit!

when i saw this poor clare in a little church in Mexico i think my heart melted


"you want a picture of me? but these are my work clothes!" i didn't care, they were adorable! decorating for Christmas..

don't want input from guys? well here's mine anyways.

i think i first started to not wear tanktops at the gym. i only wear sleeveless, loose shirts.
i've avoided the beach or pool parties a few times. or at least, not gone into the water.
i try not to wear closely fitted shirts.
i try to wear my best to Sunday Mass.
i started to become less worried about wearing the same thing often. Einstein did..
for a while i started dressing like a postulant everyday - white long sleeve button down, slacks or cargo pants. washed when it got dingy or smelly.
now i'm getting lazy, but i'm still very conscious of trying to be my best to represent Jesus. i try my best to not give girls any thoughts.

sadly, i'm also getting very judgmental but more sad at my peers' modesty..

The picture wasn't for the top but for the sweater OVER the top!


again it was for the sweater... (i probably should have specified what i was "advertising"...)


layering?


you dont have to get a clingy size (#1) and (#2) im not gunna wear a potato sack. i'm not going to pretend i don't have boobs... they're there. how i dress them, though, can be modest without being ridiculous. again this would come back to a level of modesty versus guys being able to control themselves.


again, bigger size perhaps. also, not gunna pretend boobs dont exist! look back at pictures or paintings of women of yesteryear... back in Europe in the old days and such... they wore long-sleeve, floor-length dresses, it's true but they also had a bust! we have boobs! get over it!!

and a quick hijack: speaking of work clothes... i <3 these aprons!

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalo...amp;search=true

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalo...amp;search=true

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalo...amp;search=true

Thank you for the fashion show!! I've discovered more catalogues.!!

please don't get offended. i'm not trying to defend or justify anything. i'm merely explaining what guys notice in church, in class, and outside. it is not the rare, extreme case, but the norm. if you can't understand why we think like this, it's not your fault. you can either accept it and be more conscious of it when dressing, or ignore it and blame any guys who have sinful thoughts of their own lack of control.

those are cool!


i'm pretty sure hughey is conscious of modesty when dressing. Layering, wearing sweaters, wearing tank tops underneath, etc.

anyway, let's not turn this into another modesty debate, okay?

dont worry, i will. lol. i just dont want to be forced to wear a potato sack shirt!

I am definitely what one would label as well endowed. Layering is my best friend, and I almost always wear a loose long-ish shirt over my tee-shirt of whatever else I have on. In the summer, I wear a lot of linen, so I don't have a problem with it being too hot.

you will never find me without a spaghetti-strap shirt on as an under shirt, even with a t-shirt on. i layer everything too and probably would even if i didn't have to. it creates some interest in your appearance in addition to hiding what needs to be hidden.

also, i have no problem adding in a white, crew-neck tee on top of my "tank" and under whatever is going on top. if it looks funny because the shirts cut is too deep, add a piece of jewelry (necklace obviously) that hits about center and it all works out!

would you gals believe that even layering isn't always very modest? many use it well, but i've seen many that are still very arousing. e.g. tight spaghetti-strap or tank-top-like-thing over a tight baby-t.

anything but what seems ok to you isn't always a burlap potato sack. it can be done very well.

anywho, i guess for the OP, the evolution of modesty for a discerner can be anywhere in the spectrum, from britney spears to st. faustina depending on where they are at in the journey. so let's not scoff or condemn, but educate and pray for them.

i know what you mean and yes, that is yuck. but i would hope you'd take me for more than that...

This is what I was asked to bring for my stay at Bethlehem Priory :

"Regarding your clothes for your stay at the house and come to the chapel, you guessed very well. It is part of the rule of the guest house. Unfortunately some women do wear pants, perhaps nice pants but still pants! We cannot really refuse them, but it is not what we would like... So, yes, bring modest skirt, long or at least below the knee, and modest shirts too.

To work or exercise, we recommend jeans skirts or jumpers,. However if you like to wear pants you can but it would be better to have also the skirt, at least if you work inside the enclosure or with the sisters. We have animals outside the enclosure and inside. The sisters take care of those inside and those are the young ones (goats and calves) The vegetable garden is also inside the enclosure... Yes, do not forget our hiking shoes!

No, you don't need to buy clothe for two months! You bring what is necessary for the week and a laundry net bag. Every week you give all your clothe to wash and the net bag with your underwear inside. The sisters take care of the washing and drying. The following day you receive your clean clothes. It would be better if you can bring a robe to wear when you go out of your room to the bathroom... I am sorry you don't have one. If I can recommend you to buy one long and white or beige, since it is part of the items that you should bring with you if you were to enter, so that you don't waste your money only for two months"

Where do I get a jean jumper? Also a long white or beige robe? I can sew but time is not so easy these days.

Please help.

Michaela

A white or beige dressing-gown should be easy to find in any department store. I am not so sure about the pinafore. This may sound like an odd suggestion, but try looking at websites selling Amish or Mennonite clothing. There are a few out there.

Check out your second hand (Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul) stores first... they'll probably have your best bargain in terms of both jumpers and robes. If you're able... look around at yard sales this spring, too. There's really no reason to have to buy either of those items as new.

I was going to suggest the same things. Check Goodwill or Salvation Army. Check local thrift stores. If you lived near Dallas, I'd tell you to hit up Garland garage sales lol... but you'd have to be from the area to get that... ... anyway...

I'd be cautious buying a robe from a second hand store and if you do decide to get one from there, be sure to wash it REALLY SUPER WELL. I mean, you should do that with all the stuff you get but for things like robes, wash them like three times over. Yeah...

Otherwise, you can get one pretty cheap at like Target. If you're buying one to stay in the convent for a long time, I'd just shell out the forty or so dollars it would take to get a sturdy one from a dept store.

Thanks for your advice. I found an inexpensive denim "school jumper" on an Orthodox Jewish Modest Clothes website. As for the robe, since I probably should own one anyways, I asked my Mom to buy it for my birthday present. I think she's still laughing.

If you don't mind my asking, how much did you end up paying for the jumper?

http://www.catholicmodesty.com

"May the fashions of the world not be the model for our attire, but rather the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints..:" - Bishop Bernard Fellay"

===============================

Standards of Modesty in Dress
Imprimatur dated Sept. 24, 1956
"A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat; which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows; and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent materials are improper."
The Cardinal Vicar of Pius XII

===============================

The words of the Blessed Mother at Fatima to Bl.Jacinta Marto.
Blessed Jacinta Marto

"the sins which bring most souls to hell are the sins of the flesh. Certain fashions are going to be introduced which will offend Our Lord very much... the Church has no fashions; Our Lord is always the same..."
1910-1920

Some days, Jacinta while in the hospital, was very saddened by the worldliness of the visitors, the women dressed in fashionable clothes, often with low-cut dresses. "What is it all for?" she asked Mother Godinho (her guardian ). "If they only knew what eternity is."

===============================

"Modesty in a woman is the sign
that Jesus Christ dwells in her heart.
It is a sweet perfume of edification
which she is called upon to diffuse."

"Modesty is important because
it is the fort that protects the castle, but it is also the frame that
enhances the picture." *

To say that "...modesty is a matter of custom" is just as wrong as to say that, "...honesty is a matter of custom."

===============================

Padre Pio on Women's Dress
from Prophet of the People,
by Dorothy M. Gaudiose, pp. 191-2

Padre Pio wouldn't tolerate low-necked dresses or short, tight skirts, and he forbade his spiritual daughters to wear transparent stockings. Each year his severity increased. He stubbornly dismissed them from his confessional, even before they set foot inside, if he judged them to be improperly dressed. On some mornings he drove away one after another, until he ended up hearing very few confessions. His brothers observed these drastic purges with a certain uneasiness and decided to fasten a sign on the church door;

PADRE PIO IS THE MAN!


http://www.catholicmodesty.com

I think it was $27.99. I am making a pattern from it and plan to make at least one more before I go. Since I asked to learn to drive the tractor and also know I will be caring for a donkey, I may need more than one a week. I wonder how they keep all that white clean?

Padre Pio had no business in turning anybody out of the confessional. It bothers me when people assume that a saint's every word must have been steeped in holiness and every judgment sound. Not everything that a saint does is just or right.

As perpetualove has stated, the orders I have written to in the past and recently, for retreats, visits or live-ins have preferred postulant like clothes and colors - black and white or brown and white where I have inquired. Some say and others suggest to wear long below knee or longer brown (or black) skirts or jumpers with white blouses, white nightgowns and robe, black or white sweaters (if visiting in cold months). Non has said prints and colors are ok. I figure if they suggest the black or brown and white it is what they prefer and would like and as I am in THEIR home and it IS a monastery and I AM interested, why not honor their request and preferences and besides it's easy for me as that is what I prefer myself.

To show up in pants or bright colors and such seems to me that I'd be trying NOT to be one with them even for awhile and it would seem like I was trying to distant myself from them and defeat the whole purpose of going there. It is also showing them respect and love. Just like you wouldn't want someone showing up to your formal wedding in t-shirt, jeans or bermuda shorts, etc - that isn't showing the bride and groom respect or consideration and taking the attention away from the bride and groom.

I would not want what I wore, whether in color, print or style, to take a nuns attention or thoughts away from God for one second!

Also, all the orders I've contacted told me to BRING these items with me and didn't say we have a closet full of clothes/cast offs or left-behinds you can pick from and I would never ask that! That's me and plus I can see if a postulant or retreatant left clothes behind, I can see the sisters donating them to charity or something.

It was not Padre Pio who wanted to turn them away.

In his defense:

Sometimes when Padre Pio refused to absolve his penitents and closed the small confessional door in their faces, the people would reproach him asking why he acted this way. "Don't you know," he asked, "what pain it costs me to shut the door on anyone? The Lord has forced me to do so. I do not call anyone, nor do I refuse anyone either. There is someone else who calls and refuses them. I am His useless tool."

That padre pio kept getting more and more severe in his attitude shows OCD more than anything. Or perhaps a bad case of the old man grumpies.

"The Vermont Country Store" has a selection of modest, blue, well made jumpers that would be very appropiate for convent wear.
Click here: The Vermont Country Store

God Bless you! I'd Love to care for a donkey and though I am a pants person, I'd trade those in for a Jumper just to do it!

Please let me know how you will handle the bees...

I am so happy for you! You're in my Prayers!
P4C

Well said Laudem.

handle the bees!!! with great respect

Thank you. Please keep praying.

i know, he should have sprayed them with a garden hose. that oughtta teach them to come in sheer clothes and t-shirts..

He could also have heard their confessions and spoken to them about their attire when he gave them counsel.

found this great blog on modesty. the first link is where she collects all the links to her posts on modesty.

A collection of posts from the Castle of the Immaculate
relating to modest, Catholic dressing.
http://mariancastle.blogspot.com/2006/06/d...lection-of.html


The Virtue of Skirts
"1.I can’t seem to get around the fact that Our Lady never appeared in slacks. She is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the one through whom God has chosen to distribute His graces to the world, and She never once wore slacks. Our Lady is the paradigm of Catholic femininity and Christian perfection. I imitate Our Lady by wearing skirts/dresses.

2. In 1917 when Our Lady appeared in Fatima she said there will be many fashions that greatly offend the Lord. Before 1960, women did not wear slacks. Constant wearing of slacks by women is a fairly new idea. (Did our grandmothers or mothers ever or routinely wear slacks?) I listen to Our Lady when I wear a dress/skirt.

4. Detachment from body image.
In slacks, gaining one pound to five pounds makes a difference. One notices pretty quickly in the inseam. I have found because of wearing skirts, I hardly ever step on the scale – it just doesn’t matter as much."

funny... Jesus never did either.

You beat me to it - lol! And Jesus just might wear pants if He were walking the earth today! I doubt that Our Lady would, but hey - who are we to say?

Actually, I understand the desire to wear skirts, and I love them, but the practical reality in this day and age is that sometimes it is just more modest to wear slacks. I am a caregiver for an elderly lady and I would either have to wear floor length skirts that get in the way, or shorter skirts that reveal too much when I am bending over nearly to the floor myself! Slacks cover my legs all the way and since I wear them fairly loose, they don't show anything. Skirts also present me with the problem of wearing panyhose because I don't like the feel of nothing covering my legs. I think a really modest and beautiful outfit is the slacks and long top worn by the women in some Asian countries. The top goes to the knees over the slacks - and there is no need for pantyhose either! I have seen these outfits in India and Singapore - perhaps someone knows what they are called?

In the convent we wore floor length skirts that we would "tuck up" around our waists to work, revealing a shorter (but below the knees) skirt underneath. Under that I wore tights (ok for cold England but not so good for hot California!). Now this worked for us because we all wore them, but I don't think that the retirement home where I work would be too happy if I showed up for work in a floor length skirt and then tucked it up to reveal a shorter one underneath. They would probably say that occ health and safety regs didn't allow such trailing material or something. And I would probably agree - it isn't all that safe to have so much material. The nuns told me about occasions when someone would catch their long sleeves in the fire alarm as they walked by (a large handle that stuck out from the wall) - and various other stories. But in our own little cloistered world, we could do a lot of things that I couldn't do in the world working for others. Just the facts.

But for those who can wear skirts every day and still maintain modesty and safety - I say go for it!

I can''t Remember what they are called but I saw Joyce Meyer in one of those Outfits yesterday morning..Bright BLUE, Broadcasting from India. She Had on High heels too..

JD, you have a problem. You should observe custody of your mind, if not the eyes. If you have all this trouble now, what will it be when you're under vows?? Are you sure you're meant for a life of celibacy?

--when you're dealing with the public, you're going to see all sorts of attire and not only will a lot of it be completely inappropriate, many of the women will be seriously overweight in all that --or actually in not much of that--inappropriate attire. Get over it. Nothing will change. Think of their souls, not the acres of flesh they're exposing. They're not trying to tempt anyone. It's the style of the day and nothing will change it.

As for Padre Pio, I am surprised that he got so upset, as he shouldn't have seen many women while he was in the confessional. I would rather think of the Cure d'Ars, who heard so many confessions that he virtually died of the complications of sitting in his confessional so many hours a day.

Shalwar-khameez. I own several shalwar suits.

Forgive me if this is an inappropriate site to post...is an Islamic clothing site and it has some of the most beautiful modest clothing I have ever seen....pants, skirts, dress...men's clothes..etc. Since there is often talk about modest dressing, I went looking.....the prices here aren't too bad either - at least I didn't thnk so.

http://www.shukronline.com/

Pax

those skirts are lovely but way too expensive!

And short

Where oh where is the online shop for 6'5" Catholic girls? (Actually I know - it's Sr. Seamstress of the Carmelites DCJ. But I still don't think brown is my colour.)

It's wonderful to see modest Muslim girls in their flowing tunics and long trousers. They're so elegant.

I know the lady who runs Shukr. I have a couple of skirts and a jilbab from there. They are pricey, but long-lasting - I've had the jilbab for ages and it shows no sign of wear and tear despite having been worn by me. (Something that spells death to most clothes.)

I have been looking at their skirts for some time. I think they are so beautiful. I usually, I don't know why, have never really liked jean skirts. But, I really like the ones they offer at shukronline.

I have always admired the modesty of Islamic women.

I'm so glad that site was helpful...or at least enjoyed. I was thinking.....if "way back when" when our sisters in the Faith "took the habit", they were actually wearing the "dress of their days" but took the dress of widows and/or the poor and disenfrancished...then (if we want to "do what they did"...but "update it" rather than simply copy their dress, we might do well make a"habit" more like Islamic clothing...the dress is afterall, very modest, certainly counter-cultural in the West and many Islamic people are certainly disenfrancised due to their radical brothers/sisters. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the traditional habits like Beneditince, Poor Clare etc....but I could also see designing a "new" habit that is modeled on the clothing of the women whose modesty one admires and who are living in the culture in a counter cultural way.

Does that make sense? The clothing style is modest, simple (or certainly could be) and elegant.....not a bad trio of adjectives....and one would still be connecting with those who "went before" albeit not by using the same "pattern" but certainly by imitating the ideal.

Just a thought.

Peace

I would be with you 100% on a new Habit..I think that would be neat..
I dislike to buy clothes, but these on that website really are beautiful! Thanks so much for posting.

I'm not all for a "new habit" for religious orders, because the elements of it (like the tunic, often shaped as the cross, and the scapular) have taken on a very important meaning of their own, beyond the "garb of the poor". However, there are many new ways of religious life popping up, like consecrated sisters of the Emmanuel community and more and more others. A habit-like thing based on current "islamic" clothing would be so cool for them. (Although the Emmanuel sisters wear a blue skirt and white blouse, which is neat, too.)

That's a very good point...I didn't think of that.