If You Could Design A Habit...

[Jennifer G.]

Mine would be similar to the PCPA (Mother Angelica's order) and the Benedictine Habit.

[BarbTherese]

The first habit I ever 'fell in love with' was the Carmelite pre V2 habit (unmodified) and I don't think I could in any way improve on it no matter how I stretch what is usually a very vivid imagination.

Blessings this Lent - Barb

[MarieLynn]

I agree that Postulants should wear a cape and a veil, otherwise how would you know who or what they are?

Takes me back so many years to when I entered. We had the black dress, cape, white collar and a black veil edged around the front with white piping. We, IMHO looked like who we were - postulants. Nowdays I'm afraid to say, some of the postulants wear what I can only describe as a school uniform. Back then, many many moons ago, the girls in the Juniorate of the Order that I entered, wore a similar "uniform" - blue longer length skirt, white longsleeved shirt and a blue vest, with a Medal of St Joseph on a chain around the neck. Everytime I see the DSMME postulants they remind me of our "Juniors". It was the unspoken aim of every "Junior" to exchange their blue uniform for the black cape and veil of the postulant, and everytime one or more of the ex Juniors entered and appeared for the first time clad in the postulants' "habit", the girls were given a special recreation to talk to the new postulant, and the remarks were always the same "Sister, you look beautiful'.

If I were to design a Habit, I would keep the postulants black dress, veil and cape. For the Novices, keeping the same dress and cape as that worn by the postulant, but adding a white veil edged with black, with a Rosary around the waist. For the Professed Sisters, keeping on the same theme and design as before, but removing the cape, add a black Scapular edged in white, a white cap underneath a mid length black veil.

[vee]

[quote name='MarieLynn' date='03 March 2010 - 10:04 PM' timestamp='1267671869' post='2066293']
I agree that Postulants should wear a cape and a veil, otherwise how would you know who or what they are?

[/quote]

You can get an AMEN!!

[Hilde]

maybe like this
[img]http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt65/LisaPizza16/Tilly/meg2061.jpg[/img]

Except it would have a black from top to toe cape like the dominicans and the weil would be black and further to the front.

A big rosary with dark wooden beads on the side and a dark leather belt

Edited March 4, 2010 by Hilde

[vee]

My novice habit would look like this and the habit of the fully professed is in the back
[img]http://www.miamiarchdiocese.org/Atimo_s/news/_vows0018.jpg[/img]

[OnlySunshine]

I love this question!

I would very much love to create a habit that symbolizes Our Lady Immaculate. That is my favorite representation of Our Blessed Mother.

The postulant outfit would include:

-White lace chapel veil
-White button down long sleeve shirt
-Navy blue ankle-length jumper
-Navy blue chapel cape
-Navy blue or black sandals
-Miraculous Medal on a blue ribbon around neck


The novice and professed habit would look like the Carmelite habit, only instead of brown, the tunic and scapular would be navy blue. All habited religious would wear the wimple and a long, pinned veil (white for novices and black for professed). There would be a white rope cincture belt with 4 knots symbolizing chastity, poverty, obedience, and consecration to Our Blessed Mother (also, the order would be Franciscan in design). Hanging from the cincture would be a wooden rosary with a blessed Miraculous Medal (like the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal). Religious would wear sandals. I would keep the cream colored cape like the Carmelites.

[DameAgnes]

His Child, thanks for all that interesting info, and for confirming for me that the original habit for the Sisters of Life was a beige abomination that I remembered seeing and thought I must have imagined or mistaken.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='DameAgnes' date='04 March 2010 - 02:23 AM' timestamp='1267683815' post='2066369']
His Child, thanks for all that interesting info, and for confirming for me that the original habit for the Sisters of Life was a beige abomination that I remembered seeing and thought I must have imagined or mistaken.
[/quote]

I love your description!!! -- "a beige abomination"!

That just made my morning!

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='DameAgnes' date='04 March 2010 - 01:23 AM' timestamp='1267683815' post='2066369']
His Child, thanks for all that interesting info, and for confirming for me that the original habit for the Sisters of Life was a beige abomination that I remembered seeing and thought I must have imagined or mistaken.
[/quote]

[Tridenteen]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='03 March 2010 - 09:15 PM' timestamp='1267668907' post='2066253']
I have no idea why all that was in the quote box.

Anyhoo -- first off, I must say I LOVE the names you gave to each branch!!! Beautiful and oh-so-appropriate!

Secondly, I [i]heart[/i] the symbolism in your ideal habit. Just beautiful!!! I think my favorite bit you described is the twice-wrapped cord around the waist! Hypostatic union -- represent!!!

And I'm all in favor of cape-wearing Postulants. Though I'd totally want the veil instead of a bonnet.

Like this:

[img]http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk/News/Images_NEWS/Margarita%20Past/source/image/03._entered_as_a__postulant____1st_august_1957_(photo_taken_september).jpg[/img]
[/quote]


JMJ
Thanks! I feel silly, my friends and I had gotteb carried away and wrote up brief costitutipns for each branch. Now that I look at them, a lot of their ideas were actually pretty interesting. What order does the postulant in the picture belong to?

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='04 March 2010 - 03:44 PM' timestamp='1267731873' post='2066576']
JMJ
Thanks! I feel silly, my friends and I had gotteb carried away and wrote up brief costitutipns for each branch. Now that I look at them, a lot of their ideas were actually pretty interesting. What order does the postulant in the picture belong to?
[/quote]

That postulant is Sr. Margarita Schwind, OP -- she was one of the founding Sisters of the [url="http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk"]Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph[/url]. The picture is from a [url="http://dominicansrs.co.uk/News/Images_NEWS/Margarita%20Past/index.htm"]collection of pictures[/url] celebrating her Jubilee last year.

I can't remember the name of her original community, though I believe it was based in Germany and sent Sisters to mission South Africa.

Hmmm... now I'm curious!

The Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph, however, do not have postulant habits like the one pictured above, but instead ones that pretty much look just like the Nashville Dominicans' postulant habits. Originally they had navy blue skirts and vests like the Sisters of Life and DSMME, but then went back to black "because it was more Dominican -- black and white".

Like this:

[IMG]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy305/laetitia_crucis/Random/nashvillepostulants.jpg[/IMG]

[Indwelling Trinity]

[quote name='vee8' date='03 March 2010 - 11:56 PM' timestamp='1267674981' post='2066339']
My novice habit would look like this and the habit of the fully professed is in the back

Laughing... hey that my habit she's wearing!!! LOL:shock: sighs... I wondered wher I had misplaced the other one.
[img]http://www.miamiarchdiocese.org/Atimo_s/news/_vows0018.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

[brightsadness]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='03 March 2010 - 06:39 PM' timestamp='1267666742' post='2066232']
JMJ
This looks, Byzantine? What order?
[/quote]


Russian Orthodox Monastic

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='vee8' date='03 March 2010 - 11:56 PM' timestamp='1267674981' post='2066339']
My novice habit would look like this and the habit of the fully professed is in the back
[img]http://www.miamiarchdiocese.org/Atimo_s/news/_vows0018.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

*happy sigh*

I've always loved the beige Carmelite capes (mantles?). So pretty.

[Tridenteen]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' date='04 March 2010 - 04:02 PM' timestamp='1267736576' post='2066653']
*happy sigh* [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/love.gif[/img]

I've always loved the beige Carmelite capes (mantles?). So pretty.
[/quote]


JMJ
When we went to one of the girl's from my community's first profession in Valparaiso, she had her cape, that veil that goes over the one underneath, and her crown of flowers. So beautiful. The Carmelite habit is so pretty. I love the guimpe underneath the scapular.

[vee]

[quote]Laughing... hey that my habit she's wearing!!! LOL sighs... I wondered wher I had misplaced the other one.[img]public/style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif[/img][/quote]

I thought this was your other habit?

[img]http://www.cyberfx.com/pic_pages/pics/ranger.jpg[/img]

[vee]

[quote name='Tridenteen' date='04 March 2010 - 04:57 PM' timestamp='1267739844' post='2066702']
JMJ
When we went to one of the girl's from my community's first profession in Valparaiso, she had her cape, that veil that goes over the one underneath, and her crown of flowers. So beautiful. The Carmelite habit is so pretty. I love the guimpe underneath the scapular.
[/quote]

I really like the idea of having the scapular over everything too so if I was designing my own habit that would be a must. And while I think the Dominicans look great I would design my habit in brown, black, or anything dark because I am a magnet for stains.

[Indwelling Trinity]

[quote name='vee8' date='04 March 2010 - 08:10 PM' timestamp='1267747801' post='2066754']
I thought this was your other habit?



Nope those are my thermal underwear!

[img]http://www.cyberfx.com/pic_pages/pics/ranger.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Edited March 5, 2010 by Indwelling Trinity

[vee]

Hmm true it is too form fitting for a habit. We need action figures that wear something baggy.