Your Favorite Postulant Outfit

[LaPetiteSoeur]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1284894046' post='2174504']
Are you sure she is wearing a scapular and not just a brown jumper (dress)? It would be very rare for the scapular to be given without the habit as it is blessed and a sacramental, and is usually kissed before putting it on, like the veil. It could be, I 'm just asking.

I like the postulant outfit below... the bonnets are just too much, aren't they?

[img]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/nunsense/nuns1935.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

I know the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth (Convent Station, NJ) used to wear caps as postulants way back in the day. Then, they changed to little veils, and now none of the sisters wear habits:sad2:

They used to look like this:

[img]http://www.thecanteen.com/saint1.jpg[/img]

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='ksterling' timestamp='1284905900' post='2174538']
The bonnets look like shower caps - perhaps dual duty headwear??

Kat
[/quote]

LOL

I'm not an expert on headwear of the period, but the postulant bonnets in this picture look at least a little similar to the types of bonnets worn by housemaids and parlourmaids in the UK, even into the early 20th century. So, perhaps that was the intention, that the postulant dressed like a servant--a definite reminder of humility if the postulant was "well-born," but also a reminder that the postulants are "handmaids of the Lord."

BTW--I have no actual facts to back this up. This is a guess out of thin air, and I could be totally wrong.

A couple of other thoughts inspired by this thread:

--The Orders that have postulants wearing a more usual kind of bonnet are, whether that is the intention or not, mirroring the standard headwear of many women of that time, or not that long before the picture was taken. (I'm not sure when each of the pictures were taken.) So, in a way, the postulant outfit that seems "religious" to us (or at least to me) was probably much closer to lay clothing at the time than it appears now.

--In looking at the pictures of the Elysburg Carmel again, this time I noticed something I hadn't noticed before--prayer stools! Thanks so much to Nunsense for telling us about them. Every day I learn a little bit more.

Edited September 19, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='Micah' timestamp='1284905999' post='2174540']
*sneaks in*

*sneaks out*
[/quote]

LOL Micah--You don't need to sneak. Men are very welcome on VS. Men have vocations, too, if not the call to the priesthood or religious life, then to marriage, or to the single life.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='Micah' timestamp='1284905999' post='2174540']
*sneaks in*

*sneaks out*
[/quote]


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

Are you discerning discernment?

Edited September 19, 2010 by laetitia crucis

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='LaPetiteSoeur' timestamp='1284906507' post='2174545']

[img]http://www.thecanteen.com/saint1.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Ooo... Vera. Now that's a nice name I might have to seriously consider...

[Chiquitunga]

[quote name='Chiquitunga' timestamp='1281464424' post='2155385']
[img]http://i47.tinypic.com/10yqq2c.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1284913524' post='2174573']
--In looking at the pictures of the Elysburg Carmel again, this time I noticed something I hadn't noticed before--prayer stools! Thanks so much to Nunsense for telling us about them. Every day I learn a little bit more.
[/quote]

Actually these aren't prayer stools, but rather their forms of chairs, which I think they call stools, without backs .. not that they never pray on them of course! But for their formal Mental Prayer in the morning and evening they just kneel on the tile floor or sit back/kneel on their heels. [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdnuns/CarmelOfJesusMaryJosephValparaisoNE#5051542545860392258"]Here's[/url] (pg 3 in case it doesn't go directly there) a reference to it, but I also asked them this in Valpariaso.

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1284894046' post='2174504']
Are you sure she is wearing a scapular and not just a brown jumper (dress)? It would be very rare for the scapular to be given without the habit as it is blessed and a sacramental, and is usually kissed before putting it on, like the veil. It could be, I'm just asking.
[/quote]

I'm not sure .. it just looks shaped in that way .. like maybe from a scapular from an old habit. But clearly it is a jumper. Maybe they just shaped it in that way to look a little like a scapular. It's nice anyway. She looks so happy!!

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs499.snc3/27255_1383484874942_1466592662_31035648_7438851_n.jpg[/img]

Edited September 19, 2010 by Chiquitunga

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='Chiquitunga' timestamp='1284919154' post='2174611']
Actually these aren't prayer stools, but rather their forms of chairs without backs .. not that they never pray on them of course. But for their formal Mental Prayer in the morning and evening they just kneel on the tile floor or sit back/kneel on their heels.
[/quote]

Thanks for the additional information. Whoops! How much time do I have left on VS where I can claim honest ignorance versus "things I really should know"? Years, I hope!

BTW--Thank-you for the link to pictures and explanation from the Valparaiso Carmel. The chapel is gorgeous, and I learned a lot from the explanation.

Edited September 19, 2010 by IgnatiusofLoyola

[AccountDeleted]

[quote]Actually these aren't prayer stools, but rather their forms of chairs, which I think they call stools, without backs .. not that they never pray on them of course! But for their formal Mental Prayer in the morning and evening they just kneel on the tile floor or sit back/kneel on their heels. [url="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdnuns/CarmelOfJesusMaryJosephValparaisoNE#5051542545860392258"][color="#b4453b"]Here's[/color][/url] (pg 3 in case it doesn't go directly there) a reference to it, but I also asked them this in Valpariaso.
[/quote]

Yeah, those are the Carmelite stools that are everywhere in the convent. In Nedlands we use them for Mass and in the refectory. They used to be the only type of seating, but as sisters aged, some of them needed chairs with backs, so there are a lot more of these around as well, especially in the community room where we have Recreation. Those stools are pretty high. If you look back at Chiquitunga's picture of the Carmelite postulant kissing the Infant Jesus you can see one of those stools in the background.

The prayer stools that are used in the Carmels I have been in, are much lower to the ground, and this photo that I found back in the Nun's Picture thread here in phatmass shows a nun sitting on a prayer stool like we use.

[img]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/nunsense/nunstool.jpg[/img]

Edited September 20, 2010 by nunsense

[Micah]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1284913814' post='2174575']
LOL Micah--You don't need to sneak. Men are very welcome on VS. Men have vocations, too, if not the call to the priesthood or religious life, then to marriage, or to the single life.
[/quote]

haha ya we dont have many guy vocations around here though

[color="#595959"][font="arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="4"][quote][img]http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy305/laetitia_crucis/Random/bird.jpg[/img]

Are you discerning discernment?[/quote][/size][/font][/color]
[color="#595959"][font="arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font][/color]
[color="#595959"][font="arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="4"]rofl^ [img]http://www.phatmass.com/phorum/public/style_emoticons/default/smile2.gif[/img] [/size][/font][/color]
[font="arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="4"] [/size][/font]
[font="arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="4"][color="#595959"][size="4"]Iduno, Im spiritually bipolar.. GOD GIVE ME A SIGN!!!! ... x( [/size][/color][/size][/font]

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1284944541' post='2174758']
Yeah, those are the Carmelite stools that are everywhere in the convent. In Nedlands we use them for Mass and in the refectory. They used to be the only type of seating, but as sisters aged, some of them needed chairs with backs, so there are a lot more of these around as well, especially in the community room where we have Recreation. Those stools are pretty high. If you look back at Chiquitunga's picture of the Carmelite postulant kissing the Infant Jesus you can see one of those stools in the background.

The prayer stools that are used in the Carmels I have been in, are much lower to the ground, and this photo that I found back in the Nun's Picture thread here in phatmass shows a nun sitting on a prayer stool like we use.

[img]http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/nunsense/nunstool.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Thanks so much for finding this picture! Now that I go back and look at the Elysburg Carmel, I realize that the stools I saw were too high to be prayer stools. Little by little, I'm learning.

[HopefulBride]

I love the Sisters of Life Postulant outfits as well as the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church ones. Can't seem to pick. I think it's because they boh are so Marian.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='HopefulBride' timestamp='1285011598' post='2174909']
I love the Sisters of Life Postulant outfits as well as the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church ones. Can't seem to pick. I think it's because they boh are so Marian.
[/quote]

I really like the jumper postulant uniforms -- they look so... "postulant"y to me. Especially with the little [i]veils[/i].

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='laetitia crucis' timestamp='1285016264' post='2174923']
I really like the jumper postulant uniforms -- they look so... "postulant"y to me. Especially with the little [i]veils[/i].
[/quote]

All the "jumper" postulant outfits I've seen look very comfortable and easy to care for--a definite plus.

But, for me, many of them remind me a little too much of high school uniforms. While they look very cute and sweet on very young postulants, sometimes they seem a little out-of-place for postulants who have been out of high school for awhile. On the other hand, the jumpers are a reminder that, even if a new postulant is 10 years older (or more) than some of her new Sisters, both postulants are equal in religion.

[AccountDeleted]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1285025483' post='2174945']
All the "jumper" postulant outfits I've seen look very comfortable and easy to care for--a definite plus.

But, for me, many of them remind me a little too much of high school uniforms. While they look very cute and sweet on very young postulants, sometimes they seem a little out-of-place for postulants who have been out of high school for awhile. On the other hand, the jumpers are a reminder that, even if a new postulant is 10 years older (or more) than some of her new Sisters, both postulants are equal in religion.
[/quote]


I would probably worry more about this point if I had to go out into the world as the active communities do. In Carmel, it doesn't matter so much how it looks (although we all have a certain amount of vanity, I am sure) because only our sisters see us, and there are no mirrors (sometimes a wonderful feature of Carmelite lie - sometimes a pain).

I prefer a skirt and vest to the jumper (yes, Iggy - these are for young people), but I do love having a uniform - not all communities have one for their postulants. It makes like so much easier. For the same reason, I love having a veil - easy. I am sorry that some communities got rid of the cape, but once again, it had its good points and its bad ones. I think a cape with little slits on the sides for the hands to come through would be good for things like washing hands or doing some quick tasks. Otherwise, it gets in the way and has to be thrown back or taken off and put back on too many times.

[InPersonaChriste]

[img]http://www.poorclaresroswell.com/Postulant-in-the-Garden.jpg[/img]
My favorites :D

Poor Clare Monastery of our lady of Guadalupe.

[img]http://images.quebarato.com.br/T440x/santa+teresa+de+los+andes+edicion+completa+san+bernardo+region+metropolitana+chile__5AD699_15.jpg[/img]

Since going to Chile I have been overly obssessed with this wonderful saint. The movie is beautiful, and I love the postulant dress.


[img]http://benedictinesofmary.org/imgs/formation/postulany-back.jpg[/img]
Had to post the postulant outfit for Benedictines of Mary. Cannot wait to visit them!