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Carmelite Habit


Strictlyinkblot

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Strictlyinkblot

Oh wow! Thanks for all the info. I'd love to be able to try one on. Nunsense, I love your description of it as a hug.

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Ah, we tucked up our scapluar by reaching to full arms length, holding both sides, then folding it on itself, then tucking it into the belt, so easy for times when the scapular can get in the way but you don't need to lose the length of the habit, such as mealtimes.

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And then there was the convent in Edmonton, where we had a whole different 'work habit' that we had to change into every time we started our official 'work' (which was knitting on knitting machines) and then change back for the Office or anything else. We didn't just change veils - we changed our whole outfit!!! I have never heard of any other Carmel doing this... but then these nuns were founded in Macau - where the temps were hotter and more humid than Perth!!

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[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1319363927' post='2325559']
And then there was the convent in Edmonton, where we had a whole different 'work habit' that we had to change into every time we started our official 'work' (which was knitting on knitting machines) and then change back for the Office or anything else. We didn't just change veils - we changed our whole outfit!!! I have never heard of any other Carmel doing this... but then these nuns were founded in Macau - where the temps were hotter and more humid than Perth!!
[/quote]

Louisiana Carmels do this. Only because it is so darn humid.

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[quote name='the171' timestamp='1319366018' post='2325572']

Louisiana Carmels do this. Only because it is so darn humid.
[/quote]


This just goes to show why some had to change to a modified habit. In Perth, it isn't humid - it is desert dry, but temps in the summer are over a hundred for days on end... and near enough on other days not to make a difference. It was the only place I didn't wear socks!

I have to say that I don't understand why Edmonton still does the change of habit thing though since it was 40 below (Celsius) there and indoors the temps were controlled by central air -- and they already had a modified habit!

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[quote name='the171' timestamp='1319366734' post='2325574']
They had to modify in LA. But if I enter Laffy, I would like to request full.
[/quote]


You might find that by the time you get to clothing, you want to be like the other sisters, just to feel a part of the community. In Perth, a few of the older sisters didn't want to make the change so they still wore the old habit, but most new sisters entered thinking they would choose the old one but by the time they got to clothing they felt more of a sense of unity by matching the majority of the community. It is a tough choice to make.

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[quote name='the171' timestamp='1319366734' post='2325574']
They had to modify in LA. But if I enter Laffy, I would like to request full.
[/quote]

I never realized that you got to choose in some communities. I think Lafayette's current habit is really tasteful. :)

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[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1319367038' post='2325578']

I never realized that you got to choose in some communities. I think Lafayette's current habit is really tasteful. :)
[/quote]

Technically, you can request with any community. All the sisters, currently wear the modified, but I would like to wear the full. If I can't it's ok. but it'd be AMAZE-CAKE if i could.

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I have to apologise for an error in 'putting on the habit' - either due to old age and bad memory or extreme tiredness....

Not that it really matters here but the toque goes on after the habit and before the scapular - it is the white bit that you can see under the scapular front and back (and I remember having trouble reaching up behind my back to pull the toque down when it would bunch up. The straight pin on the shoulder of the scapular would go through the scapular first, then the toque, then the habit -- and that is how the sister accidently stuck the pin into my skin - trying to get it through so many layers of fabric.

It has been a long time since I wore the habit, so it was interesting trying to remember it all again... must go off to bed now before I remember something else I got wrong :P

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It almost sounds as if you'd have to be a mechanical engineer to either get dressed or "tuck-up" ! How long did it take you to master the whole process?

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[quote name='Francis Clare' timestamp='1319378267' post='2325639']
It almost sounds as if you'd have to be a mechanical engineer to either get dressed or "tuck-up" ! How long did it take you to master the whole process?
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About a day for most of it, maybe 3 days to put the veil straight without a mirror, but by nature of my work I got extra practise getting in and out of it to change into smocks! The hardest bit was pinning the veil to the band, which was done before you put it on, but it was also a lovely job to do and one I miss terribly.

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