Reply to Does it bother you to see families super underdressed at church?

Forum Index » Religion

Reply to "Does it bother you to see families super underdressed at church? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am far from conservative, but I do give some people the side eye at mass based on outfits. Someone said it up thread, its the sports jerseys that get me. You could have just worn a plain tshirt. Wearing a sports jersey takes effort to be noticeably un formal. Wear jeans and a plain tshirt if you seek comfort or have nothing more formal in your wardrobe. But dress for the room, use some common sense. And yes, this is directed to grown men as much as teenagers.

I was particularly surprised this past Easter at the variety of outfits. Wearing sweatpants to 9am mass Easter morning is an odd choice to me. It shows literally no effort or desire to acknowledge a special occasion. I understand on some Sundays families are coming or going from various sports games. But on Easter Sunday? You cant wear some nicer pants? Women were under dressed too, many in jeans which surprised me, as its so much easier to just wear a casual dress and look much nicer.

I am mid 40s, liberal, and not someone who cares much about fashion, so this seems like an odd issue to bother me, but somehow it just does! I have elementary and middle school age kids and its not hard to tell them to put on a nice shirt and pants or shorts that arent athletic. They sell pull on chinos that are basically sweat pants. Polo shirts with athletic material that are super comfortable. Looking nicer doesn't have to mean youre itchy and tight. My kids know church clothes are different than play clothes.[/quote]

I’m in a similar demographic - 50 years old, liberal, Catholic woman with three kids ranging in age from 9 to 16.  I agree that what you describe is appropriate attire for church and is how our family dresses.  I usually wear dress pants or a dress, DH and our two boys wear khakis and a polo shirt or sweater, and our DD (the youngest) usually wears a casual dress.  All three kids play sports (including travel/HS sports with demanding schedules) and have other activities, so we’re often rushing to a game or some activity after church.  Yet, we’ve never let our kids wear a sports uniform to church, even if that means changing in the bathroom after mass.  We want them to learn to dress appropriately for whatever occasion and that there are considerations other than their own clothing preferences.

That said, I don’t judge other families or how they dress or even pay much attention.  I have no idea what goes on in the lives of people I don’t know.  Maybe they can only get their kids to go to church if they dress casually?  Maybe the parents are losing weight and baggy sweats fit best or they’re uncomfortable with how they look in dress clothes?  Who knows?  But, I think it’s hypocritical to sit in church and judge people.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics