I am not Catholic but I've participated in 3 fashion threads lately where I've been flamed for suggesting that tweens and 20s-aged women look for dresses that cover the shoulder, don't have cleavage, and hit just above the knees. What I derive from this, is that mainstream casual and date dresses without sleeves (can put cardigan over), V-necklines, and mid-thigh hems are acceptable to a lot of moms.

Life used to be a much slower pace. For many people, Mass was their Sunday activity. So you got dressed up for it, went out after, etc. For most families, this is no longer a reasonable expectation. Mass is one of the many things happening on a Sunday. The Church is smart enough to welcome anyone with open arms, regardless of what they are wearing. They desperately need young parishioners.

Anonymous wrote:IME, Catholic mass has always been a more casual affair than other denominations' church services.

because it is required and no one wants to me there IMHE

Anonymous wrote:People are trashy, even in church. At 8am Mass I've observed men in cargo shorts and flip flops. Women baring cleavage, spaghetti straps, shorts and unkempt hair. This is in a more conservative Catholic church.

God is happy that they cared enough to show up.

People are trashy, even in church. At 8am Mass I've observed men in cargo shorts and flip flops. Women baring cleavage, spaghetti straps, shorts and unkempt hair. This is in a more conservative Catholic church.

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the pros about being Catholic. I grew up in a Protestant church where I had to wear a dress and pantyhose.

In Catholicism the important thing is that you go every single Sunday. If that means you're showing up in scrubs on your way home from a 13 hours, or stopping by a random church between two games at a soccer tournament, or whatever, God is glad to see you there.

Anonymous wrote:Do American families dress nice for anything today?

Yes, there are many things.

I was so happy as a teen when I lived at the beach and church was so much more welcoming and laid back.

Now I am so happy to see kids in their soccer kits at mass, it shows that kids have great passions for things and parents are not stifling them "for god".

God does not care what you wear.

Do American families dress nice for anything today?

IME, Catholic mass has always been a more casual affair than other denominations' church services.

This is one of the pros about being Catholic. I grew up in a Protestant church where I had to wear a dress and pantyhose.

About the only churches in America where people dress well today are African American churches.

Anonymous wrote:First time at Mass in many years. Struck by how casual families dress. Growing up, all the men were in sport coats and gals in dresses. Mass was an occasion. And then we’d get breakfast afterwards dressed in our ‘Sunday best’. Is this casual dresscode now the norm at every church? I honestly don’t like it. It blunts the optics of church, to me.

I certainly hope so.

Church is about worship and learning to be the best Christians we can be. It isn't a fashion show, so if you are upset that people's casual clothing "blunts the optics" then perhaps you have some soul searching to do.

No one exists, or gets dressed, to satisfy your eyes.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s and mass was a casual affair then - lots of kids and parents in jeans. Might be a regional/cultural difference.

First time at Mass in many years. Struck by how casual families dress. Growing up, all the men were in sport coats and gals in dresses. Mass was an occasion. And then we’d get breakfast afterwards dressed in our ‘Sunday best’. Is this casual dresscode now the norm at every church? I honestly don’t like it. It blunts the optics of church, to me.