Plain Dress

In researching this post I am indebted to the PhD thesis The Relinquishment of Plain dress: British Quaker women's abandonment of Plain Quaker attire, 1860–1914 by Hannah Rumball of the University of Brighton (2016).

A painting apparently of Gracechurch Street Meeting in London
(no longer extant), circa 1770. Artist anonymous.

One of the most distinctive things about Quakers, for a significant chunk of our history, was our plain dress. Like several other sorts of nonconformists, this gravitated towards a fairly consistent set of clothing, a distinctive grey cloth. This might be seen as typified by the Quaker Oats logo, in its various incarnations over the years, though it has been suggested that whoever was behind the branding of Quaker Oats (not, by the way, an actual Quaker company – they were just trading on the reputation of Quakers) got us mixed up with Mennonites.

The traditional Quaker dress in England was very practical. Indeed, the goals of Friends' choice of clothing were to be practical and little else. It was to be humble, not concerned with fashion, and eschewing fripperies and ostentation. This was a matter of virtue in itself, and of demonstrating virtue in the world, as Fox is said to have set out on many occasions, including this epistle (numbered 250 in at least some collections):

Thoughts On Outreach

You may be aware that I recently posted some written ministry concerning outreach, asking why we are so quiet. I didn't mean in worship, of course; silent worship with contributions moved by the Spirit is at heart of the Quaker way. I mean how we are in the world beyond our little Meeting communities. I have written somewhat about this before, concerning the spiritual and moral imperative I see in outreach. It seems timely to put down some other thoughts on the matter.

I can understand a lot of reasons for reticence to engage in outreach. I can understand less the reticence I have seen among some Friends for others to engage in outreach, in general. You might be unsure of how to talk about Quakerism. You might not be generally socially outgoing. You might feel awkward at the idea of talking about your faith tradition as being a good thing. These are all valid. Some of them can be overcome, but none of them are things that you should feel you must overcome. Just because outreach is something that should happen, doesn't mean that everyone should be engaging in it. Indeed, I've sometimes seen people doing outreach who I would much rather weren't, but that's a whole other matter.

Religious Dress

Many faiths have associated manners of dress. Turbans and skullcaps, robes and stoles, many forms of clothing express the values or traditions of people of faith. What, then, is Quaker religious dress?

The Quaker faith is practical while being mystical; it is grounded in ordinary life and community, while it reaches to comprehend the divine. We seek to do good in the world with our hands, not just our words and our beliefs. We celebrate the equal standing of all people, and the availability of the divine to all. Our faith does not seek to glorify itself with worldly trappings, but to glorify the world by hard work.

True religious dress for a Quaker, then, is that which is practical. It is that which serves its goal most effectively without ostentation – except where that purpose requires ostentation. The world being what it is, sometimes it is necessary to dress to impress, but only in a good cause.

Religious dress for a Quaker does not attempt to set any above others. It does not say “this one is closer to God”, or “this one has greater social status”. Yet it does not seek uniformity, as we are each different, and that difference it precious.

Religious dress for a Quaker does not attempt to stand out. After the traditional dress of our forebears came to do so, it was set aside. Our work is in the world, and so are we, and we should not attempt to suggest, even by clothing, that things are otherwise.

Religious dress for a Quaker is economical and ethical, but achievable to each person by their means. It balances different concerns by the conscious effort and faithful discernment of each of us.

Religious dress for a Quaker is individual and expressive, allowing each to be true to their nature and their connection with the divine.

Religious dress for a Quaker is a means to an end, not an end in itself. As the ends vary, so must the clothes.

Written January 2017