What Do People Wear to Church?

Sunday Clothes

In my last post, I explored what the clergy wear to church.  In this post, I want to explore what people (the laity) wear to church.

There is an old tradition often referred to as Sunday clothes, sometimes called Sunday best (or sometimes Sunday best clothes).  The idea is you put on your best clothes, sometimes your newest clothes, for going to church, whatever your tradition.  In this tradition, people often dressed to the hilt, in accordance to their means, when going to church on Sunday.

For many, this tradition showed respect for God, respect for the church, and respect for each other.  For those who continue in this tradition, it is similar to the requirement to dress well when going to court (the law still requires you to avoid overly casual clothes such as shorts, tank tops, sandals, etc. when you go to court - in order to show respect for the law, the court, and the judge.  The judge can hold you in contempt if you dress inappropriately.)  However, for those who uphold this tradition, it is more than a show of respect, it is a show of celebration and joy, yet with a touch of sobriety and solemnity.

This tradition is celebrated in the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly (1964 - music & lyrics by Jerry Herman - book by Michael Stewart), adapted into a film in 1969, in the song, Put On Your Sunday Clothes.  Though it doesn't put this tradition in the context of going to church, it speaks to the sheer joy of putting on your best clothes to get you out of your blues and to prepare you to go in style into town.


Unfortunately, at many churches that followed this tradition, if anyone came with long hair, blue jeans, or otherwise casually dressed, they were not only made unwelcome, but all too often asked to leave unless they returned appropriately dressed.  While many were not asked, they simply felt unwelcome.

This led to a different tradition in many contemporary churches where casual clothes are acceptable, and often welcomed, or even encouraged.  In some, this tradition has gone so far as to make you feel unwelcome if you get dressed up for Sunday.  (Sort of the opposite effect.)

Other churches have found some sort of a happy middle, where people are free to dress however they choose to, with some dressing tending more to what might be considered their Sunday best, while others dress more casually, with everyone seeming to get along as far as their attire goes.

I appreciate both traditions, especially after visiting all the churches in Petaluma.  I like dressing in my Sunday clothes as well as casually, depending on the church tradition I visited.  I am much more interested in what is in the inside of Christians than what they wear on the outside.