Really.
Jackie Kennedy, Easter Sunday, 1962 - that's as in going on close to 50 years ago.
Notice the length of Jackie's dress. Yes, right around the knee-cap. Where NORMAL Catholic women of the day wore their dresses. Notice how she is not wearing thin cotton trousers underneath for some weird-o sense of "modesty." Notice her dress is not mid-calf or longer. Notice she is not competing for the "Duggar dowdy" award and does not feel compelled to unite with the Pakistani "sisterhood."
Padre Pio allegedly would have fainted over the lack of sleeves, but most normal American women, even then, especially in warm climes, would not have.
So, please. Do yourselves a favor. Muslim men don't go to church, so you really don't have to worry about being leered at by Muslim men at a Catholic Mass.
7 comments:
Having spent time with the SSPX you're post is spot on.
Some of the women looked like Jackie Kennedy but the majority looked just plain awful (and still do). Wool socks, combat boots (I kid you not), sloppy long skirts, greasy hair, and no makeup. However...........their husbands tended to look pretty natty! Double standard? You bethcha!
You can go anywhere in Post Falls and immediately spot the SSPX'ers. And their girl children are even worse. As per their double standard their boys look half way normal. My heart bleeds for the poor girls.
Oh, mine too, on the girls.
I mean, look at the Duggar boys. They look sharp in Khaki, and sport shirts with collars. Their sisters look as if they are dressed as if their brothers are from parts of the country where a family reunion is considered a good place to pick up a hot date.
Really.
Fri. Night I returned to St. Anne's virtually ALL the women had these long dowdy sack dresses on, no makeup *at all* some with cotton long pants on. If they looked like Pakistani women who'd converted, it would have been an improvement. At least they do have some style. There was a women or two with slacks on (as I wore) but they were by far the minority. Dare I say I was the only woman there with out mantilla or scarf?
I saw one young mom clap a mantilla on her six year old daughter's head. My thought was: You better pray your mom always remembers to bring that for you kid, otherwise you'll get a kleenex on the head before you know what hit you.
A certain priest who visited San Diego last year, remarked to me he found it, how did he put it? "unusual" to see a PAPER DOILY being worn....
Really, I've noticed for years. The piety is one thing. That's all good in the hood and commendible. But these faux memories (if they are even old enough to HAVE them) of what normal, reasonably modest women wore to church back then are just plain ODD.
But go to any "special do" [as there was when St. Therese's relics were here in 2000] and you'll find "armies?" of these dowdy women around.
The creepy thing is these women happened to be in the *majority.* I mean, there weren't a ton of us at Mass Fri night.
+JMJ+
Are you sure they weren't just middle aged? With apologies to stylish middle aged women, I think you've just described many of the over-forty, female members of the congregation at the daily Mass (Ordinary Form) I attend.
Hi E:!
Nope. They were just d*o*w*d*y with a capital "D". I'm 51 and somehow I manage to look younger than the 40 year olds!!!
I'm talking skirts almost down to the FLOOR, thick heavy socks[!], birkenstock type footwear, nuns in habits look spiffier....
And the weirdest thing was the number that wore these long bulky skirts with thin cotton long trousers underneath - like some Pakistani woman.... except the latter tend to be positive fashionistas compared to these!!
I did go Ash Wednesday. Where quite a few "normal" people from the 'hood showed up for ashes. No mantillas, for instance. I'm not crazy about mantillas, but at least these look nice. Wouldn't wear one myself...but if it floats their boat, fine. I have too many bad beanie/kleenex flashback moments from when they were always trying to get girls to do the scut work, while the guys got the interesting things. THAT part of the Latin Mass "culture" I want no part of!
Check that. 52. Senior moment. I forget to add one every Sept. 18th. When I was in my late teens I remembered talking to a priest who'd told me that for some years he'd forgotten how old he was. I was surprised then. I'm not now.
+JMJ+
Ah, Gem, I'm in my twenties and I already forget my age! =P
By the way, you don't look the age you say you are at all!!!
"E" I had that photo taken shortly before my 50th.
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