Comment by kevin roberts on 9th mo. 5, 2011 at 9:33pm

ha

 

and another one bites the bullet

 

welcome aboard

Comment by Jenna Caruthers on 9th mo. 6, 2011 at 8:49am

Thank you, Kevin. Glad to be aboard. It occurred to me after I posted this that I've now become one of the people I looked to when looking at conservative Quakerism and becoming plain. Feels a little weird. ; )

Comment by kevin roberts on 9th mo. 7, 2011 at 8:12pm

well, it goes with the territory, really. plain dress has always had a four-fold symmetry, so to speak. first, it simplifies and allows you to think about more important things in your life. second, it specifically identifies you to other plain Friends who have felt the similar call, which is very rewarding and saves a lot of time. third, it protects you from being mistaken for someone who is likely to follow the dominant culture in many ways, so you're safer in courtrooms and you are often treated better than you deserve. and fourth, it keeps you on your toes, because you cannot blend in and disappear. you have become a full-time witness to something, and people who don't understand that are going to stare at you, and call you nuts.

you've caught on to that last part already. the plain witness in dress is a responsibility, something that you offer up to god in the same way roman catholics burn candles and the old time christians used to fast.

but it opens up doors in places that you didn't know doors existed.

you'll see.

Comment by Leslie Rodgers on 9th mo. 8, 2011 at 8:14pm

Four dresses?

Now that you're out of the closet there's not much left in there.  ; )

Seriously, life is a lot simpler when it doesn't revolve around having the 'right look' for each and every occasion.

Comment by Paula Roberts on 10th mo. 8, 2011 at 6:49am

The other day I was at the barn giving one of the old retired horses a bit of attention.  I ended up giving him a bath. I was wearing one of my jumper dresses and a slip dress underneath. By the end I was pretty wet, and there was mud on my dress, especially along the sodden hem. The barn manager observed to me that my dress was all muddy.  It made me realize something interesting. I don't have many "special clothes" anymore. It is an interesting and unexpected consequence of going plain(ner) I think. Outside of my riding breeches I wear the same clothes everywhere.  Take the universal jumper, for example, (for the sake of translation, here are examples of jumpers http://www.katiesmercantile.com/jumpers.html), I wear it to teach, I wear it to Meeting, I wear it around the house, I wear it on errands, I wear it to walk the dog....   No more special clothes.

Comment by Marcie Tillett on 2nd mo. 20, 2012 at 7:03pm

Hello Jenny,

Thank you so much for your post! I, too, am coming out of the closet! I have felt the pull to cover for many years. Two summers ago I started wearing a lace head cover and it felt like I was walking naked for all the world to see! When I went on a convention for the University that I work for, I lost my nerve and didn't wear it. I really beat myself up about it and decided that I just didn't have what it took to be obedient. Well, around this past Thanksgiving I got a word about not giving up and was hit with sermons about how committed to God I was. I started covering again on Thanksgiving day- this time a full bandanna-type cover, and switched the jeans and dress pants for skirts and dresses. - My family really tore me up about it!

The more I dressed plainly, the better I felt, so now I am sewing my plain dresses and hope to have my first completed this weekend. - Not sure how the university where I work will take my new look, but I feel so much more freedom now!

I can't wait until I have my own bonnet so, like Quaker Jane, I can give the rude staring people "the bonnet"!

 

Comment by Leslie Rodgers on 2nd mo. 20, 2012 at 10:30pm

Marcie,

     Best wishes for your plain dress sewing. I recall when sewing my first plain dresses that my sewing space felt like it had been transformed into a sacred space. Which sounds nutty I know....but it was somehow very different sewing plain and purposeful clothes compared to my years of sewing done to "be in fashion" or to show off my sewing skills. For me sewing plain dresses is more satisfying. Welcome out of the closet!

Comment by Paula Roberts on 2nd mo. 20, 2012 at 10:49pm

I live in rural Pennsylvania so Plain folk are not a rarity. You'll see Amish, Old Order German Baptist, Mennonite, etc. My challenge is that I walk alone as a Plain Friend.  I take pains not to seem to be posing as one of the other Plain folk -my cape dresses are not the same colors as theirs.  What I miss is the fellowship of other Plain Quakers or Plain friends. I see these women, but they belong to each other, and I don't belong with them. 

Comment by Leslie Rodgers on 2nd mo. 21, 2012 at 10:46am

   I too miss fellowship, miss that sense of being part of a "tribe", which I think is an ancient human need.  I'm in rural Indiana, lots of Anabaptists here.  Like you, I chose my colors, fabrics etc to make me plain-ish but not Anabaptist looking out of respect.  Frankly I envy people who have a church family, but there is no church here where I fit in, so it's just me ....trying to follow what light is in me. 

Comment by Marcie Tillett on 2nd mo. 21, 2012 at 12:19pm

Hello Paula and Leslie,

Thank you for your well wishes!

I understand completely how you feel. I am in Owensboro, KY and I don't believe there are any others here, either (maybe one person - I saw a profile for a Bob Smith that had no pic like me). I'm currently attending a Cumberland Presbyterian church because they are woderful and they put up with my quirky attire, but I would love to find a group close to me. I did find a Friends church in Nashville, but that is 2 1/2 hrs away from me.

Leslie, what part of Indiana are you in? Anywhere near Evansville?

 

Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page