I’m not sure what’s going on here with these vestments that are made in Russia and sold in France, but they sure are different. I’m not sure if this is the look for me, but it might be for you. I’m rather drawn to the Nordic-Ruskie feel of the robes. This looks like the sort of thing you’d wear to lead worship in the tundra.
Pair it with a big fur hat, sturdy black boots and some wolfhounds by your side and darling, you’ve got a look!
I just worry that some Russian seamstress is getting paid .03 rubles a day to put these together!
Was curious enough to check out the website – in the “previous collection” there is one that looks like the back of a wedding dress… multi-purpose I suppose!
LOVE the look! The address on the website is Massachusetts and the name is Russian. I smell a smart immigrant entrepreneurial woman.
The bias cut is fab — as is the simplicity of the lines. Very flattering.
Boy, I wish I had some money.
Yeah, I am part Russian. Does that explain it? (Not that I have no money, but that I like the look. Actually, it may explain the no money part too.)
How did you find this? Just surfing around?
Also, I want to know what Boy in the Bands thinks of this collection.
P.S. I saw she had a bu.edu e-mail address so I googled Larisa Waya Boston University and found that she is a recent graduate of the School of Theology. Have a look here.
Love,
Mata Hari
Ewww. This is a lot of cloth and would make many pastors look like balloons. I’m guessing it’s heavy and hot. Guess it’s not likely to be seen much in southern pulpits!
don’t worry – standards of living are rising all the time in the Russian motherland. Worry more about the exploitation in China etc that our economies seem to rely on so much
I like the look – and they’d be great in freezing churches in England- here in the Nordic north in Finland the churches are much too warm – but in Estonia these would be great – not that the locals could afford chic French prices that’s for sure.
Well, I think the one shown rather nicely cut — but are you kidding. Linen? Do you want to spend the rest of your pastorate ironing?
As I told Hubby, a non-ironer, when considering a pair of linen slacks, “Yes, they’re lovely, but if you get them you’ll regret it bitterly until the day you die.”
One other thing, like a cassock, it seems incomplete as an item of ecclesiastic ware. In white, it needs a stole and perhaps a matching cope, gold for choice.
Yes, in some churches servers wear nothing more than a cassock, but I don’t think we’re in a place with women’s ordination (or ecclesiastic fashion) where one wants to be mistaken for an altar girl.
Pretty sharp! Some of that stuff looks like it belongs in a period piece, not in a modern day church, but it might just feel that way because I’ve never seen a UU minister look so feminine at a service.
I love the collar! Perhaps I’d like it better if it were white or black (more overtly either an alb or a preaching gown) and without the brocade (all the better to pair with a stole).
I must disagree with the Boy in the Bands in my love for a cassock and surplice with a collar and a stole or tippet. IF it is long and clearly on a member of the clergy, it is not easily mistaken for acolyte garb. It looks elegant and covers a lot of figure issues, and is especially becoming on a pregnant person in my opinion.
I like preaching in cassock and surplice too :-).
I rather liked that black cassock she had in the collection — though I’ve never seen such a sexy one, but hey, we have to start somewhere, and it is sober — just well cut. Maybe I’ll put it on my wish list and wave the list around.
Linen is problematic but there are plenty of other fabrics there.
I loved the swing jacket (without the heavy cross pin and also without the pectoral cross [talk about cross jewelery overkill, two crosses?!] — unless you’re a bishop, which I am not) but it is out of stock. Would work very nicely either with or without clerical collar. I bet it costs a small fortune, though.
Oh my, it looks waaaay too Doctor Zhivago for me…I guess if you access the pulpit via a sleigh, it would be ok, but goodness…the words heavy and ponderous come to mind to describe the look.
Is she selling six inch fur hats to complete the look? Will the congregation have to sing Lara’s Theme as the gathering hymn? Tune in to find these answers later!
Lord, I just checked out that website…is she (or he) kidding with some of those vestments? Do corsets and bloomers come with that “cassock” with the ruffly stuff in the back? Who needs to have their butt highlighted like that? Is Kate Moss going to preach in their congregation?
I understand the desire to design more feminine looking vestments, but this seems like an unnecessary journey back in time to me.
What really cracks me up is that the sleeves are uneven for ease of serving communion!
What?? Cossack and Surplice? Oh…sorry, another misread on my part…
I actually bought the wheat robe. It does not wrinkle, it is comfortable, washable – very functionable. I am heavy and it was made to fit me. Fits perfectly. Love it!
I also bought the “russian” robe. It IS black – just kind of a flat black look. Also wonderful… but warmer. I’m serving in snow country, so will be wearing it in upcoming months.
I don’t know where anyone got the idea these are made in Russia! The woman is clergy. UM, I think.
I actually bought the wheat robe. It does not wrinkle, it is comfortable, washable – very functionable. I am heavy and it was made to fit me. Fits perfectly. Love it!