The moment I saw the photo I said to myself, “What is she wearing?”
Welch is an Episcopal priest, hence the collar. Her upper body is austere, groomed, she has a welcoming smile and looks like a strong, trustworthy presence.
The outfit baffles me completely.
It looks to me like a sundress over a shirt over a pair of pants, topped with a black duster. Or maybe a long, wacky apron over what would have otherwise been a tailored all-black outfit.
Is it supposed to be a kind of vestment? If Elizabeth comes out of the creative congregation St. Gregory’s, it might be: they have a really alternative sense of vestments there. But why would she be in some sort of vestments as a hospital chaplain? Was she presiding at a chapel service in this? Visiting patients?
If Rev. Welch meant to have a sort of tunic look, her proportions are way, way off. A tunic would hit her at mid-thigh, not mid-calf. And if she wanted to wear a dress, she should have worn this dress with leggings, not a full pair of pants.
We’ve all seen hipster girls in cotton dresses over a pair of jeans by now, and I happen to love the look. I just don’t love it on working clergy. Again, if she was going for that look the dress should hit at the knee, absolute maximum length.
I don’t know what’s going on here. I think of her moving in this garment and it seems to me it’s all just mounds and mounds of fabric.
Maybe Rev. Welch will let us know what she was thinking, explain to me what I’m missing, and bring us all on board. That necklace is cool; I can’t see what it is but maybe it’s part of this whole ensemble.
Note to us all: TRY try TRY not to let the photographer shoot you from above like this!!! It makes a small woman look like a little girl. It’s disempowering, it literally diminishes you (look at the point of view: the photograph LITERALLY “looks down on” the clergywoman), and you need to take charge and say “If you want a photo of the space, take it from there. If you want a photo of me, I’d prefer a more direct angle, thank you.” Better yet, YOU stage the photo before the photog arrives and come up with some great ideas that he or she can get behind. Remember that photographers are after a good picture and that usually has ZERO to do with the image you want to project.
All the best to Rev. Welch in her ministry!
To me it looks like a sundress/halter dress worn over pants and a clerical shirt with a sweater coat. I’ve worn on occasion a sundress over a long sleeve cotton shirt but it didn’t look too hot. A tunic indeed would be much shorter like a micro mini.
A great looking gal but I think this outfit would look better with dark tights instead of the pants.
My tangential comment is a request for a longer, in-depth post on a secondary issue in your post.
PB, it was arresting to read your comments about being assertive with photographers — it hits a sore (but hungry) spot in me. Over the years, I’ve struggled to set polite, professional boundaries with photographers and sound people at weddings. Most respond warmly; a small fraction have responded with disdain or even outright contempt.
At a recent wedding, for example, I greeted the sound guy warmly, thanked him for his work, and took the the headset microphone he gave me. I told him it was the same model I use every Sunday, that I was very comfortable using it, and that I needed to turn it on/off myself during the ceremony. (He, of course, would’ve had no idea how the ceremony would flow, when the singers would perform, etc.) The man turned purple, irate that I would not permit him to control my sound during the 20 minute ceremony. He refused to speak to me for the rest of the day; his ruffled assistant took over. And the ceremony went splendidly, precisely because I could turn my mic off when I needed to greet the couple, clear my throat, yada yada.
Being assertive can be fraught for some of us. Like me, Rev. Elizabeth projects a young, kicky image. She is a religious authority, but my experience is that there many photo or sound professionals out there for whom Young + Pretty + Hip + Authority does not compute, and who summarily ignore polite, appropriate statements such as “I’d prefer that you shoot me from a more direct angle, rather than from above.”
When our authority is steamrolled it may just be our cross to bear, for which nothing but grace and forebearance can be offered. Still, I’d love to hear your further thoughts & advice on how to continue to project a non-anxious professional presence when some people aren’t receptive.
[Oh HONEY. My first rule is, ask nicely. The moment that your reasonable and polite request gets ANY pushback, become a steely-cold bitch. Remarks like, “Would you like to have it your way and I can leave, or shall we do it my way and we’ll actually have the wedding?” work wonders. Cold stare. Who cares if they don’t like you? It’s our job to preside over a religious ceremony and to set parameters and boundaries that make it possible for that to happen just the way that you and the couple discussed. Some of these folks have lost their perspective and who can blame them? With the Wedding Industrial Complex emphasizing the production over the sacred intent of the day, they actually believe that their contribution is more important than yours. Which is nonsense. I had a wedding planner say to me a few weekends ago, “Could you just stretch the ceremony a little bit so that we don’t have dead time before cocktail hour?” I stared at her with a slightly imperious gaze, just silent. “Um, I mean, can you talk more slowly or something?”she said, slightly flummoxed. I said, with not a hint of a smile, “I don’t have any intention of changing a religious ceremony to accommodate a cocktail hour.” I mean, what a stupid, stupid request. Insulting and a waste of time. If people can’t wait for 10 minutes to get a glass of booze in their hands, what in the world have we come to?
My chilly response to her wasn’t just because of that request. It was because she was trying to establish herself as the Alpha in the proceedings and I’m sorry, darlings, YOU must be the Alpha at any wedding or funeral. Not the sound guy, not the wedding planner, not the florist or the caterer. If bringing on an In Charge persona isn’t your thing, fake one until it comes naturally. We’re not out to win Miss Popularity or to be warm and sweet and get walked all over. Don’t let it happen to you. And don’t think a thing about it when someone throws a little diva fit on you. You’re all there to do your jobs and make for a perfect wedding. – PB]
I actually don’t mind the outfit! It kind of has a middle eastern vibe to me, the way so many tops and dresses of varying lengths are paired with trousers. Maybe somehow a little more fitted through the waist might look more professional here, but I find it a pleasant look.
enh, the outfit isn’t so bothersome to me. It’s San Francisco. And we have to layer against the cold. But good questions/comments about authority and alpha wimmin energy! Somehow I went from girlie to tough broad overnight and I’m really starting to enjoy the “don’t mess with me” posture.
She’s trying to look less uni-denominational is my bet.
I think it looks like what a lot of Muslim women wear as well as Indian, etc. If she is ministering to all sorts of people, wearing an outfit that works for all sorts of faiths seems to be wise to me. I don’t think it looks bad at all.
I totally agree about the photograph angle – I wonder if the photographer was going for an angelic type thing because I’m getting a Precious Moments vibe from the pic. I don’t find her outfit to be problematic – it looks like something my mom (a Muslim) would wear. Indie might have hit it on the nail – wearing leggings under a knee length dress might not fly if you’re trying to work with more religiously conservative populations.
Hmmmm. I don’t think the outfit is APPALLING (I’ve seen worse on clergy; jumpers and lumpy sweaters), but it’s not quite… right. As for people who mentioned the middle eastern vibe, those layered tunics hit just above the knee, NOT past it. I think that’s where the confusion comes in.
Also, as for layering against the cold: if New Englanders can still present a collected and polished attitude while existing in 25 degree snowstorms, San Franciscans can do the same in 50 degree rain.
I simply find the outfit… confusing. I agree with you, PB, it’s got to be one or the other; it feels a little too awkwardly pieced together. But from the shoulders up? Fabulous.
I agree about the camera angle. I also think this lovely chaplain is not doing herself any favor with her stance in this photo. The crossed arm posture looks mildly defensive and diminutive, more apologetic than authoritative. I never would have notice such a thing before I started reading this blog, PB, but you’ve drawn my attention to how much body language matters in photos.
i know rev welch rather well from our seminary days. i usually love your column but i hope you sought out her permission before using her name and image and sharing what might feel like a scathing assessment of her clothing. [If I take photos at conferences or in church, I always ask permission before publishing them. A published image in the media, however, becomes part of the public conversation. – PB]
I don’t like everything about the outfit, but I think it is clergy-appropriate. It would probably stand out too much in New England, but I live in her city and here, it works. (And it does stop at the knee, not mid-calf, unless she has freakishly long calves.) I think you are off “what’s appropriate and becoming” and onto “what fits PB’s personal taste” on this one. [Not at all. I wear dresses over pants all the time — and because I don’t want to hem the dresses that I might want to wear with tights, also, I wear them far too long. Just not to work. As always, I am reading this outfit for what it says about ministerial image. If I look at someone and have no idea what they’re trying to communicate with their attire, I say so. – PB]
When I saw the outfit I thought “I do not speak california” but I truly think it is sort of edgy and cute, particularly with the short hair and glasses. Chaplains are not known for their style, and this shows real, intentional, style. Not my own style, but style nontheless.
Pray for me as I wear my black knee high boots with a knee length skirt to work for the first time tomorrow 😉