PeaceBang is HERE FOR YOU! Why just today I got this:
Hello dear! I read your blog religiously (oh..punny!) and now find myself in a desperate situation! I am being ordained as minister of word and sacrament this Sunday. I am wearing a black suit (skirt & jacket from talbots) black tights, and…..(wait for it) I want to wear these killer, dark grey, pointy-beyond-belief heels I have found. My questions are thus: can I wear dark grey heels with a black suit and can I wear really hot heels to my ordination? I have pics if you need them…just tell me how to get them to you!
signed,
The Reverend Mrs. “Did you see her shoes?!?!”
I responded thusly,
Congratulations, Soon-To-Be-Reverend! NO. You may not wear the killer slutty pointy heels to your ordination. Especially not with tights. There are two issues:
1. Your shoes will upstage you and broadcoast to the assemblage that you do not have an appropriate sense of decorum for such a formal occasion and ;
2. We do not wear pointy heels with tights unless we want to look like Witchy-Poo. The proportions of a pointy heel are destroyed by the heaviness of an opaque tight.
Enjoy your wonderful day and let me know what shoes you DO wear! Photos, photos, we need photos!
Much love and a kiss of peace, PB
I would go so far as to say suck it up and wear sheer panty hose. I do not think black tights, which I love and wear on Sundays, are not formal enough for ordinations. And definitely no on the pointy shoes.
I totally agree. Black sheer hose and pumps–the heel can be high if you don’t teeter (and if you don’t have stone floors with a lot of grout–some of my shoes with thin heels get caught in the grout and that is not fun!) Having cool shoes and wearing them is fun, but you don’t want to be defined by them.
My gut reaction is to agree with the above as to black sheer hose and pumps. However, it does say they are dark grey so possibly with a grey/ black sheer hose…I would want to see them. If they are not high heel killer than maybe…
O.K. friends, this is the shoe. I think it looks very conservative in the picture, but on the foot they are AWESOME!
/www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/zbrandskiosk/shoesforwomen/danabuchman/PRD~836223/Dana+Buchman+Mary+Janes.jsp
Those are HOT! I’m a fiend for charcoal grey! Okay, listen, you can wear them with a conservative skirt but a dark sheer hose. Do be aware that they are really pushing boundaries in the sexy department and that you are broadcasting that, and that some will pick up on it. I don’t think you’re going to like standing around greeting people in those, either. But I approve — just barely, and most certainly not with tights, but go for it! Mazel tov!
WAIT. How long is the skirt? If the skirt is hitting you even the slightest smidge above the knee these shoes are too much. I also think that a black pantyhose is wrong for these. They should be sheer black.
Just think about what you would rather people were thinking when they leave the ordination. “What a wonderful service”, “didn’t Melodie look radiant?”, “a spirit-filled start to her new ministry” ?
Or “did you see her shoes?”
On the other hand I was ordained deacon barefoot. What with the brand new clerical shirt, cassock and surplice, and a British heatwave (yes honestly), it was the only way to cope with the heat – and no-one could see my feet anyway! My priestly ordination also happened in a UK summer – and the only really appropriate footwear would have been Wellington Boots – but I went for the low heeled courts instead.
Skip hose altogether. Wear the shoes. They’re not slutty (in the picture anyway). [ NO SKIPPING HOSE for an ordination. Absolutely not, and especially not with a suit. Totally inappropriate.- PB]
I feel like a conservative suit, like you describe, needs stockings–not tights, not bare legs– but stockings. It’s a formal occasion. I think the shoe is great–not over the top at all. Doesn’t look super comfy for the party after, but might be worth it!
If the way be clear, have a great ordination.
I say wear the heels.
I agree on the stockings, sheer. Black tights with black suit – trying too hard. (I’ve seen that in other photos on this site and I don’t get it) Shoes are gorgeous – however, are you used to wearing 4 inch heels and how long will you be standing? I managed to work up a Morton’s neuroma wearing heels for only 4 hours, since I was standing all that time. Its like a wedding – you won’t enjoy yourself as much if your feet are killing you.
Another vote for wearing the shoes but with sheer pantyhose or VERY sheer black. But only if you know for sure you can stand in them all day, because sore feet will make you frown.
I’ve been thinking about this some more. If they won’t hurt your feet, I think the shoes are fine, but ixnay on the sheer black stockings, which say “evening.” At best. Sheer flesh tone is really the only way to go.
Many, not all, of the Lutheran women that I know (including myself) wear red shoes for our ordinations. It is the liturgical color of the event–we wear our white albs, and receive and wear our first stole, red. Underneath, I’ve seen all sorts of combinations with those shoes; I wore a black suit with a white clergy shirt, but the effect is bright, confident and celebratory.
If those sweet gray maryjanes are comfortable enough, by all means wear them. I add one more vote for sheer hose; it will be a class act. Abundant blessings on your ordination!
If you do go with the sheer hose, make sure your nails are smooth and that you have a back-up pair in your bag, just in case.