Dresses With Clergy Collars Post I

Post #1 on Dresses With Collars!

Keep checking these posts, pastor broads, as your sisters are chiming in with helpful links to clergy dress manufacturers they like. I have yet to check out the sites and to post images but I am hoping that you will send photos of your own fine selves rocking the collar and dresses.

I have a bit of a prejudice against dresses because they are very sneaky garments. There they are hanging on the rack all pretty and apparently easy to deal with, when in fact they are NOT. Dresses are very difficult to fit, and unless you happen to luck into a style that fits you around the hips, waist, bosom, shoulders and neckline, you’re probably not looking as put- together as you would be wearing separates. Remember PeaceBang’s Helpful Fit Guideline: Just because you can get it on and it zips and you can sit down in it without splitting a seam doesn’t mean it actually fits you.

We are a lucky generation in that we have wonderfully versatile options available to us and lots of fabrics and styles that drape nicely on a wide variety of figures. The problem is, structured garments are a must for serious professional wear, so you can’t count on your comfy surplice wrap dress for all occasions (and I think wrap dresses are a very bad match with clericals — a major clash in aesthetics and message).

Here’s the Rev. Dr. Wil Gafney in a gorgeous dress and clericals. If this blog had a Poster Clergy Diva for how to Do It Right, I would give that honor to Wil. She is thoughtful and intentional about her image — that is, she knows who she is and what she wants to project. Wil changes up her look when the Spirit moves and has fun with her style, taking risks and evaluating whether a creative innovation really works for her. I love that. Wil attends to all the details of her look from tip to toe, and she manages her publicity photos with smarts and savvy. She rocks in all ways.

What works about this: it’s a whole ensemble, not just a pretty outfit that has a clergy collar imposed on it. That’s the challenge, women. It never works when you dress yourself and then add the collar as a kind of obligatory ugly accessory. The collar has an aesthetic, a history and a mojo all its own.

Now here’s another image of Professor Gafney which shows another (earlier?) incorporation of the collar with a dress. I can’t tell since it’s not full length. This image is less striking than more recent ones of Wil: her smile is less confident and she has not yet come into her own in the way I see today. The bib neckline of the dress is fairly conservative and traditional, and the matching blazer and big cross (which is fabulous and I’m sure has a story of its own) read the same. Nothing wrong with conservative and traditional if it works for you. The beautiful warm color feels to me like a nice break from black or navy, and Wil’s hair and accessories bring a LOT of life and individuality to her image, making a major statement without distracting from her proper Christian Leader attire. Also: perfect, glowing skin doesn’t hurt! (Girl, are you wearing any make-up there? Were you like 12 when this was taken?)

Keep those pictures coming and we’ll see what we’re working with. To be continued…