Do You Dress Up For Church?

i think the bigger the church, the wider the diversity of how people dress up. every mega type church i’ve been to, there’s differences among groups throughout. but churches on the smaller side, that tends to be the case. don’t know about the “not coming back thing.” shrug. as for me, i tend to dress casual. jeans, stylish top or t’…but IF i go, i don’t go sunday morning anyway, more like a night service or function…been that way for years

absolutely not. I personally don’t wear shorts since I’m leading worship but my husband does as an attender. The dressiest I get is a pair of black pants occasionally, but probably 80% of the time I lead in jeans. I wear a skirt some in the summer, but it’s really casual, with a tshirt and flip flops. I own two dresses – for funerals and weddings – and one black power suit, which I also use alot for funerals or when I am in a traditional setting but want to look professional (I haven’t used this in two years). I never can find a pair of pantyhose, which I thank God for. So that one time a year when I need them I have to go buy a new pair. Yea! It’s wonderful!

The only exception to this – for me – is Christmas Eve. I do enjoy dressing up a bit that night. I don’t know why. It’s just like a special occasion I guess.

We purposefully chose to be this way as a church when we planted because we too felt that clothing could be a barrier. My own opinion is that if we have to dress our best for God on Sunday morning we need to dress our best for God 24/7. As long as we’re modest I’m not sure God cares……

I am not sure I could ever go back to a traditiona and formal church…..

And we are- btw – way in the deep South….

Interesting post. For most churches attire has less to do with theology and more to do with demography. There are always churches that fall outside the norm, but for many, if the income is high and people have to dress up during the week, they are ready for a break on the weekend. Shorts, that shirt your boss told you not to wear, shoes that the HR lady would frown about, etc.

For working class churches, where uniforms, jeans and t-shirts are common during the week, they jump on the opportunity to wear their Sunday best. Church, for many people, is the reason you have “nice” clothes. Slacks, ties, jackets, dresses and hats are the way to go.

Ultimately I’m not sure either is correct… they are just reflective of the culture. Middle and upper class churches that dress too fancy are a turn off to my generation… but so would a working class church where no one dressed up. Dressing up shows respect – more respect than you get to show at any other time during the week.

Sorry for the long comment… hey, I may blog this!

Ash- The larger the church, the harder to generalize. But even in mega churches I think there is a majority that is one or the other. If you ever watch video of Osteen’s church it is very dressed up, but if you go to Lifechurch.tv it is very casual.

Jan- Obviously my South reference was a generalization but I still think a truthful one. Many many churches in the South are “suits only” churches.

Steven- Interesting thoughts. Hadn’t thought of if that way before. And I agree, I think they reflect culture not necessarily theology. But at the same time I’m sure there are people out there who believe those who don’t “dress up” for church are less Godly than those who do. What a shame!

Flip flops. Every week.

I was going to say what Steven said. I agree.

I clean up well and I look good in tux. Maybe sometime…..

well, we never wear shorts…

it’s 29 degrees this morning!

I dress up for the ladies.

I wouldn’t doubt it Ross, wouldn’t doubt it.

I grew up where we had to dress up for church. There were no questions about it – you had no choice. So I’ve always had that mindset. However, when I started going to Sunset I was excited to see that there is a mixture & no one is uncomfortable with that. So now I’m comfortable dressing casual – plus I serve in the nursery & it’s much easier to get down on my knees with the toddlers if I’m not wearing a dress. Dressing up is usually uncomfortable & I prefer to relax & put my mind on God and not the clothes I’m in!

I wasn’t arguing about the south at all so please don’t misunderstand me, just letting you know where we are and that we’re casual. In our area, which is more of a city atmosphere, many churches are much more casual than 20 years ago, but most are not as casual as we are. I think your observation is probably correct – in general the south is still more traditional – and in more ways than dress. When I have the opportunity to visit another church on that rare off Sunday I am always a little concerned about what to wear. I went to an ordination service where I was a participant and I had to wear a dress and everyone wanted to know who died. Most of my congregation had never seen me dressed up. So we are a bit different in that we are totally casual.

Tyler,
In everything I have found, this is mainly generational. I have talked to tons of people who were basically taught that one of the ways to honor God was to dress up for Him. A sign of respect. Then a whole generation of people have come who either haven’t been taught that, or just naturally disagree with that whole notion.
Personally, I believe I can honor God in my heart wearing flip flops, though I do have weird feet that might distract others in worship. But seriously, I do recognize that I need to be sensitive to my beliefs on those around people who see dressing up for God at church as natural as the sun rising. I have to find loving ways to let them know I believe God is more interested in their heart than their clothing. I also totally agree with you the message it can send to people who don’t know Christ or anything about the church. Good post Tyler.
Jay

Jan- I totally wasn’t arguing with you either. We’re cool

Jay- Generational, generally. I totally agree.

One point I could make. The Bible talks a lot about taking off our shoes in the temple and such. So maybe we should go to church barefoot.

I do both. It just depends on what I’m in the mood for that day. Somedays it’s dress slacks or a skirt, somdays it’s jeans and flip flops. And I’m on the stage doing worship. I love that freedom in church. I wasn’t raised in it, and I’m eating it up now.

If I remember my Western Civ the idea of dressing up came about to discourage the have nots who were typically very dirty from coal in London from mingling with the haves who were clean and well kept.

Like many things a theology was created to justify it but the result in England was fewer people gathering with the church.

[...] (My comment has been edited for this post, but you can view the original post and comment here.) [...]

Rachel- I think most people who grew up in the church are used to “dressing up”…but I think that a lot has changed in the last 20 years too as far as dress in church.

Darin- That is a really interesting point man. That certainly doesn’t make a good case for dressing up.

Very nice blog. I really appreciate where you’re coming from. There’s plenty here to give me plenty of food for thought and challenge me too.

I just don’t get the hubbub about what people wear to church. If people want to wear a suit and tie, be my guest or if they prefer to wear worn out jeans and a ratty old shirt, it honestly doesn’t concern me in the least. I personally wear whatever I feel like it. Most of the time, I just wear my jeans and a business casual shirt. Or I just wear what I wear to work (I work at home, so you can imagine what that might mean! hehe). Sometimes though, I feel like wearing something nice, just because and I’ll throw on my nice slacks and even . . . yeah I have been known to wear a tie.

As has been pointed out, there has been times when the church has used “Sunday best” as a way of stratifying the body and identifying the lessers, but I just don’t care one way or another what someone wears. It just seems like the silliest thing to worry about if you ask me.

Very interesting comments to this debate between ‘Sunday best’ and ‘casual approach’.

Seems as if we have some pretty passionate folk within the Church speaking up on this ‘sensitive’ subject. I’ve thrown my $.02 into the pot @:

http://kowalkerjourney.com/2008/11/10/do-you-dress-up-for-church/

I’m really digging your site. Keep up the insightful posts!

- Erik, from your backyard (Gresham, OR)

Living on an island and in a church that meets in a tent, we tend to wear Aloha attire at our church, the kids run around barefoot and in surf shorts. For the most part people aren’t wearing their ragged shorts and shirts. If you showed up in a suit @ my church you’d probably sweat to death and feel way out of place for sure. But your more than welcomed to come as you are.

Intersting thoughts…

My church is in one of the poorest cities in one of the wealthiest counties in the country. So there is a quite a swing of church types and sizes. Steven has it backwards in my experience. Around here, the larger, more affuent churches tend to be more casual, while the smaller, poorer, inner city churches are the ones where worshippers wear their “Sunday Best.”

Our church is a mix. There is no “dress code” per se. Most of the people come in causal clothes – dockers or jeans, button down, polo or nice tee for men, comfortable wear for women. You will see sport coats and you will see ties and you will see dresses. You will not see much in the way of shorts.

On the platform is a differnt matter. Our church came from very conservative roots, and some of that carries over. On the platform it’s a business casual kind of thing. Usually I wear a shirt and tie and slacks, and a coat in the winter.

I don’t think either “level” of dress stands out either way. Certainly most men should not be self-conscious wearing a tie or sport coat, especually if there are others who do as well. (BTW, I wear polos or open-collar shirts and Dickey’s at work, not a tie.)

On non-Sunday mornings (we have occaisional Sunday night services) jeans are ok on the platform.

We have a new pastor coming in in July. It’ll be interesting to see if anything changes.

I hate dressing up for church….the argument stands as “show God your best” bahhahaha- are you kidding me? God knows me inside and out completely- my best, my worst- who cares what I wear…That’s what I think. I do because it is expected of me. but I am most comfortable and worship (better) when I am myself am comfortable. Jeans and t-shirts…and maybe a trendy jacket.

I come from an incredibly conservative church background so I’ve worshiped with a group that had a printed-in-the-bulletin dress code but, thankfully, we’re no longer at that church. Now, in this less conservative group, there’s a wide range of attire. Some of our elders wear suits and ties, while most of the youth wear t-shirts, jeans and shorts. Me, if I get to serve, I choose not to wear jeans but I wouldn’t be frowned upon (too much) if I did. I’ve been working on our minister to get him to wear flip-flops during his message, but I haven’t yet broken him down.

What is interesting to me is that many Caribbean areas have similar weather to Hawaii yet they encourage a very conservative dress, unlike most Hawaiian churches.

It is interesting how dress code is not determined by the community but rather the head honcho. Not sure that is a great thing, yet it is a common reality.

I tend to sway to your side Justin.

I randomly decided to google this question and this came up…

I believe where the Bible remains silent we are given the authority and privelege to make the decision on our own. (PLEASE read Romans 14)

If you feel that dressing up is good for you to put yourself in a mindset that is to glorify God, then you should do it.
However, if you feel the opposite and choose not to bring your “Sunday Best” then that is okay as well.

I personally enjoy wearing jeans, some nice shoes, and a collared shirt. It helps me get prepaired for what I am going to be learning about in the morning, and it’s a good wake up for me to help me get set for my day with God.

As Romans 14 says: “Let us stop passing judgement on another”

“Dressing up” for church is nothing more than another man made doctrine taught as a commandment. The bible says nothing about having to dress up, but id does mention God’s people wearing rags (Paul), but then again, there were no church buildings until hundreds of years later, or pews, pulpits, worship leaders, one pastor leadership, choirs etc. All that came from the roman catholic church. I teach and do some preaching…in a t-shirt and tennis shoes, that way when someone comes in not in a suit, they feel comfortable. I believe people should be clean, definitely, but dressing up is not necessary unless you feel God is convicting you of the way you dress.

I used to dress in the so-called Sunday best – puffy-sleeved dresses, nice shoes, and all.

Nowadays, I dress depending on what type of Mass I attend (My Catholic parish is like over 75% casual, even in traditional High Masses.) I wrote on HubPages that dress codes vary from church to church. Some Tridentine Masses (services almost always recited in Latin) prefer more traditional clothing.

With that said, sometimes I dress for church, sometimes I don’t – it depends on the type of Mass.

http://hubpages.com/hub/churchclothing

Wear your best. Show reverance for God. We come together to worship and adore Him. John the Baptist did not have access to a “Suit” therefore he wore what he wore. Camels hair and rough clothing for John the Baptist were a sign of his devotion as a prophet.
Really, I wear the best I have to show God He alone is worthy of my respect and adoration. I also teach others the same.

I used to wear t-shirts and jeans to church. But now I wear khaki’s or slacks with a button down shirt and a real tie other times I’ll wear a nice Western shirt with a bolo and slacks.

Several years ago I did the Expierencing God workbook by Henry Blackaby to help me develop a much deeper relationship with God. One Sunday while sitting in church I felt a strong presence that God was telling me I shouldn’t wear t-shirts and jeans to church anymore. I started looking at ties and found some awesome witness ties at Walmart and for awhile I was buying a new one every Sunday after church and got many compliments every week and people were always curious about what new tie I’d be wearing every week. Than I bought some dress shirts, and pants.

Sometimes on my way home from church I stop and do an errand or two, or put gas in my car. What I came to realize through this is that when I stop somewhere on my way home wearing dress slacks with a button down shirt and tie on a Sunday it’s a witness to people that I went to church and hopefully they than feel the need to go. Also dressing nice like this is a witness to drop-in’s while at church that you’re not just a Sunday Christian but someone who values their relationship with Jesus and attends church regularly.

I attend a conservative non-denominational church and most people wear jeans or maybe something more toward very casual business wear. Most of our elders wear jeans with a casual button up shirt or something similar. There are still a few of us guys that wear ties and dress shirts and pants.

To summarize, I dress nicely with a tie and dress shirt and slacks because it tells other people that I went to church and hopefully they feel the need to find a church also. (On Sunday afternoon see how many people you can pick out in a store or other place away from a church that are dressed nicely.)

Any other time you’ll see me in jeans, shorts, love my muscle tshirts that I wear most of the time. I’m a very casual guy that loves getting dirty and mountain biking. can fix most gas powered equipment like chainsaws, lawnmowers etc. I’m a 33 year old guy born and raised in a rural part of Western Washington State.