What's It Like To Wear A Habit In Hot Weather?

[MarieLynn]

I am going back to the 60's when I entered !!

As postulants we were required to bring

3 long white cotton nightdresses
A Robe (dressing gown) of a sober colour
1 pair black slippers
3 pairs black lace-up shoes
6 pairs black stockings
3 pairs bloomers
3 singlets
2 skin coloured corsets!!!!!
2 black waist slips (petticoats)
1 dozen mens handkerchiefs
Toilet gear (no deodorant or talcum powder)
1 St Andrews Missal
1 pair black Rosary beads
2 cards hair grips

That is all I can remember, but the list was endless!! I have never forgotten the "underwear requirements" - who could?

As postulants we wore a long sleeved black dress with detachable white collar, a black elbow length cape, and a black net veil with a white front edging. It was very hot wearing this outfit but when I became a Novice our Habit was of heavy black serge, with lots of starch for the headwear, and a heavy white veil, so it became even hotter -- good for mortification we were told.

[sistersintigo]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' date='07 July 2010 - 12:15 AM' timestamp='1278472534' post='2138811']
Note: Nashville may not be the "deep south" but it is quite warm there in the summer. The tradeoff, of course, is that Nashville is milder in the winter. Also, the Nashville Dominicans send Sisters to schools all over the U.S., so you can't predict where you will end up living. But, I suspect this is also true for many (most?) active Orders.
[/quote]

I second that statement: one of the parish schools run by Nashville (St. Cecilia) Dominican Sisters is across the street, literally, from Providence College in Rhode Island -- and you can bet that THEY have full-strength winter.

[Sarah147]

I love those slips, too! My friend loves them and recommended them to me because I hate the feeling of wearing nothing under a skirt. I was wearing thin long-johns under my skirts until she told me about these. We found one pair left at Kohls I think on sale for about $15. They are fabulous and breathable. I love them.

At one order I was trying out, one Sister was joking around about how one hot summer she was working in the hot, un-airconditioned kitchen and they remarked something about that now they know what hell is like and don't want to go there, and that they are doing their purgatory in that kitchen. Heh.

[toservelove]

I'm with the cloistered Dominicans in Farmington Hills, MI. We wear a traditional habit. I'm a white novice and one of our employees asked if God did something special so I wasn't so hot. I told her, "It's not that you don't get hot, you just don't seem to mind as much."
We wear a tunicell underneath which is like a big baggy full slip. Summer ones are of a lighter material than winter ones. Right now mine have long sleeves, but they will get cut shorter soon! Other than that it's regular underwear.
I also wear pettishorts, but I never knew that was what they were called. I personally call them my anti-thigh-rubbers. I'm starting to look for some workout shorts instead; something that has wicking to help with the sweat. In the winter it's regular long underwear (I like cuddleduds too--they last forever and they're so warm. Another good place to try is Wintersilks.com
There's another post with a photo show of our new postulant entering, so you can see our habits. (I'm the one with the white veil.) Postulants wear a white blouse and black skirt of their own choosing. I wasn't given any kind of list of what to bring, and probably brought too much. It's so hard to part with books! Especially for a Dominican!

[DameAgnes]

Your new sister looks wonderfully happy.

But her pictures reminded me how much I hate button-down shirts. They just look so uncomfortable to me! :-)