Fashion: The Black Christian Woman

Many Christians get dressed up for church on Sunday morning. This includes Christian women of all races. Black women, however, appear to have given the fullest expression to the concept of getting dressed up. While some black women belong in the plain and simple category or the classic category, some have developed a style that is culturally unique to the black woman. Generally, this style involves a dress or skirt (with coordinated jacket) that falls below the knee, and a hat. And, the hats are sometimes flamboyant and very expensive.
For some Americans, especially those of poor economic background, going to church on Sunday was the only break from a life of hard work. Getting dressed up was a way to honor God and to uplift one’s mood. As some poor and working class people were able to improve their circumstances, wearing one’s best clothing to church took on an added dimension: more money could be spent on clothing which, for some families, became an indication of their hard work and upward mobility. This new economic status was especially symbolized by the woman’s hat which was quite adaptable to materials and decoration.

Among Christians who believe that a woman should cover her head in church, there is controversy over what type of covering is appropriate: veil, scarf, handkerchief, dolie, mantilla, shawl, cap, bonnet, or hat. Black women adopted the hat. However, European and American women had been wearing hats for many years. To this day, many English women wear hats to church and to formal occasions.

There was a time in America, as late as the 1950s and 1960s in some areas of the country, when women typically dressed in nice clothing whenever they left the home—to go to the grocery store, to the movies, to restaurants, and to church. In those days, that usually meant a hat and gloves, probably a necklace with matching earrings, nylon stockings, and shoes with a medium heel. It was considered decent and respectable.
It may have developed logically, therefore, that a woman should reverence God more than she would a restaurant. The hat was very conducive to an outward expression of giving one’s best to God.
The black woman’s hat presents questions for Christians. To what extent should churches incorporate local custom? How do churches balance diversity among peoples with the essentials of doctrine and worship? How much flexibility can there be in the interpretation of what constitutes modest clothing? Should there be a universal dress code among churches and, if so, would enforcement of a written code  become like a Salem witch hunt? Are fashion and inward disposition absolutely mutually exclusive, or absolutely reflective of each other? Does fashion or cultural variations in style necessarily indicate fatal levels of pride and vanity?