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Whitney Houston wore one in The Preacher's Wife. Mahalia Jackson's hangs in a museum in Chicago. On Broadway, the cast of Smokey Joe's Café danced in them. In 1963, when a bomb hit their Birmingham church, four girls died while changing into theirs. And you probably have dozens hanging in your church right now.

What has had such a long and interesting history? The illustrious choir robe.

Why have choir robes always been such a mainstay in the church?

"They lend dignity and order to the worship service," says Stephen Fendler, president of the CM Almy Company, which has been making Christian vestments since 1892. "In many churches, the choir is a highly visible part of the liturgy. They join in the entrance procession and often are seated and perform in full view of the congregation. Properly designed robes create a dignified and uniform appearance for the choir."

Bob Walker, owner of Regency Cap and Gown, says robes give the choir an appearance of uniformity.

Vickie Hall, president of Thomas Creative Apparel, Inc., says that uniformity is important. "When the styles and colors coordinate nicely with the interior of the church, it helps the group to feel better," she says. "We like to think if they look good, they'll sound even better."

To find the earliest robes, you need to go back as far as the first choir, which probably existed during the ancient Greek and Palestinian cultures. The Old Testament provides plenty of proof that organized choral singing was alive and well in ancient Israel (for example, Neh. 12:31). A piece of Greek pottery, circa 425 B.C., shows choir members singing and playing instruments. They are dressed in long flowing robes with fabric that drapes over the left shoulder. So while we don't have Polaroids of those first choirs, we do have documented evidence that robes have existed since ancient musicians began singing in groups.

The earliest robes were tunics worn by monks, and were similar to the albs worn by presbyters and bishops.

Since then, choir fashions have mimicked the fashion trends of the ordained clergy. When the cassock (a plain black, lightweight, ankle-length tunic with long sleeves) and surplice (a white, lightweight blouse-like garment with sleeves and lace trim, usually worn over the cassock) evolved as the official clerical attire in the Middle Ages, choirs adopted the look.

When the Geneva-style (think graduation gown) developed as the favored pulpit attire of Reformation clerics, choirs slowly but surely adopted robes that were similarly styled. According to Fendler, these three traditions—the tunic/alb, the cassock and surplice, and the academic gown—form the basis for almost all robe styles worn today.

"Our Choir Tunic and Choir Alb, along with our Scapular accessory, derive from the early monastic attire," says Fendler, who also offers gowns based on the cassock and Geneva styles. The academic-type gowns can be ordered in any color desired.

"As recently as 25 years ago, choir robes primarily came in three colors—black, white and solid blue," says Regency Cap and Gown's Bob Walker, who credits African-American churches with bringing more colors to their robes and encouraging traditional churches to do the same. "Now there's a variety of colors, and you can basically get anything you want."

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