Why Do People Only Notice My Clothes?
Should she be wearing those shoes to preach?
I regretted the thought as soon as it ran through my head. The preacher at the large, ecumenical conference was experienced and well-educated. The narrative of her sermon was strong, and the gospel was proclaimed. But I still couldn’t get my mind past her shoes, which, I must add, would have been appropriate in any office workplace.
Wardrobe is a tricky issue for women who preach. What seems simple for men is much more complicated for women. Costume designer Heather Leigh Brown explains why this might be:
For nearly 200 years, since Jane Austen's time, men could put on a version of a shirt, pant, tie, and coat and be “dressed up,” both presenting and concealing their personality. If the man finds himself too dressed up, the solution is simple. Take off the coat and tie, roll up the sleeves, and now he’s a man’s man. (Watch politics.) And, most men look good in the outfit. As Jane Austen might have said, “It is most unfair.”
Indeed. The only time I have paid attention to a man’s shoes while he was leading in a worship service was when I noticed that they needed repair.
What Should We Wear?
For preachers who wear the alb, this is not an issue. Rev. Charis Weathers, a Lutheran pastor, notes, “Wearing a clerical robe is so helpful because no one knows what is underneath it—and that's the theological point. The robe, in part, signifies that the person underneath it is a servant of the Lord: no more, no less. All the crap that goes along with being a woman in this judgmental culture gets squashed from the get go.”
But for those of us in traditions that don’t call for the alb, women continue to ponder how they may best dress so that the gospel is proclaimed and the congregation isn’t distracted by our shoes—or skirt, or pants. But I wonder: How much of the distraction is in the receiver’s mind, and how much, if any, can we mitigate from the pulpit?
Rev. Lindsay Small, Associate Director of Bast Preaching Initiatives at Western Seminary was thinking about my question when she encountered a student in the hall. The student stopped to say that her mom had seen Small preach recently. “I heard you looked fantastic,” she said. “You had a cute shift dress on.” There was not a word about the sermon, just the dress.
Small was frustrated. She explained to me,
There's a cultural reality here that is somewhat beyond our control. I do believe it is getting better for women, but culture shifts can sometimes feel like they are moving at glacial-esque speed. As a preacher, I take great care so that no one will care. I spend time on my appearance to almost become invisible. There is a narrow space between self-expression and self-deflection. And that is where I want to be. Because I want people to hear my sermon, not see my dress.
