I wear a dress shirt, coat, and slacks to every Mass.

I'm with you on this one gladius.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I find the suit-and-tie dehumanizing and bureaucratic.  Not that I'm trying to be "punk," but I do question it as a standard of Christian wear.  I'd far prefer to wear a shaggy robe like the Church fathers.

I wear the same thing every day which is a dress shirt and slacks.  Because of my poverty, I usually wear the same outfit all week, taking it off when I get home and putting on wrinkled clothes from the hamper.  For Mass, however, I will break out a clean shirt and pants.  

I thought Catholics were supposed to be unconcerned with appearance, but now suddenly a crisp suit and tie are mandatory?  Isn't that the opposite of being unconcerned with appearance?  This strikes me as a symptom of bureaucratic attitudes that have somehow blended with Christianity.   That being said, it is the style of the time.

I plan to start wearing a suit for penance, because I hate them so much.  To me it's worse than a hair shirt.  I hate, hate, HATE modern men's clothing.

I'm also fed up with the obsession about dress.  Yeah, if people start coming into Church carelessly dressed and showing no respect, it's a problem.  Sometimes the priests don't have the gumption to say anything, such as one priest I know who didn't even rebuke a man who came to Church in a short-sleeved shirt -- with a bikinied female tattooed on his arm.  That was not at CMRI by the way.  

But in general pretty much everyone in tradland seems respectably dressed to me.   Get over it.  Move on.  Use your short time being in the presence of the Holy Eucharist to pray instead of sternly eyeing peoples' dress length.  No one is wearing Hawaaian shirts and flip-flops to traditional Masses.

Dressing as if you were dressing for an important occasion would show the potential convert that you are attending something important, something not to be taken lightly.  

I lean towards the position that people should dress very respectably, and that it should be expected and enforced.  As for saying no one should notice - well, that's not realistic.  People will notice, and it's important that what they see should create an atmosphere appropriate for worship.

Suits that actually fit and are well-made might draw more attention than they should.

Sometimes it's a dilemma.

I'm with you on this one gladius.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I find the suit-and-tie dehumanizing and bureaucratic.  Not that I'm trying to be "punk," but I do question it as a standard of Christian wear.  I'd far prefer to wear a shaggy robe like the Church fathers.

I wear the same thing every day which is a dress shirt and slacks.  Because of my poverty, I usually wear the same outfit all week, taking it off when I get home and putting on wrinkled clothes from the hamper.  For Mass, however, I will break out a clean shirt and pants.  

I thought Catholics were supposed to be unconcerned with appearance, but now suddenly a crisp suit and tie are mandatory?  Isn't that the opposite of being unconcerned with appearance?  This strikes me as a symptom of bureaucratic attitudes that have somehow blended with Christianity.   That being said, it is the style of the time.

I plan to start wearing a suit for penance, because I hate them so much.  To me it's worse than a hair shirt.  I hate, hate, HATE modern men's clothing.

I'm also fed up with the obsession about dress.  Yeah, if people start coming into Church carelessly dressed and showing no respect, it's a problem.  Sometimes the priests don't have the gumption to say anything, such as one priest I know who didn't even rebuke a man who came to Church in a short-sleeved shirt -- with a bikinied female tattooed on his arm.  That was not at CMRI by the way.  

But in general pretty much everyone in tradland seems respectably dressed to me.   Get over it.  Move on.  Use your short time being in the presence of the Holy Eucharist to pray instead of sternly eyeing peoples' dress length.  No one is wearing Hawaaian shirts and flip-flops to traditional Masses.

Being concerned about ones appearance is important in many states of life. Too much concern is immodest, too little concern (according to one's duty of state) is the opposite error (which I cannot think of at the moment).

My (French) spiritual director once told me, "do what the others do." (referring to my fellow seminarians).

Applying this to dress, I should A) dress as well as I ever dress when going to Mass, and B) I shouldn't stand out, as if I'm somehow more important, rich, famous, etc.

People my age (low 30's) don't normally wear suits. I'm from a very "informal" generation.

Moreover, my regional culture comes into play. In Texas, if you're worth millions of dollars, you'll probably still go to fast food restaurants, wear a hawaiian shirt and tennis shoes -- and a person talking to you would NEVER guess your net worth. It's a Texas thing, I guess.

In New York, a similar rich man would be wearing nice suits, a Rolex watch, would have a nice car, etc. Not so in Texas.

Weather might play a role -- in Texas, it's hot about 7 months of the year. Wearing a heavy coat just isn't that appealing when it's in the 90's (or 100's) for months on end. The culture adapts to deal with this fact.

With all that in mind, I think "dressing up" for Mass is appropriate, as long as you're not looking ridiculous (most formal would be dressing like you're going to a wedding -- black tuxedo and bowtie, etc.). In other words, both you and those around you should know that Mass means something to you. You shouldn't ever look nicer than you do when attending Mass.

For what it's worth, I always wear a button-down shirt and tie, and khaki-type pants (white, beige, or black). I dress better than most of my peers, from what I can tell. If I wore a suit coat I'd only have company with men 2 (or 3) times my age. In my book, that would qualify as being eccentric.

I have a (cheap) suit coat that I bring out for Mass on Christmas and Easter. Other than for those 2 days, it never gets worn.

Dinner date? I don't even know what that is. My wife and I are very down-to-earth and practical, and we were the same way when we were dating. Our idea of "dining out" for a special occasion is going to a sit-down Mexican restaurant which costs $20 TOTAL.

Anyhow, I'm not from Texas but I really fit in here with my down-to-earth upbringing and the common sense I have (thanks to God and my parents). Texans are all about being down-to-earth and informal.

If it helps, I DO feel dressed up when I walk into a store in my "church clothes". I feel like I'm advertising that I've been to Mass recently.

I'm not very fond of suits either. I also think they are way too "generic" and "establishment". I'm not a punk, but I could have been under different circuмstances. I sympathize with the punk movement, since they were justifiably upset with what they saw as a culture-less, vapid (empty), banal, conformist society that would take away their humanity and individuality.

I can understand why someone wouldn't want to be "just another brick in the wall".

Matthew

There's nothing "too formal" with wearing a jacket.

If only a few men wore a jacket, it could be a slippery slope to a casual mass.

The bottom line is that overly casual dress must be firmly resisted, because it takes over if it is not resisted.

Overly casual dress invariably leads to the appearance of a lack of reverence.

Can I wear jeans?

I don't own a suit. I don't have any money!! I can't afford a suit!