July 9, 2013 4:45AM

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Image: Badass nuns playing baseball, History of Buffalo

Being half Italian, I’ve long been aware of the Catholic influence there, but it wasn’t until the first time I visited the country that I was able to fully take it in visually. I particularly adored the multitude of nuns that one sees going about their everyday business on the streets, and thus a lot of my design research at university was done on the nun habit, and the uniform in general.

Despite the fact that the uniform is often worn in a working situation, I like to think that there is a significant distinction between the uniform and general workwear. The purpose of both workwear and the uniform is to represent a larger body, but while workwear has more of a presentable, professional purpose, the uniform is made to be functional and recognisable. For example, I would consider the clothing worn by a construction worker to be a uniform as it is not only recognisable, but functional in that the protective gear allows the worker to work comfortably while keeping him/her safe from injury. Even if off-duty, one is expected to wear their workwear with pride, yet the same cannot be said for prisoners who are obligated to wear their uniform out of shame and consistency.

Academic work on organisational dress by Rafaeli & Pratt (1993) referred to uniformity (homogeneity) of dress as one dimension, and conspicuousness as a second. Employees all wearing black, for example, may appear conspicuous and thus represent the organisation even though their attire is uniform only in the colour of its appearance and not in its features. Pratt & Rafaeli (1997) described struggles between employees and management about organisational dress as struggles about deeper meanings and identities that dress represents.

I find it fascinating, the way in which clothes can invoke a psychological impact on the wearer. Particularly when it comes to nuns, as they used their habits as a means to instil discomfort and even suffering upon themselves to prove their love for God. I have no religious affiliation whatsoever but even I have to admit, it’s pretty impressive. Anyway, here are some interesting things about the evolution of nun dressing that I came across in my research:

  • The earliest Benedictine nuns wore clothing consisting of white or grey habits which were the colours of un-dyed wool. However, as time went by, black became the the prevailing colour of their clothes. Other orders of Medieval nuns adhered to even stricter rules than the Benedictines and wore totally un-dyed wool habits to proclaim their poverty. The habits (clothes) of these nuns were generally a greyish-white, and sometimes brown.
  • A nun’s hair was roughly shorn and her head, and any remnants of hair, was hidden from view as the nun’s head was covered by her wimple or veil.
  • The black outer part of the veil is a sign that the nun is dead to the world. Inside the veil is white – this represents the glory of Heaven. This white part is partially hidden by the black to symbolise that those who are “of the world” cannot see the reward that is to come. Wearing this veil is the nun’s witness to that reward.
  • Some extreme nuns imposed suffering on themselves by wearing a cilice (an undergarment made of coarse cloth) under their habits in order to induce discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement.
  • The white collar is a symbol that the nun is surrounded with “community”, the religious life lived in common. She puts at the very top of her body, which is consecrated to God, something white as a constant reminder that she is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Tagged: nuns  fashion  inspiration  religion  habit  uniform  workwear  

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