Friday, December 9, 2011

How shall I begin?

On December 21, I'll be ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church.  And so it will begin: the trauma of tying to wear a clergy shirt, yet still look like a woman.  And so, out of this trauma, comes this blog.  What would it look like if a person used their fashion sense and tried to dress up the clericals?  Time to find out...

I'll try to look at things like cost, accessories, and dressing for occasions.  I'll be taking pictures of my outfits, then explaining what event I was attending, where, and what brought on the choices.

What I really intend to do is show one way, out of many, that women can reclaim their bodies in a public space that often discounts them.  While it is a triumph within the Episcopal Church that women are allowed to be priests, I think we have to own that more of our tradition has been masculine than feminine.  The idea of the feminine presence behind the altar, and wearing the collar, is still jarring for some.  Within this feeling of discomfort, add in the discomfort of an ill fitting clergy shirt.

In short, I see this as one way to claim my femininity within a culture that is still often seems more masculine than feminine.  Feel free to follow along as I figure out what it means to wear a collar... and more importantly, what it means to live into my vows.

It all starts December 21, 2011...