Sisters

Dress

Sisters in Habits, 1858

he habit was intimidating to some of the students, but they soon became accustomed to its appearance. It was often helpful; the sound of the large, heavy rosary beads swinging off of the Sisters’ belts as they walked down the halls warned the girls that their teachers were approaching, and that they had better start behaving! There were young students who were curious about what the layers of clothing underneath the heavy aprons looked like. It became a dare to grab the long ends of the habit as the Sister walked past the rows in the classroom, holding on until just before she noticed the tug. The teaching Sisters were not upset by these pranks and simply put it down to childhood curiosity (and mischief).

The community in the city of Victoria was, for the most part, non-Catholic. For these people, the sight of a Sister in full Holy Habit sometimes made them uncomfortable, as they were unsure how to react to these women. The Sisters running errands in town were used to whispers about their presence on buses and in shops, and to being shown a great deal of reverence and respect. When they wanted to chat about the weather, like most people out on a sunny Saturday afternoon, it became difficult to overcome the barrier of their appearance.

The social awkwardness shown towards the Sisters and the cumbersome length and weight of the habit, when cleaning, exercising and going about the other activities in a busy life, were left behind in the 1960s, after the decrees of Vatican II. The decision was made, at the Vatican in Rome, that women religious would no longer be required to give up civilian clothing for the habit, at the time of their vows. Instructions were given to dress in a professional manner in suits of navy, black or grey. Although most of the younger Sisters were quite willing to adopt the new style of dress, some Sisters recall that it was quite a conflict; so many of the older Sisters found the change very difficult.”

This “intermediate dress”, as the suit was referred to, was worn with a white blouse and a modified veil. This was worn by some of the Sisters for the rest of their lives, but some saw it as a transition between the old, full habits and street clothes. The women carefully chose a time to make the change into ‘regular’ clothes, and began to plan a wardrobe for worship, work and recreation. Some of the Sisters asked their students what their mothers would wear on different occasions, or they borrowed patterns from friends and family, so that they could sew their own outfits.

According to their former students, some of the Sisters had some trouble co-ordinating fashions in the 1960s and 70s, because they had not paid any attention to such things while they were limited to wearing the habit. They tended to favour polyester pantsuits (that didn’t match), an unexpected sight for their pupils. Unfortunately for the girls who expected the warning sounds of the rosary beads, the Sisters were now difficult to hear in their new clothes! A silver cross remains an important part of what the Sisters of St. Ann wear today.

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