Why Do They Dress That Way?
People's Place Book No. 7
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This unique book, by a man who has chosen to "dress plain," describes the history and use of hats, bonnets, dresses, overcoats, and other articles of clothing used by the various religious groups who wear plain garb. This is the first comprehensive book about why more than 150,000 persons in North America wear plain clothes for religious reasons. Who are the various people who dress plain? Where do they live? Why do they do it? Where did the plain pattern come from? Don't they ever change? Answers to some common objects to plain dress! Will plain dress survive? Authoritative, yet gentle in tone, this book will be of interest to many readers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this concise overview of "plain'' clothing, Scott, author of Plain Buggies, discusses simple garments worn by the Amish and Mennonites, and mentions in passing other plain dressers, including Hasidic Jews, some Catholic nuns and Quakers, the few remaining Shakers and some Pentecostal groups. Scott relates the origins of plain clothing in North America and notes basic styles. For example, Amish men wear hats with wide brims, their shirts and broadfall pants have no pockets; Amish women always wear aprons. He also charts the changes made in plain clothing strictures. (Many Mennonite women used to wear black stockings, but don't now; Mennonite men no longer wear plain coats.) In the chapter called ``Path to Plainness,'' Scott tells of his decision to join the Old Order Brethen, which led to difficult situations because he had to begin dressing plainly while living in the Ohio suburbs and attending college.
