Although most people identifying as Quakers no longer wear traditional plain dress (dark or drab colored clothing, bonnets, and wide-brimmed hats), Friends still usually dress simply and modestly as a reflection of the simplicity testimony. What it means to dress simply is often shaped by the culture of the meeting, its community, and its region of the country. Simple dress could mean one thing in Manhattan and another thing in Peoria. Expectations of makeup and jewelry, too, could differ from meeting to meeting.
“Dress: A wide variety of clothing is appropriate for Friends meeting. It is not a Quaker tradition to wear one’s “Sunday finest” to worship, although if you are more comfortable doing so, that is perfectly acceptable. The Quaker tradition of “plain dress” may be expressed in worship by the wearing of clean Levis and a work shirt, at one extreme, or professional office clothing at the other. Anything clean and reasonably modest is OK.”
Come as You Are. Anyone is welcome to attend meeting for worship. Friends are much more interested in getting to know visitors and seekers as people from the inside out–not based on what a person is wearing.
Other Resources
- Will I be welcome at a Quaker meeting? | Quaker.org by Friends Journal
- Traditional Quaker Worship | Quaker Information Center at the Earlham School of Religion
This resource was originally created by Eric Evans and was revised by Rashid Darden.