As someone who has had minimal exposure to organized religion and its practices, my involvement in the colorful world of fashion has not been influenced or limited by religion. That is not to say that religion is limiting in this world of endless opportunity, but that religious conservatism and/or liberalism has never impacted my choices in clothing. Attending EMU has been a wonderful experience as a transfer student from New York, notably the fashion capital of the world, and has opened me up to a new culture. The dramatic shift in environment I’ve experienced has led me to ask many questions and make observations about the new area I’m living in. The first thing I noticed was the differences in the way people dress compared to New York, and being on campus at EMU has left me curious about Mennonite fashion and its history. Here is what I found.
Victoria Anne Pyle, a former master’s student at the University of Delaware, wrote her thesis about nineteenth-century Mennonite fashion in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Her assessment of their fashion was an “adoption of plain dress [showing] the wearer’s abandonment of those worldly values in favor of a simpler, more Christ-like, way of life.” Instead of indulgence in the potentially limitless material gain of an expanding industrial society, committing to plainness was a strategic way to maintain focus on spiritual pursuits.
Groups such as the Quakers also embraced plainness for similar reasons, but unlike the Quakers, Mennonites didn’t feel compelled toward uniformity; “simplicity and modesty” were more-or-less the only requisites. Most clothing was made of thick wools and linens for practical reasons. Men typically wore classic trousers and frock coats, similar to that of a modern peacoat, but more tapered at the waist. Women usually wore white or opaque linen caps that tied at the chin, but not always, and wore high-waisted dresses covering much of their body, sometimes paired with a shawl. The difference between Quaker fashion versus Mennonites’ lack of uniformity comes from the late nineteenth century. Many Mennonites adopted color and relatively modest adornments on their clothing whereas Quakers remained conservative in white, brown, and black dress.
I decided to ask a few professors at EMU about their fashion taste and from where their influence stemmed. When I asked Cyndi Gusler, professor in the Visual & Communication Arts department, she mentioned her mother as her main fashion influence growing up. Cyndi described her mother’s childhood in a, “conservative Mennonite farm home which gave her very little choice of fashion options. To this day she wears only very practical dresses and low heeled shoes with no makeup, nail polish, jewelry or perfume. Not even a wedding ring adorns her hand.”
In contrast, Cyndi spoke on her current fashion taste saying, “Now, I combine practicality, frugality and small indulgences. Whenever I travel I like to find something special to remember the place by… when I’m home I can wear them and feel close to my friends and experiences in Russia, Africa, etc.”
What changed since this proclaimed style-queen was a child you ask? That fit matters, and “pants!”
I also spoke with professor Kevin Seidel in the Literature department. Kevin grew up in Southern California, mostly attending a Presbytarian church. He talked about his fashion influences mainly coming from the beach culture there, explaining it as, “meticulously casual, where I had to try hard to look like I wasn’t trying hard to think about what I was wearing.” He grew up skating, surfing, and playing baseball. We briefly talked after class about style and I commented that, “If you swapped your Chelsea boots with some Merrells, you’d be ready for a hike right now!”
When I emailed him later to get more background, it turns out he’s a Keen guy—I was close! He said, “My second style influence, especially in the clothes I wear to teach in, is probably [the brand] REI. I feel most comfortable wearing clothes where I could step pretty easily from the class to a trail. My kids, in their twenties now, mocked me somewhat relentlessly for this, or not me so much as the Keen shoes that I bought over and over again for years. [They say,] ‘What are those?!’ ‘Hitting the trail after class, Dad?’”
In your defense Kevin, you’ll always be comfortable and their feet will be wet in a rainstorm. No shame in that!