<p>Some people invited me to go to church tomorrow with them and I decided to go with them. I’m not sure if church attire is more formal in the south than in the north. What should I wear to play it safe (so I’m not overdressed or underdressed)?</p>
<p>I assume from your name you are a guy. I don’t live in the south, so some southerners can give you more specific advice. Khaki pants (or any dress pants you have, such as gray or brown), dark shoes, dark socks, nice shirt with a collar, sport coat if you have one or jacket that doesn’t look too athletic or a nice sweater. A tie would be OK, but probably not needed unless this is a very conservative denomination. </p>
<p>We have a joint choir concert with several different churches each spring, and the men in the Mormon church do dress very conservatively. If you are attending a Mormon church, then a dress shirt, tie, and jacket with dress pants might be in order.</p>
<p>The church doesn’t care. However some folks do. Wear your go to work clothes to be safe/comfortable.</p>
<p>Dress is all over the place at churches- even in the south. The older men still wear suits. The younger guys tend to wear business casual. I think bookiemom’s advice is correct.</p>
<p>I’d ask them how dressy the church is. I know people who go to church in jeans and even shorts, but I don’t care for attire THAT casual. Khakis, button-down shirt and dress shoes would probably suffice, but, really, I’d just ask your friends.</p>
<p>You need to ask your hosts. I remember hat and gloves, but I went to Ash Wednesday in a sweatshirt and knit pants and was not out of place.</p>
<p>We dressed up much more when we went to church in the south.</p>
<p>Too late to answer - hope it went well. </p>
<p>The short answer is, khakis and button down shirt would be about right. Some churches are more formal, but even at those churches, younger people are dressed more casual. Southern Baptists are more likely to wear coats and ties. Traditional denominations are a bit dressier (i.e. traditional) than non-denominational churches. </p>
<p>We are in the south, and are in the process of looking for a new church. The large church we have been attending is extremely casual. Many or most wear jeans. </p>
<p>Our “visiting” clothes are usually dress pants and nice top. My H wears what he wears to work - basically dress pants and a button down shirt. No tie or jacket. Most of the time, he fits in fine. Last week he felt a bit underdressed, as many were in jackets and ties, but there were many like him as well. Today he was fretting again about what to wear, and I told him to wear what he was comfortable in, because he wouldn’t want to join a church where he wasn’t comfortable anyway. Today he fit in just fine.</p>
<p>You really needed to ask. I checked out a church with my wife, and I knew it was casual, but still, I was the only person not wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt! (I was wearing dockers and a shirt with a collar). Then we went to Ihop which was mobbed with all the after church folks and there were some people wearing suits from other churches.</p>
<p>Better to be a bit over dressed than under dressed. I think it is a little sad that people don’t dress up for church any more. I still get dressed up, although I do wear pants now. When I was younger, women only wore dresses to church. My D dresses for church too. People seem to have stopped dressing for everything. I went to a play tonight and wore black slacks with a jacket and was completely over dressed. All I saw was blue jeans.</p>
<p>I remember when women wore HATS to church.</p>
<p>When I was a teenager I rebelled by wearing a bow tie.</p>
<p>Hunt, you’re such a bad boy!</p>
<p>Easter was especially fun. The girls got a new Easter dress. Mine were always hand sewn so picking out the pattern and the material was the best part. I remember wearing fishnet stockings with my new Easter suit one year so I rebelled too! </p>
<p>There were new patent leather shoes and, depending on the ensemble, sometimes I wore white gloves. My mom wore white gloves to church every Sunday, but she got a new hat for Easter and all the women wore corsages.</p>
<p>A new Easter dress and hat were the best. Thanks for making me smile this morning. And I’d get my mom an orchid to wear.</p>
<p>Interesting question, although moot by now. Dress for church is all over the board these days. Ours is one of the few “traditional” churches left in the area where most men are in suits and most women are in dresses. The kids’ friends all go to churches where jeans are the norm. A popular local church has stadium seating with cupholders (they have a branch of Starbucks in their lobby.)</p>
<p>No one asked the race of the majority of the members of the church in question, but it seems like the members of some (but not all) of the African American churches still dress up a lot, hats included.</p>
<p>New Easter dress, hat and gloves…AND a new purse that looked like a little white box!</p>
<p>Corsages for Easter and for Mother’s Day, too - where the color of the rose indicated whether your own mother was alive or deceased.</p>
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<p>yes, yes, yes, yes and yes</p>
<p>We still “dress” for Easter and it is close to impossible to find appropriate Easter dresses for teen girls.</p>
<p>The colors of the corsages always made me sad. My mother’s mother died when she was 8 so I never knew her, and my mom always looked sad when she pinned on that white corsage.</p>
<p>Did you ever attend a church where on Mother’s Day they’d give special flowers to the oldest mother, the youngest mother, and the mother with the most children? Seems utterly ridiculous when I think back on it!</p>
<p>Our Methodist church in Texas was still giving out those awards when we left in 2001. And, yes, it always did seem a bit ridiculous. No one ever wore jeans to a church service, either.</p>