What to wear, what to wear? This is the clergy woman’s dilemma, as she stares into her closet. Clergy shirts just don’t mix well with women’s fashion.
Young female clerics have actually launched a facebook campaign, demanding the situation be remedied: We demand better looking clergy shirts for women! Apparently, the TLC show “What Not To Wear” gave Episcopal priest Emily Bloemker a fabulous makeover (read more about it here: Bloemker Makeover). The premise of the episode? That dowdiness is not a requirement for ministry. This came as a revelation to the female ministers watching the show, and, newly empowered, they launched their war against Ugly Clerical Shirts.
When I bought my first clergy shirts over 10 years ago, the only shirts designed for women made me look like a character from Little House on the Prairie. 
So I bought men’s shirts, which are the faded, greying shreds of fabric which still hang in my closet today.
To celebrate 10+ years of ordained ministry, I’m getting a couple of new shirts for my birthday. And I’m not sure, but I think I’ve finally found a clergy shirt that won’t make me look like a drowned rat:
In the meantime, I’m sticking with my rabat, dress pants and fitted dress shirts and jackets.
I’m holding firm in the hope for that glorious day when Ugly Clergy Shirts will be a thing of the past. After all, the firstfruits of redemption are everywhere; they’re here women\’s rabat and here Casual priest and here 3/4 length sleeve shirt
Until that joyous day, however, I’m sticking with the script my friend Jenny taught me. “The female clergy’s main weapons in the war against Dowdy are snappy shoes and smart accessories,” she says. Or, to put it in othe words, “Even vested in ugly clergy shirts, we make our song: ‘Accessorize, accesorize, accesorize.”
Susan Bell
May 19, 2010
Amen sister!!
I find that patent leather shoes and smart jackets help a lot. The problem is, in my end of the church (Anglo-catholic) credibility is still hard to garner unless you look like the ‘boys’ with the infamous, factory made, job-lot, black clergy shirt. Not for me princess seams and pin stripes!
However I love the 3/4 length sleeve black untucked version – might be able to get away with that.
Where can one purchase such an item?
Great blog – very useful!
Susan+
reverendmommy
May 19, 2010
Hi Susan,
Yeah, I’m not into shirts in any colour other than black either; it’s the fit of the shirt that matters. Plus, finding the right jacket to go with the properly fitting shirt. So many jackets are tailored to work with an open-necked blouse – the clergy shirt just looks wrong paired with a lot of them.
The link for the shirt I’m considering is here: http://www.almy.com/blouses.html
I’ll let you know what I think of the cut once I get mine.
-Stephanie
Patty Fitzpatrick
May 20, 2010
Hi Stephanie and Susan,
The 3/4 sleeve black clergy shirt Susan mentioned can be purchased at http://www.womenspirit.com. I’m the owner and designer at WomenSpirit and we are working hard to get you better shirts. We are working on some styles in knit fabric (in black) that can be very versatile. We care! And we are listening and working to respond to your wants and needs.
Best regards, contact us with your comments or requests anytime.
Patty Fitzpatrick
Mother Anne
June 12, 2010
I highly recommend Coldwater Creek for their jackets. Many are too colorful (a.k.a. busy) for me (Episcopal/Anglo-Catholic), but I’ve found some nice jackets with subtle colors and great textures. Mandarin collars look especially nice with the tunnel clerical collar. My favorite is a black 3/4 sleeve fitted jacket with a brocade pattern. Very professional and feminine. I also recommend the look of a “riding jacket” in the fall and winter. It comes to about the knee or mid-thigh, and has great lines.
reverendmommy
June 12, 2010
Hmmm…I like the sound of that riding jacket. I’ll have to look them up. Coldwater Creek, eh?
Mother Anne
June 16, 2010
That riding jacket just got on the “outlet page” at Coldwater Creek, item #H38741. I thought you might like to see a picture of it to get a sense of the style. Feel free to delete this comment rather than post, if you don’t think it will be of interest to the rest of the group.
Also, I found a website that makes custom women and men’s clergy shirts in cotton, linen, and silk. I plan on ordering a linen shirt for ministry here in Georgia. (Heat index in the 100s). I’ll let you know how the fit is once it arrives. The site is clergyshirts.us Wish me luck!
reverendmommy
June 22, 2010
Thanks, Anne, for all these leads. I need to order new shirts, and soon, so I’ll check these options out soon.
PeaceBang
January 15, 2011
Is it possible you’ve never heard of Beauty Tips For Ministers? Check the archives — I review clergy shirts for women all the time!