Catholic Veil Fashionista
Bizarre, embarrassing July 30th, 2011What are you lookin’ at, jerk?, I thought.
I’d just left my Catholic grade school to walk home immediately following mass, held at our church adjacent to the school.
As I reached the halfway point of my four-block trek, some creepy guy in a car slowed down, drove my walking pace and stared at me.
For a 10-year-old, this was disconcerting. You know, Little girl, want some candy? and all that. I’d always been leery about walking on that particular block anyway, since there was a mental health facility nearby.
Anxieties peaked after the day two guys wearing their orderly whites came running down the street and shouted over to me on my porch “Did you see someone run down this way?”
Rut-roh. An escapee. Not good.
So I’m walking along, when Creepy Guy slows down and stares at me. He rolled down the window and said “What’s that you got on your head?”
And then it hit me.
I still had my white church veil pinned to the top of my head from mass.
Oh.
I felt silly. But also completely skeeved out by a guy who would scare a little girl half to death. And about something so trivial, no less. Weirdo! With one swipe, I removed the veil and tucked it in my pocket and bulletted home.
So.
The veil.
All girls in our school were required to wear their white veils to mass, which we attended every Friday.
If you forgot to bring your veil, you had to wear a Kleenex on your head.
A Kleenex. That made you a target for snickers. But if someone sneezed, it also made you convenient.
Most veils we wore were smallish and lacy, the size, look and feel of the doily your Grandma put under crystal bowls full of hard candy no self-respecting kid would eat.
Some veils were longer, like the one my classmate Theresa wore. I wonder if she ever became a nun like she wanted to be for the longest time. We could all see her becoming a nun because she wore her uniform well below the knee, kept tissues tucked under her sleeve and piously said grace before lunch.
I wore my doily, er, my veil in the style of a taco, which is to say I folded it in half and fastened it to my head with the rounded side toward the back, two bobbypins in the front on either side of my head.
I rocked that look, trust me.
Other girls wore their tacos folded out flat in a circle, but that made it harder to pin because you essentially had to rip a hole in the middle of it to stick the bobbypin through. Slobs.
Theresa’s was basically a wedding veil, which hung down almost to her butt. That required all sorts of special rigging because of the weight and because her hair was thin. She would have been better off just Crazy-gluing it to her head and leaving it there 24/7, practice for nunhood and all.
But no one, not even Theresa, wore a headscarf veil, tied under the chin. That was reserved for old, crunched-over Italian women who dressed in all-black wool, even on sweltering hot days. Sweatiness is next to godliness, you know.
We mercifully didn’t have to wear veils to high school masses. I think the administrators took pity on us. There’s just so much other stuff to tease girls about. Thank you for one less thing.
OK, so for all the non-Catholic readers, did you learn something new today? For the Catholics out there, holla! Do you remember wearing veils to church? What style did you wear?
Oh, and that’s me in the picture. Not wearing a veil. Probably worried about Creepy Guy on the way home.
Stumble it!
July 30th, 2011 at 11:26 am
I was raised Catholic but thankfully I attended public school, thank you very much. Yes, we had to wear veils… I totally rocked the Bobby Pin look… until Catechism. Then I quit Sunday school and all things Catholic.
My parents still claim to be Catholic… but I haven’t seen a single Rosary Bead since my grandmother died.
Amen.
The End.
Barb @AgingGracefully-ish´s last blog post ..You might be getting a little long in the tooth when…
July 30th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Some Conservative Jewish congregations require women to cover their heads in the sanctuary. Some women wear hats but those who don’t have to bobbie pin one of those doilies in their hair. I wore one to a funeral just last week. I call it the schmatte (Yiddish for “rag”) and live in fear of forgetting I have one on my head and walking into the supermarket.
Sharyn´s last blog post ..A List Of Things I’ve Done This Summer, And Summer’s Nowhere Near Over
July 30th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
A real trip down memory lane!!! I remember the white, lacy doily type things! We went to mass every Friday morning too. A few years ago we went to an old style Latin mass and I actually had to buy one of those lacy mantilla things. Since I’m all grown up now (read that OLD), I got a black one!
Thanks for the memory!!
The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie and Mom Sharon
The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie´s last blog post ..Photo Hunter – TOGETHER
July 30th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Oh you were so sweet!
Yes, I was raised a catholic but no, we didn’t have to wear veils. Am I glad about that? What do you think? We were allowed to wear whatever we wanted on our heads, which usually meant a slightly more acceptable headscarf, which were worn by most adults back then. Can you imagine a more stupid fashion? To tie a scarf over your freshly curled and back-combed hair?
I still think the man that stopped and asked you what was on your head was weird. He was probably looking for any excuse to talk to you in the hopes of enticing you into his car.
Babs (beetle)´s last blog post ..Colours of the Rainbow
July 30th, 2011 at 4:15 pm
I think at our school they stopped the veil to mass before my first holy communion. I vaguely remember having to do it at some point so maybe in kindergarten or 1st grade. We at St. Denis had an oh so beautiful brown plaid jumper with a yellow blouse and only brown knee socks. Then on to Carroll were we rocked a solid maroon jumper that with my red hair I only wished I could cover with a long wedding veil.
July 30th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I was raised catholic but I didn’t go to a catholic school. After my brother suffered the consequences of a strict nun I was spared and sent to public school. We didn’t do the veil to mass and I don’t recall ever seeing anyone wear one until about 20 years ago. A lady who lived across the street from me and went to church daily always had her doily attached to her head 🙂
ann´s last blog post ..Take a slow ride
July 30th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
We wore navy blue berets instead of veils, no bobby pins required. Around 5th grade they introduced round pillbox-type hats that they called berets, but weren’t. Anyone who had the old ones could still wear them, so I wore mine through 8th grade. The new hats were a lot harder to keep on in windy weather. I don’t know when they stopped requiring headgear.
Through third grade we went to mass every morning, then we changed to 2 grades each day and the whole school on Fridays. In high school we only had mass on holy days, no hats required.
Ladybuggz´s last blog post ..Miscellania
July 30th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
OMC, that story cracked me up! I would like to wear the long fancy wedding-veil style. Here is a story I heard from my Mommeh:
When she was little, she used to go to sleep in those pink foamy curlers, and wore a hairnet (!) over that to keep everything in place. One day, while waiting for the schoolbus, the hairnet DROPPED ON THE GROUND, right in front of everyone. Apparently it somehow clung to her dress, unnoticed, and then released at the worst time.
Daisy the Curly Cat´s last blog post ..Modeling: Treat Edition
July 30th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Fun memories! I never wore a veil, but all the girls in my Catholic schools did. How did we ever survive all that weird stuff!? 🙂
Ferd´s last blog post ..How to convert an older Quicken data file to use on Mac OS 10.7 Lion
July 31st, 2011 at 4:06 am
wow veils really? that’s something they don’t show u in movies 🙂 at least you had a cool uniform
ella´s last blog post ..Team Building Activities for the Workplace
July 31st, 2011 at 4:16 am
As a non catholic I can admit that I have learnt something new this morning thank you
anna jay´s last blog post ..Boy oh boy
July 31st, 2011 at 5:26 am
Barb — I wanted desperately to go to public school because all my neighborhood friends went there. When an “open concept” grade school opened up when I was in the 5th grade, we thought we might get to go, but the rents put the kibosh on that. So I went back to weekly masses and bitching about the public school catechism kids messing with the stuff in our desks. You know we did that, right?
Sharyn — What a great education! I love learning new words.. schmatte! Yeah, you just don’t want anyone staring you down in the milk aisle about unidentifiable headwear, do you?
Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie — You know, I never attended a Latin mass. But my husband has vague recollections of them. That’ll tell you a little bit about our age difference. I did, however, once accidentally attend a charismatic mass. Did. Not. Like. I want my masses quiet and following the book by the letter. No guitars, please!
Babs Beetle — I can only imagine a head scarf worn by older woman who’ve just had their hair done at a salon and don’t want one single hair to move in the wind. Yeah, now that you mention it, Creepy Guy was probably just looking for an “in.” Creep!
MB — I would have killed for a brown plaid or maroon jumper! I hated ours. I mean, look at it! Green??? Ugly, ugly, ugly.
ann — We had all strict nuns. Which is probably why to this day, I cannot tell a lie. In a way, it’s nice to still see the tradition in use. But where would one even buy a veil nowadays if you wanted one? Probably do OK with a candy dish doily.
Ladybuggz — I’m so jealous. Berets?! No fair! Mass every morning? Wow. That’s hardcore.
Daisy the Curly Cat — We’ve never seen you model a wedding dress, have we? I think it’s time for your mommeh to go shopping. Oh noes! Your mommeh must have been so embarrassed. I still do something similar to that — fabric softener sheets seem to always be dropping out of my pants. D’oh!
Ferd — I’m not even sure if we really did survive all that stuff. At least not without years of therapy. My blog is my therapy. But you knew that.
ella — I never, ever called that ugly uniform cool. Dark green never managed to become the new black.
anna jay — You’re welcome!
July 31st, 2011 at 9:35 am
The publicist thinks she wore the same uniform as you. Except she had a beanie! She had to wear that to church but of course, if she forgot it had to wear the tissue on her head.
Sisters of Mercy? Which she always felt was an oxymoron
Pricilla – Famous SpokesGoat´s last blog post ..Silly Sunday – Our Exotic Rooster
July 31st, 2011 at 10:36 am
I went to Catholic school (elementary school) and we had to wear something on our heads for Friday Mass too. But part of our uni was a beret (or beanie) type thing. Masses were in Latin when I was a girl and I liked them that way. I stopped all things religious a long time ago, but went to mass with a Catholic girlfriend a couple of years ago. I was really shocked. It had all turned so Protestant. There was a lot of singing folk songs and hugging your “neighbor” (who you do not know from Adam and do not want to know either) and I began to feel like I was at a “Hootenany” rather than a Mass. One more rousing verse of “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and it was over. I won’t do that again. The mystery and the magic was gone.
Linda Medrano´s last blog post ..Making Do and Making Out
July 31st, 2011 at 12:51 pm
The only veil I had to wear was my wedding veil and couldn’t wait to take it off! Didn’t know Catholics had to wear veils.
Karen and Gerard´s last blog post ..Our Favorite Reads for July: "Divergent" and "Faith" by Jennifer Haigh
July 31st, 2011 at 5:24 pm
You think green was bad? In high school we had a brown/gold/gray plaid. Yep, a really ugly ’70s color scheme. And our colors were black and white. The only good thing was that we could wear sweaters and socks (and pants for the boys) in any of those colors. Luckily the boys didn’t have to wear an ugly plaid tie, just A tie.
Ladybuggz´s last blog post ..Miscellania
July 31st, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Being vulnerable to would-be sneezers could really trigger one’s vulnerabilities. Thank God that, at that age, I wasn’t sophisticated enough to entertain such concerns. I was still that kid who raided her grandmother’s doilie placed candy bowl, unaware that it could sink my chances of popularity well into my thirties.
August 1st, 2011 at 4:12 am
I also used to have veil when I attended mass, that was when I was a kid…
Cher Shives´s last blog post ..Best Trading Plateform for Forex
August 1st, 2011 at 8:26 am
I never had to wear a head covering to go to Mass, but I went to public school so we went to Sunday Mass. Only the old people who disagreed with Vatican II wore head coverings. That said, I am using your blog comments to publicly announce my campaign to bring back babushkas. I was at a family reunion on Saturday and saw a picture of my great-great grandmother rocking a woolen babushka. Babushkas are so practical. They keep the sun off one’s head and hair from blowing in one’s eyes. It’s time they came back in style.
August 1st, 2011 at 8:48 am
I went to a convent boarding school and we had to go to mass every day. We wore felt hats during the week and white mantillas on Sundays. And crocheted lace collars on our uniforms. Ye gods…
August 1st, 2011 at 9:38 am
Hi,
I agree with Cher, I also wear veil when going to church at my childhood time..
charlotte´s last blog post ..During Your Pregnancy
August 1st, 2011 at 10:52 am
I loved girls like you at mass. You made it worth the time.
I went to a conservative Catholic college that was going through a spurt of liberalism in the ’80s. Some girls still tried to sport the veil, and my favorite was the one who wore a red bandanna.
Fred Miller´s last blog post ..Everybody Needs a Tessa
August 1st, 2011 at 11:09 am
This all gives an interesting perspective on religious tolerance these days. No one thought much about this back in the day, but now, when Muslim wear head gear out of religious piety, they are shunned and called different. I wonder how many old creepy guys slows down their cars and roll down their window to ask the little muslim girl what she has on her head?
Bruce´s last blog post ..Bugity, Bugity, Bugity
August 1st, 2011 at 12:11 pm
I think you look adorable sans the veil, in that photo. And hello, reading about Creepy Guy nearly gave me a panic attack! And yes, I did learn something new!
meleah rebeccah´s last blog post ..Happy 5th Blog-o-versary, Momma Mia Mea Culpa!
August 1st, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Like Ladybuggz, we started out with navy blue beanies that morphed into berets when I was in about 5th grade. Our school had a high school and the high school girls always wore the little lace jobs or mantillas (depending on holiness, I guess). Looking back as a recovering Catholic I wonder how much more respectful it was to wear a tissue on your head than to go into church bare-headed?
August 1st, 2011 at 3:20 pm
You know I think that veil stuff came from something Paul wrote in one of the letters about women needing to have their heads covered to pray. I have never been able to understand that passage.
RushFit´s last blog post ..What Makes RushFit Unique
August 1st, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Pricilla — A beanie? I wonder if that’s worse. Yes, I think it is. “Sister of Mercy?” Oh, yeah. Total oxymoron. I remember my 3rd grade nun like it was yesterday. Attilla the Nun.
Linda Medrano — I once accidentally attended a charismatic mass, complete with folk singers, guitars and tambourines. Absolutely hated it. I like my masses quiet and, like you, no hugging.
Karen — It just occurred to me that I didn’t wear a veil on my wedding day. I had only a small bunch of flowers with beading, attached to a comb that slipped into my hair. Maybe it was all the veils I wore in school that subconsciously made me pick that. Huh.
Ladybuggz — That does sound kinda blah. We could wear either white or green socks. The boys made out on that deal, didn’t they?
June O’Hara — I remember my grammy had really gross old hard candy in her dish. She always offered some and I never took it. I know, I know. You always take what grammy offers, but no freaking way.
Cher — But no tissues, I gather?
Heather Simmoneau — It surprises me not that you’d want to bring back the babushka, considering your affinity for “hose” and I forget that other term you use for undergarments. Go grandma!
Shirls — Oh, dear God. Every DAY? How in the world did you survive? I thought weekly was bad enough.
charlotte — Weren’t we all such fashion plates then?
Fred Miller — Oh, man. Red bandanna girl was probably very sought after, no? Way to buck the trend!
Bruce — I do admire Muslim women for keeping up with tradition, especially those who are American. Our society doesn’t tolerate as much as it should. I suspect they are frequently hassled, sad to say.
meleah rebeccah — Thank you, my dear. I’m waiting for my mother to call me about this post. It probably gave her anxiety, too, to know that’s what I dealt with walking home alone. But the nice thing was that I could always see her standing in the doorway of our house (from two blocks away), so I always knew she was waiting for me. That made me feel safe.
Sue — I never heard the word “mantilla” until you and others mentioned it. See, I learned something! And you’re right. How stupid to make us wear a tissue, something that is used for something so disgusting. Doesn’t make sense, does it?
RushFit — You’re right. It’s from St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:4-10: Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should wear a veil. A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; nor was man created for woman, but woman for man; for this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
As you can imagine, I have nothing more to say about this passage. Oh, except “Are you freaking kidding me???”
August 1st, 2011 at 6:48 pm
How silly was that to be wearing veils to church, wasn’t it?? I love all the rules it takes to be a good catholic–all of which had NOTHING to do with being a good person. I used to laugh at everyone in the parking lot of the church, nearly running each other over to get in and out of that place. How ridiculous!!! It’s amazing we survived.
lin´s last blog post ..No Pressure or Anything….
August 2nd, 2011 at 1:43 am
I am a non catholic and all this is very new to me.. Yes, I did learn something new from your post today and am very glad about that 🙂 Thanks 🙂
Arti´s last blog post ..Neelkanth Peak in Badrinath
August 2nd, 2011 at 4:25 pm
Yes, a non-Catholic did learn something new. I have never been “required” to wear anything in particular. The private school I went to for 5 years preferred girls to wear their dress longer than was the current fashion. I think it was no more than 3 inches above the knee. Most of mine were in the ballpark, but some were shorter.
Linda´s last blog post ..Daddy and Me
August 3rd, 2011 at 9:32 am
i am SO excited you are the girl in the middle. i was TOTALLY going to ask, “who’s the renegade in the middle with no veil and white socks?” imagine my joy to discover it was YOU. (and, p.s. i think my daughter wears THAT EXACT jumper to this very day at her school. can she borrow your socks?)
also? i LOL’d when i read that you had to wear a tissue if you forgot your veil. i can’t decide if that was great improvising… or punishment.
then. you quoting paul in your comment amazed me (i have to believe you looked that up and didn’t have it memorized from your childhood veil indoctrination days, right? right?!) i was barely dealing with my awe when i read, “are you freaking kidding me???” you slay me! (but how did *I*, the good little protestant know the word mantilla and you didn’t?! is it an episcopalian thing – episcopalian women used to cover their heads back in the day, too. or a regional thing?)
p.p.s. what self respecting kid WOULD eat those grandma candies?!
and, finally. SERIOUSLY. dude in the car was creepy and gross. no one should be stalking a little girl with their car… much less to be making fun of her. what a tool.
(it seems i had a little too much time on my hands [ignoring my children and all…] to write such a lengthy and involved comment. you’re welcome. or apologies. whichever applies. 😉 )
August 3rd, 2011 at 3:45 pm
We didn’t have to wear a veil. Although last week when we missed early Mass and had to attend Latin Mass there were several ladies supporting the veil. One family in my old church made all their girls wear a veil.
June´s last blog post ..I’m Winning!
August 4th, 2011 at 1:27 am
Me too, veil’s were a must when I was at school, i hated them!
August 4th, 2011 at 5:39 am
Hi there,
One of my best friends at school also wanted to become a nun, I wonder if she is now….hmm….
Larissa´s last blog post ..Hair removal methods
August 4th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
My sister used to wear that also when she was a kid and she really liked it every time she have it in her head…She looks like an angel…
Clark Minn´s last blog post ..5 Abdominal Exercises to Lose Belly Fat
August 4th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
How cruel to make the girls w/o veils wear a Kleenex on their heads. Nothing to sneeze at. Years of Kleenex therapy. Besides, a Kleenex never stays put. Just one stiff breeze and that Kleenex is off wind surfing.
Lauren´s last blog post ..Granny Samaritan and the Frozen Steak Stir-Fry
August 5th, 2011 at 4:39 am
When I was very young, about 4 or 5, I remember seeing a line of girls with veils and I thought they were fairies. I was very disappointed when my mother explained that they weren’t.
Maria Shaw´s last blog post ..Garmin Forerunner 405
August 5th, 2011 at 8:33 am
Wow. I did learn a lot! I had no idea Catholic school kids had to wear a veil to mass. What was the point of it, do you know? You were a cute little kid! 🙂
August 6th, 2011 at 9:54 am
How amazing to see this photo – because I just scanned a bunch of my mom’s slides last night and plan to post some of MY childhood…. I didn’t come across my Catholic school ones, but I DO have some of me in the SAME jumper. The same jumper MY daughter wears!!! We actually never wore veils at Mass… but I think that is a really REALLY neat tradition. Not the kleenex part, but I wish women wore them today. It kind of brings you to a “place” in Mass that is so wonderful and traditional. I am probably the only one who thinks that!
Katherine´s last blog post ..Here’s Your Sign
August 10th, 2011 at 9:29 pm
I got to go to public school so I didn’t have to wear a veil until my first communion. The one I wore to mass was a lacey triangle scarf type thing. Moat of the girls wore mantillas but I had to be special. 🙂
merrycricket´s last blog post ..Reflections
August 17th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Kathy this post KILLED me! Favorite line: For the Catholics out there, holla!
I can just see the priest on the altar with a fist in the air yelling, “All the Catholics in the house, HOLLA!”
I did not go to a Catholic school and my parents didn’t attend Mass with us when I was a kid — very messed up but my dad made us go, but he stayed home. We went to McDonald’s most of the time but got caught a few times as well.
We always went through the motions of picking up a church bulletin after Mass so we had “proof” that we went. Suckah! Anyway, we never wore veils or Kleenex.
cardiogirl´s last blog post ..The Cardiogirl state of the union address
August 21st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
My sister is using veil when she attends a mass…She looks beautiful for me…
Andy Clint´s last blog post ..Online Gay and Lesbian Personals
October 7th, 2011 at 2:36 am
I have funny story about veils. Last week, when our family going to church, my 6 yr old daughter pointed out one of the woman at our Church who wears one and said……I WANT ONE TOO! lol. She walks around the house wearing one and being like Mary she says. 🙂
Sheryl´s last blog post ..Womens Health Blog