The JW Dress Code

For the Brothers ...

Whew!  Strict dress-code guidelines straight from the Presiding Overseer.  Jah loves the neat and tidy.   This is more of a "Society Club" than a Christian Congregation.

Anyone have the dress-code guidelines for the Sisters?

Now, when I went to the Methodist church, men and women were allowed to dress however they wanted.  Men with sweaters, jeans, tennis shoes, etc.  It didn't matter.  God looks at our HEARTS ... not at the $1,000 suit you wear.

I suppose I was "lucky" to be in a tolerant hill-billy type country congo.  When I arrived in 1970 the Cong Servant congratulated me for wearing a tie,as prior to his arrival some months before me,even on the platform,nobody bothered.

It was a muddy boots and coats tied up with string congo.This laid back attitude continued,for years I gave Public Talks etc. and did not OWN a suit.During the years 1975 to 1988 I wore a beard,for many of those years giving PT's and serving as a Min. Serv.

I was never counselled about this.

I think being in this kind of Congo.though great compared to other local congos run by Nazis,delayed my waking up until last year,2007.

Their present dress code makes them really weird,how different from Our Lord Jesus,bearded and sandelled he just melted into the crowd,he was not "identified by the way he dressed" as Witlesses are.(Today Jesus would not be allowed to visit Bet-hell if he dressed in the worldly way as was his custom)

Love

Wobble

Sister's have to wear skirts/dresses that come below the knee.  If they sit down and the knee is showing that is inappropriate.  Didn't work for me because I have nice legs and love to show them off.    My skirts were not tight or indecent, just a little shorter than was required.  

Also, no V-neck shirts/sweaters, etc that would show your cleavage.    

Hint:  The "sisters" are not allowed to wear pants, even dress slacks made for ladies.  They are supposed to wear heels that are moderate in height, polished, and "not excessive" jewelry and makeup (I suppose that allowed the hounders to be picky when they saw fit).

Also, they are supposed to have their dresses of "reasonable" length.  What they call "reasonable" means whatever is nearly impossible to get at the time.  Too long is as bad as too short, so you couldn't just err on going too long.  And don't forget the nylon stockings, even in the hottest Florida weather.

Yes, I cheated and got this information from this forum during the course of different years.  Enforcement will vary in your local congregation.

questioningeverything I would like to thank you for not covering up your nice legs. As a former "Brother" I would have appreciated that you did not follow that rule if we were in the same congregation. 

This is one of those things that tend to vary from congregation to congregation, but are more consistent at the circuit or district level.

The highlighted ones were never required in all the 20 congregations I have attended.  In fact one elder's son wore a shiny purple suit on a regular basis doing mikes and giving talks on the platform.

I can remember one CO insisting that all brothers on the platform had to wear  black wingtips...........the PO showed up with brown

Blondie,

Your highlighted points exclude half of all the witless that I knew in the KH.

Only for the Public Talk speaker and WT conductor. 

See above.

I never saw anyone counseled one-on-one about this though I do remember them reminding us from time to time from the platform

This wasn't a problem in my area.  I wore dark shirts all the time, even black.  Well, the last few years anyway.  It was a rule in the 70s in one congregation

What about seersucker suits.  I knew some old brothers who loved their blue seersucker suits in the summer.  I remember seeing godawful ugly plaid jackets back in the 70s.  Doesn't semm to have been an issue in my area

I did counseled a few times on my ties...but I did push the boundries.  I figured if I had to wear the damn thing, I was gonna have fun with it.

Never heard that one.  I had some that were cuffed, some that weren't

Never heard that one either.  I never buttoned my jacket, even during talks

I'm assuming that this is during the talk.  It seems that the school guidebook counseled against hands in pockets

Never heard that one

Never heard that one either

Every congregation had it's own microphone nazi...

I used to do it, never got called on it

I know that it would probably bring counsel to us younger guys, but I knew some old time elders that leaned on it all the time and no one dared tell them not to

If it's 100+ degrees out and I see a guy walking from door to door in a full suit, I know there's something wrong with him. How can you take him seriously?

I don't remember so many rules back in the 70's and 80's. We went to a kind of blue collar congregation though. I got away without a suit until my teenage years, then was required to wear one to the meetings at the KH by my parents (bookstudies were more relaxed). I saw sport coats and pinstripes. I don't remember any conditions on colors. Times have probably changed. Or it just varies by area.

When my wife and I were church shopping, I never wore a suit. I did wear the same type of business casual I'd wear to work (khaki pants, polo shirt). I figured if they want me any more dressed up, I was crossing them off my list.

Dress code 143 c.   men should not have hair over their ears of any length for its a sign of immorality,

                               We know God created man to have hair that grows but we do carry any respect by him for that decision

                               Hence men should have a similar hair style as Howdy Doody