Clothing Traditions

The Cape Dress and Head Covering

            The most recognizable Anabaptist dress practices are perhaps those of the Old Order Mennonites and Amish. Women traditionally wear a garment known as a cape dress, which has its origins in the 16th century. The long dresses are made in fabrics of solid colors deemed acceptable by community standards, and the upper body is further covered with a “cape” consisting of an extra layer of cloth either sewn in or attached to the front of the dress, and draped over the shoulders to meet in a point fastened at the back of the waist. The dress styles of Anabaptist women, including the cape dress, are worn in order to observe a Biblical reference to modesty of dress for women in 1 Timothy, and to express separation from the outside community.

            Besides the cape dress, Anabaptist women are also noted for wearing head coverings. The most conservative of these are large bonnets that cover much of the hair, but coverings, or veils, vary widely in size and style among communities. Head coverings are worn to adhere to a Biblical passage from 1 Corinthians that calls for women to have their heads covered while praying, but also represent community traditions of women's submission to a hierarchy of authority beginning with God, then church, and then husbands as heads of families.