thanks, WomenSpirit!

Like many clergywomen, I have wardrobe issues.

Not wardrobe malfunction issues, a la Janet Jackson (save us all from that, good Lord), but wardrobe issues. More specifically, clergy shirt issues.

Until recently, most clergy shirts for women trespassed on one of the following shirt-specific sins:
1. They have puffed sleeves (unless you are Anne of Green Gables, and aged about twelve, this is not a good look).
2. They are some shade of pastel, in the manner of Easter eggs.
3. They have darts to give them "shape" (which does not work).
4. Did I mention the puffed sleeves? And the pastels? They're worth a second offense.

I have a few really nice clergy shirts, most of which came from WomenSpirit, a company which makes a number of reasonably attractive clergy shirts in non-pastel colors, without puffed sleeves, and dart-free. They're not cheap, but then again, the pink-puffy shirts aren't cheap either.

The very ingenious writer of Collar This! has chronicled her attempts to transform regular shirts into clergy-collar shirts, and while I admire her very much, that is the sort of transfiguration I think I should leave to the professionals. I only wear clergy shirts on Sundays, or to weddings or funerals, so it's not like I need a ton of these things. But, since I got into this gig nearly ten years ago, I have coveted one particular shirt - or, to be accurate, one specific color. I want a red clergy shirt.

This might be traced to my group of wonderful seminary friends and our love for liturgically-appropriate underwear. (Color, I mean. I'm not sure how else you could make your underwear liturgical. Many bad thoughts in head now. Moving on.) A few of us bought red lacy undergarments for seminary graduation, which happened to be on Pentecost, as a randomly fun inside (no kidding) joke. And since then, I've really wanted a red clergy shirt to wear on Reformation and Pentecost Sundays. But no one makes them. Only pink. And light blue. And maybe grey, or seafoam green, or yellow. But no red.

And then, a few weeks ago, I found this shirt at WomenSpirit. (That's not me in the picture, but isn't her hair great? If I can go grey like that, sign me up.) Unfortunately, however, it only came in the long-sleeved version. And, while I've bought a few long-sleeved clergy shirts over the years in great colors, what I've learned the hard way is that they're usually just too warm. Add the robe and the stole and 500 people in worship, and it's too much. Even in the winter.

So, I wrote to the good people at WomenSpirit and asked if they would make the red shirt in short sleeves. And yesterday, I received my beautiful garnet red, short-sleeved, non-pastel, puff-and-dart-free clergy shirt. Thanks, WomenSpirit! You rock.

Sometimes you have to find joy in the little things.