This gallery of photos comes from Sister Clare Veronica Wyman, R.A., an archivist for the Religious of the Assumption of Kensington, England. It augments an image of a doll from the Pauline A. Money Collection that displays a model of the traditional habit worn by Wyman's order. Wyman noticed that several elements of the doll's attire do not precisely portray the traditional habit.
- The doll's cincture, also known as a girdle, is shown in blue with violet tassels; it should all be a shade of violet that exactly matches the the serge fabric of the habit, says Wyman, who wore the habit until the 1970s and keeps authentic samples in the order's archives.
- The cincture on the doll is tied; it should be doubled, Wyman says. To do this, the girdle was folded in half, bringing the tassels together. With the loop end on the left side of the waist at the front, the wearer would wrap the tassel ends around the waist, push one tassel through the front of the loop and the other tassel through the back of the loop, and then tighten snugly.
- The crucifix on the doll's rosary is disproportionately large.
- The doll's guimpe — a cloth that covers the wearer's neck and shoulders — is disproportionately short, Wyman says: "Originally, it reached almost to waist level."
- The skirt portion of the habit fell to 3 centimeters above the ground — proportionately longer than is portrayed on the doll. "It was very heavy and hot," she says.
- Unlike the doll, Wyman says, the sisters wore a white linen veil underneath the cream-colored woolen veil, which came to a point at the back. "It's impossible for me to describe how to do it, though I still can."
Browse the photos below.
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Sisters at Work
In this photo, the sister on the left has her outer sleeves and the skirt portion of the habit pinned up for work. The black serge petticoat is visible underneath. Note the length of the veil in the back; it extends to the middle of the thigh. The sister on the right is wearing a black apron for work. Mother Marie Marguerite McNamara is seated in the Bath chair — a chair on wheels designed by James Heath of Bath, England, for people with mobility impairments.
The child in the foreground in the white bonnet is not identified by name but is an "adoptee" of the convent, says Sister Clare Veronica Wyman, R.A., an archivist for the Assumption Sisters in Kensington, England. At the time of this photo, she says, people would frequently leave babies on the doorstep of the convent.
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Mother Marie Marguerite McNamara, 1870
Mother Marie Marguerite McNamara, R.A., known as "Mother Marguerite," was the superior of the order's Kensington, England, convent.
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Full-Length View of Sister of Assumption in Traditional Habit
Portrait of a member of the Sisters of the Assumption (Religious of the Assumption) dressed in the order's traditional habit. The habit was constructed of serge, a type of twill fabric often used in military uniforms. Photo was taken by William Henry Grove at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in the garden at the Kensington convent.
According to Sister Clare Veronica Wyman, R.A., the whole of the front was made in one piece attached to a yoke at the top with five pleats on each side and a cross sewn in between. The back was in two pieces — skirt and top. The top's opening was down the back and closed with large hook-and-eye fasteners.
Wyman provided this narrative about her order's habits:
As far as I know in 1838 when the founding sisters were first deciding what to wear, the use of five pleats was a fairly common design for a lady’s dress; ancient photos of my family show this. Remember that underneath they would have been wearing stays, which reached from just under the armpits to hip level, bras not having being invented, so it contributed to the flat-bosom look. Underneath the stays would be a chemise made of calico.
In my community here, one member made habits for much of her life. “The important thing was to make the bodice fit,” she said. “Once the bodice was correct, the habit was constructed on that rather than on the sister.”
The bodice was not separate from the habit. It was the secure base on which to attach the habit. Ladies' dresses in the 1800s were made in the same way.
I remember that in the robe-makers’ room, there was an adjustable dress form made of papier-mâché, and the current habit under construction would be in process on that.
Another factor in the design was not to look “forbidding.” Our foundress said, “I do not see why children should have to look at something ugly.” I think she considered black in itself to be forbidding, ugly and frightening. Our instruction was to be “true mothers to the children in our care.”
Going back to “hot and heavy”: The original layers were:
- Chemise
- Stays
- Bodice
- Serge habit with five pleats at the front
- “Fichu” (a kind of neckerchief; it kept the drafts out of the neck)
- Guimpe/wimple with veil
- Thick cord around the waist
- Black apron (if you were working)
The headgear was quite a complicated construction. First was a kind of bonnet — the “serre-tête” — then the guimpe, tied with tape at the back of the head (tucks in the side bits). Then finally the double veil — a linen under veil and a woolen top veil — heavy as you can imagine.
In choir for feasts: a long, white woolen cloak.
If on a journey: a long, black, all enveloping woolen cloak.
Purple was chosen because of a “vision” of our founding father, Theodore Combalot; the white/cream veil was in honor of Our Lady.
