Plain dress is a religious practice in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is used to show humility and to preserve communal separateness from the rest of the world. It is practiced by some Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, Mennonites, some Quakers, Muslims, as well as Plain Catholics, Hasidic and Haredi Jews, rabbis in particular.
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Famous quotes containing the words plain and/or dress:
“The genius of American culture and its integrity comes from fidelity to the light. Plain as day, we say. Happy as the day is long. Early to bed, early to rise. American virtues are daylight virtues: honesty, integrity, plain speech. We say yes when we mean yes and no when we mean no, and all else comes from the evil one. America presumes innocence and even the right to happiness.”
—Richard Rodriguez (b. 1944)
“Hardly ever can a youth transferred to the society of his betters unlearn the nasality and other vices of speech bred in him by the associations of his growing years. Hardly ever, indeed, no matter how much money there be in his pocket, can he ever learn to dress like a gentleman-born. The merchants offer their wares as eagerly to him as to the veriest “swell,” but he simply cannot buy the right things.”
—William James (1842–1910)