'Head to Toe' on religious fashion.
Pat O'Mahony pays a visit to McCaul's, a family run business specialising in clerical and lay clothing for men. Padraig McCaul describes how their stock has changed as priests and nuns have changed what they wear.
Sr Emmanuelle Williams of the Sisters of the Visitation describes how the dress-code for nuns has evolved over the years.
Now we're showing a bit of hair, those of us that have a bit to show, and the neck is free, and the habit is seven and a half inches from the ground which gives you much greater liberty...
Many secular orders have abandoned the habit completely. Sr Joanne Healy from Sion Hill abandoned the habit five years ago, while Sr Patricia Fitzsimons Headmistress at Sion Hill explains that she stopped wearing the habit while she was a student at Trinity College. Sr Patricia disagrees with papal teaching on appearance and says
I don't feel the need to go around parading what I am
This episode of 'Head to Toe' was broadcast on 31 March 1991.
