Cons. Anabaptist covering practices

[Neto]

(I met my wife out in Oklahoma, while she was there for missionary training. I didn't see her in a capp until she came to the door the first time I traveled to Ohio to visit her, and meet her parents. As I recall, she didn't think about it, that I had never seen her with one on, or even a photograph.)

And your honest initial thought upon seeing her in a capp, other than naturally being bedazzled by her beauty and charm? v

Well, naturally I was primarily just simply captivated.... (I had also just driven straight through from Oklahoma to Ohio, just over 900 miles. I stopped at a rest stop that had a hand water pump, around 16 miles away, cleaned up, and put on a clean shirt - one that I found out later she really hated.... It was brown, in case that is the next question.)

[Josh]

(I met my wife out in Oklahoma, while she was there for missionary training. I didn't see her in a capp until she came to the door the first time I traveled to Ohio to visit her, and meet her parents. As I recall, she didn't think about it, that I had never seen her with one on, or even a photograph.)

The missionary "exception" is certainly confusing; it apparently extends all the way to missionary training.

[Neto]

(I met my wife out in Oklahoma, while she was there for missionary training. I didn't see her in a capp until she came to the door the first time I traveled to Ohio to visit her, and meet her parents. As I recall, she didn't think about it, that I had never seen her with one on, or even a photograph.)

The missionary "exception" is certainly confusing; it apparently extends all the way to missionary training.

It didn't really have anything to do with WHY she was away from home, just that she was away from home for 2 1/2 to 3 months. And, she was the only student there of any kind of conservative background. (She was Beachy then, and it was 1982, to give a time line perspective.)

If you go to Pine Craft you will see the same type of 'vacation from the church' attitude played out. In the process of working on word processors that are owned by Old Order Amish, when I need to do a back up of all business & personal files, I often see vacation pictures that show things you would not see here in Holmes County.
(As my wife sometimes tells me, I'm not the "Amish Police", and I have never tried to be. There is simply a lot of latitude in conduct when away from home. Not everyone does it, but it's common enough to be apparent. I also see non-Amish "worldly people" putting up pictures like that on FaceBook, and other internet locations. But none of that is anywhere near as bad as the ridiculously incorrect "Amish movies" and other kinds of false claims about the Amish that one encounters on the internet.)

[ohio jones]

(Remember, 'high' women used to have to travel carrying a hat box, and some of those were much larger than a capp.)

One still sees the Hasidim with their hat boxes in the overhead bins.

(Edit: The hat boxes are in the overhead bins, not the Hasidim themselves.)

[Ernie]

Ice cream buckets are the preferred conservative Anabaptist way of transporting caps/kapps in the USA, if the wearer opts for a cloth veil for travel but needs to resort to the traditional style upon reaching the end of their trip.

[Neto]

(Remember, 'high' women used to have to travel carrying a hat box, and some of those were much larger than a capp.)

One still sees the Hasidim with their hat boxes in the overhead bins.

(Edit: The hat boxes are in the overhead bins, not the Hasidim themselves.)

[Verity]

So it has been a bit since this thread was picked up, but a few thoughts from my perspective. In Eastern anything other than a cap style covering is frowned on. This includes while sleeping and after washing the hair (ladies are to kinda perch their covering on top and hope it stays...). Maybe 15 years ago there was a strong movement to make sure that ladies were never wearing flowing veils at home (after hair washing or to sleep) because it "could undermine consistent practice". Some did anyway, especially those who had always worn a veil to sleep in, but they kept it quite. Nationwide is okay with a flowing veil for bedtime and on the mission field, for the reasons that Steve listed earlier.
As for covering making, very few women make for themselves. In an average congregation, you are doing good to find more than one adept covering maker. It requires a fair amount of concentration and time, not usually something that mothers with young children enjoy taking up. Ladies like their coverings to fit well, and finding an experienced covering fitter is even harder than finding a seamstress. A fitting session averages around $20 with the average covering costing about $15 (in the five states I'm familiar with). The women doing it aren't making any money off of it. My sister sews coverings on the mission field, but she said that even covering makers in the States say it is just a ministry, that $15 just covers the supplies.
Opaque coverings vary, too. Some are just heavier fabric but others actually have a kind of interfacing ironed on to make them opaque. That kind is a pain to work with, I hear. Apparently "lined coverings" aren't quite as far out as opaque ones. Rather amusing to listen to a group of men discussing this and trying to determine which is better while passing samples of fabric around.
Michelle Martin published a book on covering making that is pretty thorough for ladies who want to try sewing their own. "Neatly Covered, Divinely Protected". It contains a variety of covering styles.

[Grace]

In Eastern anything other than a cap style covering is frowned on. This includes while sleeping and after washing the hair (ladies are to kinda perch their covering on top and hope it stays...). Maybe 15 years ago there was a strong movement to make sure that ladies were never wearing flowing veils at home (after hair washing or to sleep) because it "could undermine consistent practice". Some did anyway, especially those who had always worn a veil to sleep in, but they kept it quite.

For some reason I have a problem with other men (those in leadership) telling women what to wear on their heads and otherwise, in the privacy of a bedroom. (I heard that PJ's on women is also forbidden) The bedroom is to be shared with a wife's husband and NO ONE else! What happens in the bedroom and what the woman (or man) wears is no business of another man, even church leaders, in my opinion. Many years ago I worked with an Eastern young lady, who was also a bride to be. The outfits she purchased at Victoria's Secret for her wedding night, certainly would not have meshed well with a covering.

[Sudsy]

As an outsider to this topic, it seems to me the word headcovering is a poor term for what I have seen worn as literal headcoverings. Sort of like being sprinkled rather than immersed in water baptism.

Is there a difference among Anabaptists on what the headcovering represents ? I have heard different meanings.

[mike]

As an outsider to this topic, it seems to me the word headcovering is a poor term for what I have seen worn as literal headcoverings. Sort of like being sprinkled rather than immersed in water baptism.

Is there a difference among Anabaptists on what the headcovering represents ? I have heard different meanings.

For sure. Some clearly think of it as primarily symbolic or emblematic, without much thought as to whether it actually covers anything, and others appear to see it as an actual covering (which is also symbolic).