Authority, office and uniform

In my recent readings on authority, I have come to believe that key to understanding the concept is office, something which the majority of writers on the subject appear to have missed entirely. As authoritative office has come to be derogated, there has been a concomitant tendency to disparage the distinctive garb associated with it. Beginning some four decades ago, coincident with the various cultural shifts of the 1960s, people began to jettison office-specific uniforms in favour of "ordinary" clothing -- a trend which, with its universaling of blue jeans, ironically put everyone into a new, more monochrome uniform. Nuns took off their habits. Professors dressed like their students. School dress codes went by the boards.

Of course, not every authoritative office was or could be affected by this. Police officers still have to wear uniforms, a tacit concession that they fulfil a crucial social function. Letter carriers still dress in postal garb, if only to alert the suspicious family dog to their presence!

Here are the reflections of one person who well understands the connection between dress and office: "Clothes Make the Office." Writes the author:

For almost the entirety of the church’s history (both biblical and ecclesial), ministers of the gospel have worn a robe in the service of worship. This continued until the last century and then the clerical garments started to disappear in various settings. . . .

I used to think that robes were some high-minded way of calling attention to the man. There was, of course, a great irony in my church tradition. Though the minister would never dare wear a robe so he wouldn’t be considered pompous or Popish, the choir was always robed behind him! Then I read defenders of ministerial dress who said the clothing is intended to hide the man behind the symbolic cloth of Jesus Christ. The church’s worship is about the ministry of Jesus Christ, giving us His Word and feeding us His meal.

There is a distinctive academic garb that is nevertheless worn only on special occasions, such as opening and closing convocations. I suppose my own distinctive academic "uniform", which I wear while teaching, is the bow tie. Of course, I would never wear it while gardening or exercising or doing the laundry. Even on campus, on days when I am not teaching, I generally do not wear it. I claim no great significance for this sartorial signature, but it does serve to mark the office in some measure. And given that it is rarely in style at all, it is not generally subject to the whims of fashion.