Stop the Bad Vestments!

Vestments belong to the Church. They are a symbol of office, the liturgical year, and the liturgy. They are not personal fashion statements. They are not liturgical accessories. If you understand the liturgical party to be representative of the people gathered, and that the role of those representatives is to be as transparent as possible (meaning, not being a distraction), why would one freely chose to wear vestments that call attention to the individual? The only explanation I have is poor taste, or poor training, or both.

I bring this up because, in my opinion, among the liturgical traditions, Episcopalians are the worse offenders when it comes to poor taste in vestments. By far the absolute worst. And it seems to be a fad that is not passing quietly into the oblivion in which it belongs.

Am I being extreme? Perhaps. But consider this site, Bad Vestments, which is run by a young man, whom I understand was a former Episcopalian.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

Now, can anyone tell me what part of the liturgical year YELLOW represents?  I must tell you, this kind of thing is not "cool."  It is not "emergent."  It is just plain embarrassing.

BTW, to those who should know better, blue is an alternative color for Advent.  Purple is appropriate for Lent.  Using those colors during other seasonal times is simply reason to question the quality of  a person's liturgical training.

I will now stop gritting my teeth. 

J.