Funeral clothes

Sadly there will be other funerals to attend so may be worth buying a black or navy jacket.
Usually these days the dress code is mentioned, but if not then a dark jacket is all that’s needed.

You could wear grey or any other muted colour, that would be quite acceptable I think.

May I suggest you wear whatever you feel comfortable in. The days of formal obligatory Black have gone, thank goodness. Young people turn up in the most alarming outfits, favourite football kit seems to be the in thing at the moment, and always wearing a colour chosen by the family.
Please don’t buy anything special I’m sure in your wardrobe you will find something suitable for the occasion. I’m not suggesting bright colours but a smart pair of trousers or skirt in a neutral colour, white top, jacket in a toning colour, think grey, or a smart dress in darker shades, black shoes and accessories and you will be perfect and show respect to your friend and family. My sincere sympathy to you on the loss of your friend, always a very sad time.

I went to the funeral on Friday of a friend I had known for over 60 years and we were told to wear bright colours - no black!

dragonfly46

I went to the funeral on Friday of a friend I had known for over 60 years and we were told to wear bright colours - no black!

Yes, many families now stipulate what to wear, but in the absence of that it’s safer to wear a darker colour.No need to be swathed in black from head to toe.
I recently attended a funeral wearing a smart black jacket, a white top and a grey skirt and that fitted in well with what others wore.

dragonfly46

I went to the funeral on Friday of a friend I had known for over 60 years and we were told to wear bright colours - no black!

I’m going to one next week, bright colours and sparkle have been requested.

I went to a cremation a few weeks ago. The family asked that we wear whatever we felt we wanted. I found it uplifting that there were a lot of flowery summer dresses being worn on the day. I wore a black top with dark trousers.

I usually wear a jacket in a muted shade of sludgy green with dark trousers. This is because most of my other jackets and my one coat is a bright red. I like red however, it doesnt feel right to wear it to a funeral.
A touch of yellow was stipulated for a funeral last year and I dug out a sort of mustardy colour which was the nearest I could find. DH had a yellow tie. Others obviously had a bit of difficulty too!

We’ve been to too many funerals in the past few years, and TBH hardly anyone wears black any more. I haven’t seen anyone wearing shocking pink or bright orange, but IMO any reasonably quiet colours are fine.

We were asked to wear some pastel colours to a family funeral last year. I think the norm of wearing black is not as usual these days.

I would suggest that if no colour has been stipulated, then something neutral and smart would suffice as already suggested by other posters, rather than going out to buy something that will hardly ever be worn again.

A friend of ours has said she wants people to wear something red when her time comes.

Please don’t worry. As others have said if there’s no stipulated dress code anything you feel comfortable in is fine. I’ve worn cream trousers and a brown top, a navy mix dress and a jacket, a light coloured jacket and dark trousers, pink once at the request of the family, grey with pale yellow. I’ve never felt out of place. The bereaved person won’t recall what anyone wore. .

J52

dragonfly46

I went to the funeral on Friday of a friend I had known for over 60 years and we were told to wear bright colours - no black!

I’m going to one next week, bright colours and sparkle have been requested.

At the last one we went to, we were asked to wear something colourful.

It was long ago now, but my mother wore a lovely, cheerful, red and floral dress for my father’s funeral. He had always hated black, particularly on her, so nobody wore it.

I think it’s a good idea to tell people in advance what sort of colours to wear.
Mum went to a funeral of a friend who didn’t want any kind of religious ceremony and did want a Spanish theme.It stumped a few people including her😂 so as many older women there do wear black that’s what she wore to it.

I don't recall ever wearing black at a funeral. Every time I've attended one I've been invited to wear something cheerful and I think that's just right. Yes, funerals are sad, but it's remembering the good times that we should remember.

My brothers funeral three weeks ago I wore a black spotty dress somber but stylish. If nit I’d of worn a black pair if trousers and whatever top I wanted. It was a hot day and when I returned to my home for the tea I quickly changed into linen trousers and summer top. No one battened an eyelid.

I like the idea posted by Aveline about people wearing a touch of a certain colour.
I may ask for lilac, must remember to put it in writing!

I hope family and friends wear bright colours at my funeral, especially purple!

My late MIL was shocked that a young adult niece wore a red coat to late FIL’s funeral. But it was winter, she probably couldn’t afford to buy another winter coat.
In summer a lot of people won’t have dark clothes either.

I guess as we have got older, going to funerals is more frequent, so having suitably muted colours in our wardrobes is more usual.
The current ‘ trend’ to have a service of celebration after cremation certainly means black will rarely be worn.

yes i try to avoid dark as they would be soon covered in a layer of fur!
for mil funeral I wore a black dress with floral pattern it was subtle but quite pretty. I have worn it for other times since. with the pattern it does not show fur!

I would ask if there is a dress code.

If it is something somber, I have a navy silk dress for summer with short sleeves and a dark green long sleeved wool for winter.

I can use them both for other occasions with jewellery or scarves

Perhaps you could just buy or borrow a dark coloured wrap. Although you will probably have more funerals to attend, I agree with other grans, black is no longer deemed essential.

The last wake we attended (as requested there was no funeral) the chap that died had been a supporter of Bath rugby club and Chelsea football club. Both wear a similar blue so that was what he asked for people to wear at "his final party", a very large turnout and nearly everyone did.

At my cousin’s funeral recently there was a variety of attire. Most of the men wore suits even the younger ones though others looked as if they were about to set off for the beach! Her older sister wore a bright top featuring a large colourful kingfisher because her sister had been a skilled amateur photographer and delighted in kingfishers in particular. So wear whatever you feel comfortable in. It really doesn’t matter.
A friend’s daughter died at the beginning of the year and requested people to wear purple . I wore purple velvet trousers and a zip up purple leisure top. It felt a bit casual but that was OK.

In 2023 at my sister in laws funeral, her request was anything pink! It was amazing how many shades of pink there are, not all bright.
Have you anything purple or lilac. They are acceptable colours