Casual Funeral Attire
When the notice says casual, or there is no notice and no suit in the house. Casual here means no tailoring — it does not mean the clothes you garden in.
- Men
- Dark chinos or plain dark trousers, a collared shirt or plain dark jumper, dark shoes. No tie.
- Women
- Dark trousers or a simple dark dress with a cardigan, flat shoes.
- The line
- If it has a logo, a slogan, a rip or a hood, it is the wrong side of the line.
- When the family asked for casual
- Follow it. Turning up in a full black suit after a "come as you are" request reads as a small refusal.
What passes as casual and still respectful
- 1
Dark chinos, plain dark jumper, clean dark shoes.
- 2
A denim-free, logo-free, dark, ironed version of what you wear to work.
- 3
A plain dark shirt worn open over a plain t-shirt, if that is genuinely your register.
Outdoor and non-traditional services
Woodland burials, beaches and farms are increasingly common and the ground decides the outfit.
- 4
Boots or flat shoes you do not mind ruining.
- 5
Layers. Woodland sites are colder than they look and there is rarely shelter.
- 6
Dark waterproof over the top is fine; it will be over everything anyway.
Questions people actually ask
What does casual mean for a funeral?
No tailoring required, but still dark, plain, covered and clean. It is a permission to skip the suit, not a permission to skip the effort.