Just remember that God will not see your clothes. God sees you stark naked at all times.

While the question was far from being stupid, I was more amazed by several answers which totally ignore (as quokka said) that
a) Easter is very early this year, and
b) Paris is not in Southern France.

So it can be chilly, rainy, cool.

I would much rather wear something sensible than ending up the best-dressed pneumonia patient of the Easter holidays LOL

If I were going to Easter Mass in Paris, I'd go Saturday night for the Vigil mass. That's when the real pomp happens. It's little known among the lapsed but Easter Vigil is the all-out splendid and musical Catholic event. Typically it begins in the dark, with but a few candles & a lot of incense. The music is amazing, especially the litany of the saints. I think at Notre Dame it could be absolute magic.

But re: clothes. I've been to mass at Notre Dame in December and I wore black slacks and my black coat and a scarf. As others have said, it's cold.

No head covering. Bring a bit of money for the basket. Check online ahead of time to find out which mass will have the best music (and really, consider going Saturday night.)

BTW: your mother will be happy you went

Women in Paris are known for their chic way of dressing. If you like to dress up, Easter Sunday is your big chance.

"Just remember that God will not see your clothes. God sees you stark naked at all times."


A thought I could have lived without.

As for "Early Easter" I am still betting on little girls in Frilly spring dresses at my church. Old habits die hard LOL!

Three yeas ago a friend and I were in Madrid, in March, on Palm Sunday (week before Easter.) We noticed in many places, parks, etc. families walking before Mass, and most of them seemed to be dressed quite nicely--especially the children. All you have to do is look at the store windows to see the outfits that are featured for Spring. Of course, it was a nice day and Madrid is a bit warmer than Paris at that time of the year.

That afternoon, we took a bus to Segovia. On Palm Sunday, it is quite a liturgical celebration, with various "guilds" dressing similarly and parading with palms, and music, etc. after the Noon mass. Again, most of the people not involved in the ceremonies seem to be dressed better than just any Sunday.

I think that most tourists don't usually bring chic, fancy clothes to wear during a trip. But the word "appropriate" has come up many times--when you attend a religious service, you are honoring God, Allah, etc. and you might want to look a bit better than when going on a picnic. Just MY opinion. Ciao. mhm

Amen to mercy's last paragraph!

Appropriate is the key word, plus the fact that you don't want to waste luggage space on items you'll be wearing one day for 2 hours.

If you can wear that "nice clothes" for other occasions, too, the last argument does not matter, of course.

Whoever turned my Catholic faith into a crossover of a social gathering and a pret-a-porter show: please fill me in with the details. When in Spain, I also notice that parents like to dress up (especially their kids) for sunday mass. This is a local custom - but nothing that has anything to do with the Catholic faith. Where I live, kids go to mass in T-shirts and jeans (in summer). The altar boys wear sneakers. We even have (gasp!) poor people in our parish who cannot afford "nice" stuff. You'll see anything from rags to riches.

The Catholic church is like the Hard Rock Cafe: Loves all, serves all.

P.S. Not saying that I do not have some issues with my church, but none of them is even remotely connected with fashion ;-)

On another level completely, kidartlover21 could you please post a little report if you go? I would love to hear all about Easter Mass at Notre Dame. We happened upon Friday afternoon mass at Sacre Couer and that was pretty special, so I imagine Easter at Notre Dame would be wonderful!! thanks, Cathie

Clothing is the uniform that proclaims the wearers social strata. Check your local supermarket and see who is well dressed and who is not. We teach children to dress for birthday parties. We dress for weddings and funerals. The Roman Catholic Mass is a recreation of Christ's Last Supper. As a guest at it, what do you think you should wear?

Here in this part of Spain, people used to dress up for Easter but really was not for church matters..they wanted to show their brand new summer clothes and the Mass was one of the few "social events" people had. Anyway, there's no more summer clothes for Easter since some years ago because it's too cold. But if you want to go to Notre Dame..I think that unless you are half naked or dressed in a medieval custom...no one will notice, it will probably be wall to wall with people.

Indeed, there is no dress code for churches in France. In any case, they were confiscated from the church in 1905 and merely put at the disposal of the denominations, so no religion can really control what you do inside the building housing the faith in question.

I would hope that you understand that true believers are extremely tolerant, because they have adopted the teachings of the faith. Complete hypocrites are the ones who invent weird rules regarding worship.

Sister Mary Dominatrix. i knew a couple of those in high school - and they were priests - I think....

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were my teachers...ah, those good ol catholic high school days.