Dress Guidelines/Expectations

I (32M) am an active member who attends all of my church meetings, hold a current temple recommend, and is serving as my ward’s Executive Secretary. I recently felt an ever increasing desire to attend church services in more “traditionally feminine” clothing. Nothing dramatic, I would still wear my white shirt and tie with my suit jacket, but instead of slacks I would wear a knee length pencil skirt and pumps. I would still uphold modesty standards, wearing my garments underneath, and would ensure to remain respectful. I would remain dignified in representing myself as a servant in His church. You could say I would be classy, not flashy.

Before anyone ask, I don’t have any mental reservation regarding my gender identity. With that being said, I genuinely believe I would feel more authentically myself in skirt. I’ve always found dresses and skirts fascinating, and classic heels just have a polished look that can’t be beat by a classic men’s dress shoe. It’s hard to explain, but it just feels right whenever I wear a skirt and heels, or a dress, in the comfort of home. It helps that my wife thinks I look pretty good as well; being in Oklahoma she is very uncertain of me going out in a public setting, even if it’s just a skirt with a men’s top.

There’s nothing policy wise or doctrinally that explicitly prohibits men from wearing what many would call “traditionally feminine clothing,” and one could argue men wear kilts in Scotland, so why would skirts be prohibited for priesthood holders to wear in the states. It appears to strictly be a cultural thing, which changes throughout the decades and would be up to interpretation.

I even asked the Gospel Library General Handbook AI Assistant, “Can men wear skirts or dresses to church services?” And it responded: “The General Handbook encourages members of the Church to show respect for their bodies in their choices about dress and appearance, which can vary across cultures and occasions. For sacrament meetings, individuals are encouraged to wear their best available Sunday clothing to show respect for Jesus Christ and the sacrament ordinance'. While the handbook does not specifically address men wearing skirts or dresses to church services, it emphasizes that members and leaders should not judge others based on dress and appearance and that all should be welcomed at Church meetings and activities.”

Keeping what I included in my first paragraph in mind, on the surface, would you be opposed to seeing a priesthood holder wearing a suit with a pencil skirt to church? How about if it’s a regular men’s suit with slacks, but he wears heels with it? What would your initial impression be if a priesthood holder in a leadership calling you knew walk into the chapel one day in your home ward in a skirt?