This evening I am interested in the nature of habits. Habits, not the brushing of teeth, are the clothing of the Sisters. At many places of worship, there is a Standard Habit for its monks and nuns. Worshippers wear the standard Habit of success-seekers: sweatpants/denim, the ubiquitous unfunny T-shirt that was passe' five years ago, hair tied back and no sign of the make-up drawer.
At the Convent, there are no Standards. The Superiors have not laid down a Standard Habit, nor have the Sisters Who Run Things (typically elected to office on shiny pink posters). The result is a dichotomy of dress that confuses the novitiate.
There are three kinds of Habits. They are mostly dependent on what kind of internships the Sisters will take up during their stay at the Convent.
Interns Whose Goal is: Vogue/Elle/Place of Major Political Power. These Sisters dress to suppress all feelings of confidence in their peers. The Medievalist fears that these Sisters spend more on their annual wardrobe than the Medievalist's parents actually pay towards tuition. What is truly frightening is that despite the incredible time constraints of WST (Wellesley Standard Time), these girls manage to construct runaway-worthy outfits. And I do runaway.
Interns Whose Goal is: Smartypants magazine like Salon and Slate / Unimportant politican / Weird magazine nobody's heard of but will become the new Huffington in five years. These are more average college students, as these Sisters prize moderation. Three or four days a week, they don the Slugabed Outfit because they worked an extra five minutes on their paper instead of hunting for the mascara. But a few times a week, they will put on pleasant-looking blouses and nice necklaces and beam smiley faces at everyone in their sight.
Interns Whose Goal is: Normalcy. Sweatpants, baggy jeans, t-shirts from every extracurricular known to AP student.
The moderate group is outbalanced by the Amazons and the Slugs. The real way to become a standout Sister at the Convent, to gain more Social Clout with the Saints (alive and dead), and to achieve more of Success, is to move up the Intern Social Hierarchy.
At this Convent, despite any movement towards Inner Beauty, the Habits make the Nun.
