Attire Options For Your Deceased Family Member During A Funeral

If you're helping to make the funeral arrangements for a close family member and have decided that there will be an open casket, you'll need to think about what the person will be wearing. Once you've made this decision, you can provide the funeral home with the necessary garments, and the next time you see your loved one in the casket, he or she will be dressed in the outfit you've selected. It's customary to select formal attire, but this isn't your only choice. If you're looking to do something different, here are some other attire options to consider.

Homemade Shirt

In some cases, you may wish to dress a family member in a homemade shirt that had a special significance during his or her life. For example, if your family member had grandchildren, he or she may have had a "World's Best Grandmother" or "#1 Grandfather" shirt made for a special occasion in the past and worn it plenty of times over the years. If the person loved being a grandparent, dressing him or her in this shirt can be a good idea. Don't worry about the garment's lack of formality — people who file past the casket and see this shirt won't be able to help smiling.

Casual Attire

Some people hate getting dressed up in formal clothing, which makes it seem a little inappropriate to dress your family member up in this manner for his or her own funeral. If your loved one was most at home in casual attire, this can be a perfectly suitable choice. For example, a woman who was an avid golfer may have a favorite golf outfit, and this could be appropriate. Or, a man could have a favorite fishing shirt that could also be your preferred choice to give to the funeral home staff.

Work Uniform

Try to assess the value the person placed on his or her career. If work was everything to your recently deceased family member, dressing him or her in a work uniform might be appropriate. For example, if your loved one was a nurse and truly loved this vocation, you might think of having the person wear a typical nursing outfit. Or, if the person was a semi-professional bull rider, dressing him in the kind of outfit typically worn during these events — jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy boots — may be the best course of action to follow.

For more information, contact a funeral home like Morris Nilsen Funeral Chapel.