Church of San Niccolò al Carmine

Carmelite Habit

  • From the thirteenth century the Carmelites wore a habit made of undyed gray black wool, a material of low value and, thus, sign of poverty. In 1472 they started to wear black habits and then, from 1483, tawny (reddish brown) coloured ones. The habit consisted of: - A very wide tunic, girded at the waist by a leather belt; - A mantle, initially with overlapping black and white stripes, replaced by a . . .