By Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
Pretty in pearl, the wearer has flair to match the flare. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
THE CLERGY has gone chic, courtesy of Maxine Panther.
Maxine is not your typical 'ungodly' fashion designer who perpetuates everything that the conservatives believe is wrong with fashion. Yet, her chosen focus as a designer is a bit unorthodox.
Maxine Panther is the owner and operator of Max Fashions, from which she custom makes gowns for everyone from the pastor to the lawyer. For the trained fashion designer, the decision to specialise in gowns and robes came from a request made by the pastor of the church she attends, who asked her to copy a gown he had seen in a magazine.
Even though Maxine received formal training in fashion design at the Creative Arts Centre (now Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts), UWI, she decided to stop making regular outfits when she realised the challenge of making the gown from just a picture.
And so it was that Maxine dedicated her time and her expertise to making the pulpit look beautiful. "My husband said, 'This is a good business to get into'."
"A minister from the country asked me to outfit the entire choir," she said. "I specialise in gowns because I really like to sew them. It really works out better for us; sewing gowns."
Maxine makes robes for lawyers, pastors and church choirs; for high school and university graduates (doctoral or otherwise) and just about any purpose for which a gown is required.
CREATIVITY EXPRESSED
Gowns for high school graduates are normally standard, doctorial robes are beautiful trimmed with velvet and with bars of the sleeves, but it's the pastor's and choir's gowns on which the creativity can be really expressed.
"The pastors can really be fashionable," she said. "Fashion is definitely in with the pastors. Preaching is in style."
The cassock, as the pastor's gown is normally called, is often priestly and
stylish. The fit is straight and close and usually features designs that include the embroidered cross, special piping and
buttons that run the length of the garment. But with as many as 20 buttons down the front of the gown, the easiest way to fasten, according to Maxine, is velcro. "The buttons are just for style," Maxine said.
"Preaching gowns vary," Maxine explained. "They come in royal blue; cream with red, trimmed with gold. It's wide."
"I have a pastor; I can't tell you how many gowns he has, and they are all bling bling!" she exclaimed. Maxine remembers making a gold gown with black trimmings and a cross embroidered in black on the sleeves. "Around the sleeves is piped in black," she recalls. Another gown she recalls making was purple, with a silver cape, and cassock for a minister's ordination.
The ministers may finally be catching up to the congregation. It is no secret that many a church sister and brother, for that matter really run the gamut of fashion. Their mark is often made on those all-important Sunday mornings, when the best hat or most stylish outfit may get you some extra attention from the congregation.
However, all efforts to show your style in church may be thwarted when the
fabulous dress or spiffy new suit has to
be covered under a robe. Maxine says this is where choir gowns, such as the ones she often makes, come in handy. Besides the uniformity, the gowns add a bit of style to the choir. "That's why it needs to be fashionable. You need to look nice all the time. It doesn't have to look plain," she says of the gowns.
LIMITLESS
The styles for choir gowns are limitless, but they are often chosen based on convention and/or personal tastes. Gowns can be made with the neckline in different styles high, low, with slots through which the white priest's collar can be pushed, or to show or hide a blouse or shirt. The only standard feature seems to be the 'stretch mat' or novella linen which she uses to make the gown. Maxine says she uses this fabric 'because it's durable, fairly cool and of course, you don't have to wash it every time you use it'.
The cost of these stylish gowns begins at $3,500 (for the school gown) to $9,000 for the more ornate ones. "I believe it can go up to more than that, depending on the style," she said.
Among Maxine's clients are the theological college at UWI, Rehoboth Apostolic and Portmore Moravian in Portmore.
However, Maxine, who describes herself as a "simple person", admits that not every church approves of their members flaunting their style. "Some churches actually believe that their minister should look really simple, that there should not be any distractions," she said.
She is a member of such a church, but thinks that there are times when a nice robe may not be out of order. "I think we should have something nice to look at when we are in church. I think it has its place," she said.
It certainly does.
