[Jeff Chandler]

But why do southern blacks manage to go to church looking so very spiffy?

Because they are not slobs.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I am with you. Even here in the north I am impressed with how nicely church going black families dress for church.

[elcid1970]

At the A.M.E. churches in my town, the black folks enter into the house of the Lord dressed to the nines, right down to the small children. They are a reproach to the rest of us.

For reasons of piety & decorum, or for other reasons. For working class folks in a past era, dressing for church was a weekly occasion & a chance to set aside one’s drab proletarian garb for respectable finery.

Now, it’s just a matter of convenience, only would it break the bank for us guys to wear slacks, a dress shirt & sport coat in the place of worship?

As for the ladies, my standards are far more liberal.

;^)