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What to wear to a funeral?
Hello All,
This week we are to attend our first funeral in Belgium (and unfortunately it is for an 11 year old friend of my son's). Is it traditional here to wear a black suit, or does it tend to not be so formal?
Thank you for any help. The last thing we want is to make an already horrible time, any more uncomfortable for anyone.
My late wife hated black and didn't own anything black. On the funeral notification I specified that wearing black was not expected. Even so, I and many others wore black.
I would say that, unless you know for certain that black is not expected, you should wear black and, even if it is not expected, you will not cause any offence if you wear it.
In our Ardenne village, which one might expect to be more traditional than, say, Brussels, only the very immediate family seemed to be deliberately wearing black at the church service, slightly more having worn black to the final visit to the funeral parlour the previous evening. Most people just seemed to avoid wearing bright colours, many were wearing their usual jeans.
I think most people would find subdued colors and 'respectful' clothing approprate. Like Becasse says, it's mostly the more immediate family or friends that would maybe wear all black, and I've actually never seen it.
I've got a gray suit (no tie) that I've picked out a few times and I've never felt out of place and was never the least formal there...
Sorry to hear of the loss of your son's friend. From experience Belgian funerals are less formal dress wise than those I've attended in the UK. Sadly, I also recently attended the funeral of a child here. The guests were not wearing all black but were well presented and not wearing bright colours.
Don't know about here but in the uk it's not usual to wear black at a child funeral, it's more usual to wear bright clothes.
