To set themselves apart from their followers, the celebrants of Christian religious rites wear special garments called vestments. In the earliest days of the Church, vestments were essentially better forms of the clothing worn during the time celebrants spent at the altar. As time progressed and fashions changed, the dress of the priests and clerics of the Church didn’t and gradually became more distinct from secular fashions.

Few sacred artifacts provide such a consistent thread through history as religious vestments. These garments have long served as more than ceremonial clothing—they became expressions of faith, continuity, and the social structures of their time. From early Christian tunics to elaborate medieval chasubles, the evolution of vestments reveals much about belief systems, craftsmanship, and cultural identity.

From the Coptic vestments of Egypt to the richly embroidered garments of Byzantium, vestments offer a rare glimpse into the ceremonial and symbolic language of past societies. These artifacts aren’t just textiles. They’re communication devices designed to indicate hierarchy, season, and sacred function.

Generally, vestments include a variety of garments, including the chausuble, the alb, the dalmatic, the stole, the maniple, and the amice.

The chasuble evolved from a garment that celebrants wore in the early centuries, first, by non-Roman citizens, who couldn’t legally wear a toga. Gradually, Roman citizens, as well as Roman officials wore it for public events. This garment became the chasuble, or “casula”, a large garment of conical form. Originally, it reached almost to the wearer’s feet, with the material bunched up to the sides to allow the arms to be outside the garment.

In its early civil forms, there were two types of chasuble—one with a hood and one without. The unhooded variety became what’s now known as the chasuble while the hooded one became the cope.

The alb derived from the Roman tunic, and originally often had bands of adornment on the cuffs of the sleeves, as well as around the bottom. Besides its function of adornment, this decoration also served to protect those portions of the tunic which would receive the most wear.

The dalmatic was originally an exotic sort of tunic made of Dalmatian wool, and characterized by its shorter length and by the width of its sleeves. It was often decorated with vertical stripes of a few particular colors, reaching from the bottom of the garment to the shoulders, as well as around the sleeves. The dalmatic also had decoration at the bottom, much like that on the original alb. During the Middle Ages, the dalmatic, like the chasuble, was a much longer, flowing garment.

At first, the stole was a kind of face towel, originally named the orarium. A deacon wore it over his left shoulder, outside the dalmatic, and ready for use. Eventually, this use faded, and it became more ceremonial, being attached on the right to prevent it from slipping off. By the 8th century in Rome, celebrants began wearing it underneath the dalmatic instead of over top of it.

Originally being made of linen and carried in the hand, the maniple became a type of large napkin carried on the arm. It retained its practical function longer, after the stole's own practical function became ornamental. Today, celebrants wear the maniple only at the altar to wipe the vessels and the celebrant's hand or mouth.”

The amice was one of the last liturgical garments to be introduced. Its original function was to protect the wearer’s other vestments from sweat, but which also eventually came to be used to cover the head until the biretta came into use.

At the end of the 12th century, Pope Innocent III dictated the present group of liturgical colors. Prior to that there were only light and dark vestments---light, or white, for more festive occasions and dark for more pentitential ones.

As these garments passed from generation to generation, often preserved within monasteries or cathedrals, they became part of a material dialogue between past and present. Their visual language—cross motifs, gold thread, Marian blues—remains consistent.

The process of creating liturgical garments has always required specialized knowledge: not only in stitching or tailoring, but in iconography, theology, and symbolism. While many ancient garments were handwoven using local fibers and dyes, producers of liturgical garments continue to uphold this lineage of sacred design.

Outside the realm of the Church, antique vestments are a form of sacred fabric art. While the amount and type of decoration varies, each piece reflects the time in which it was created. However, collecting antique vestments can be a costly undertaking. Old, and especially historical, vestments can sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars each. In addition, even antique vestments can still be used today in celebrating religious rites.