[FLMike]

At my church, those getting baptized wear a dark t-shirt over some sort of bathing trunks. A suit would not fare well. I'm not Catholic, though.

 

[FLMike]

Not to get too preachy, but I’d focus a bit more where God is focusing....on the heart, rather than the earthly vessel. Showing respect for the significance of the occasion is great. Dressing in a way that makes a spectacle of yourself, in my opinion, risks an altogether different and undesirable effect.

I’m sorry, but a stroller to church?

 

[FLMike]

Solid black suits are acceptable for funerals, but Baptisms are the polar opposite of funerals.

Not exactly. Baptism communicates death to one's old life, and new life in Christ. So, a funeral and a (re)birth, all in one.

Totally agree with your comments on black suits, though. I've never felt the need to own one, nor do I ever expect to.

 

[FLMike]

I guess that is the point I'm trying to make here, and which I have not yet seen addressed by any of the posters. If the accepted wisdom is that a suit and tie is an acceptable form of dress for mass, what is the rationale for suggesting it as the form of dress for an event which is more significant than a regular mass?

I think the reason your point is not being addressed to your satisfaction is that it's not a logical premise to begin with. A wedding or a funeral would no doubt be a more significant event than a business meeting, but I may wear the same suit to all of these, and be perfectly appropriately dressed in each case. There aren't enough modes of dress to be able to match each level of "event significance" to a different mode of dress. The fact that you can't wrap your head around something so obvious is the reason some have thrown out the T word.

By the way, the births of my children were two of the most significant events in my life. I think I wore jeans and a golf shirt to both of those "events".

 

[FLMike]

How about this as an approach that you can reconcile, and that would also likely garner support from the forum:

Wear a suit to regular mass. Wear your best suit* to your baptism.

*and maybe even a new tie purchased especially for the big day

Edit: I didn't underline the word suit. The forum does that automatically, unfortunately.