Knowing what to wear to a funeral in winter can ensure you stay warm and comfortable while respecting and honoring the deceased. Browse funeral outfit images and ideas for men or women to find an option that works with clothes you already own.
Women's Winter Funeral Outfit Ideas
What a woman should wear to a winter funeral differs only in styles and materials from what women wear to funerals in other seasons. You'll want to make sure you're warm and wear shoes that work for walking in snow or ice. Every winter funeral outfit could use a dress coat since you may spend a lot of time outside. Keep a black, navy blue, or charcoal gray pea coat in your closet for all kinds of formal occasions, including funerals.
Pant Suit
A pant suit is the obvious choice for winter funerals because it covers your arms and legs. Pair the suit with a turtleneck sweater and closed-toe shoes or booties to keep it practical.
Mid-Length or Long Skirt Suit
If you prefer skirts over pants, you can still wear a skirt in winter. Opt for a skirt that hits below the knee, at the calf, or at the ankle to keep you warm. Pair the skirt with a blouse, suit jacket, tights, and closed-toe shoes or tall boots.
Long Dark Dress With Scarf
A long dress that has long sleeves works great for funerals too. You're looking for a more casual, solid color dress that won't look too formal. Add a fashion scarf in a dark color using one of the many ways to wear a scarf for warmth and to dress up the outfit. Add tights and a winter-friendly shoe option.
Sweater Dress With Leggings and Boots
Sweater dresses in dark colors are perfect for winter funerals. Pair the dress with dark leggings and tall black boots to complete the winter look.
Long Sleeve Dress With Tights
If the only dark colored long sleeve dress you have is knee length or a little shorter, pair it with warm tights or leggings for winter. Pair the outfit with booties or cute closed-toe flats.
Men's Winter Funeral Outfit Ideas
As with women, what men wear to a winter funeral isn't all that different from what they wear to a funeral in summer, spring, or fall. Men can also wear dress coats, like pea coats, as outerwear or use their sport coat or suit coat as their outer wear.
Suit Without Tie
The dark colors worn at a funeral give any suit a more formal feel, so a tie can push the outfit into the too formal zone. Wear your dark suit with a dark button-up shirt, but lose the tie. Pair the outfit with dress shoes or dress boots.
Long Sleeve Button-Up Shirt With Slacks
If you plan to wear a dress coat, you can lose the sport coat or suit coat. Pair dark slacks with a dark button-up long sleeve shirt. The outfit will look a little more formal if you tuck in the shirt and wear a nice belt. It's okay to wear lighter slacks if that's all you have, just make sure your shirt, belt, and shoes are black.
Slacks With Sweater
If you want to keep really warm, you could opt for a nice sweater. Pair your dark slacks with a dark sweater. For added warmth, you can wear a button-up shirt under the sweater.
Slacks With Button-Up Shirt and Cardigan
If you want the option of tailoring your outfit to the temperature as you move from indoors to outdoors, a cardigan is a great option. Again, you'd wear a pair of slacks and a button-up shirt as your outfit base. Throw on a dark cardigan and button it all the way up for a more formal look.
Button-Up Shirt With Sport Coat and Dark Jeans
Men can get away with jeans at a funeral as long as the jeans are a dark wash and are in great condition without tears or stains. To make this look work, you pair the jeans with a button-up shirt that is tucked in, a nice belt, a sport coat or suit coat, and dress shoes.
Winter Funeral Outfit Tips
Proper funeral attire for men and women includes dressing in business casual to business attire in black. To check if your outfit is funeral appropriate, make sure it follows a few simple unspoken rules.
- Stick with darker and muted colors such as black, gray, or navy blue as one of your main colors.
- Blue, gray, and navy are all neutral dark colors you could pair with other dark accent colors such as eggplant purple, hunter green, or maroon.
- Look for pieces that will keep you warm, layer if necessary.
- While you want to wear nice shoes, safety is important. If you need to change your shoes upon arrival at the funeral home, that is okay.
- For any outdoor funeral activities, make sure your winter accessories like gloves, scarves, and hats are dark colors too.
What Not to Wear to a Winter Funeral
Knowing what not to wear to a funeral is almost as important as figuring out what to wear. General funeral etiquette indicates you should avoid anything flashy or revealing.
- Don't wear dirty winter boots. If you need to wear your winter boots for safety, at least give them a cleaning first.
- Don't expose a lot of skin. For men, shirts should cover your chest. For women, avoid a lot of cleavage if you can help it.
- Don't dress for a ball. Funerals are somewhat formal and you want to be covered for warmth, but gowns aren't appropriate.
Funeral Wear for Winter
As you dress for a funeral, remember the main difference between a wake and a funeral in terms of outfit choice is that it's more acceptable to dress casually at a wake. Whether you have snow or just colder temperatures in your region, maintaining comfort is important, even at funerals.
