# Do all the Cardinals get their vestments from the same sort **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907 "2005-04-12T02:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/1 "2005-04-12T02:22:15Z")
I was struck by this fact at the Pope’s funeral. It seemed to me, by my far from sophisticated eyes, that all the Cardinals (Western ones, the Eastern Orthodox prelates had a much more varied wardrobe) had vestments for the funeral Mass that were _exactly_ the same shade of red. Do they get new ones or special ones for this particular occasion? I would think that not all vestments for cardinals are made in the same place and there would have to be some variation in the type of cloth or dye used. Or is it possible that TV just didn’t show the vestments in close enough detail for me to be able to discern a difference? ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/2 "2005-04-12T02:28:42Z")
> [@](#): > > the Eastern Orthodox prelates had a much more varied wardrobe Nitpick: any clergy you saw in Eastern liturgical vestments would have been Eastern-rite Catholics, not Eastern Orthodox. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/3 "2005-04-12T02:49:11Z")
D’Oh! I knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/4 "2005-04-12T10:01:55Z")
[nitpick] While the Eastern Right Catholics were, indeed, part of the ceremonies, there _were_ Eastern Orthodox representatives seated among the dignitaries in the audience. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/5 "2005-04-12T12:52:07Z")
Right, but the Eastern Orthodox hierarchs weren’t wearing liturgical vestments. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/6 "2005-04-12T13:33:22Z")
They were matching vestments for the funeral, I believe, with a special pattern on them. I’ve seen many cardinals and met a couple and I’ve never seen those vestments used before. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/7 "2005-04-12T13:58:19Z")
In fact, the cardinals pretty much all use the same tailor. Here’s a BBC report on Gammarelli, the Papal tailors. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from\_our\_own\_correspondent/3582288.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3582288.stm) ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/8 "2005-04-12T14:06:45Z")
A brief hijack if I may, the following snippet caught my eye in the article **Captain Amazing** posted: > [@](#): > > Maximillian asks me to clench my fist while the sock foot is curled round. This method of measuring guarantees a perfect fit, he says. Can anyone explain what exactly is going on here? To my mind clenching your fist doesn’t alter the shape of your foot in any way so I figure I must be missing something. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/9 "2005-04-12T15:06:13Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > Can anyone explain what exactly is going on here? To my mind clenching your fist doesn’t alter the shape of your foot in any way so I figure I must be missing something. I think the tailor means that your clenched fist is about the same width as your foot. So, he has you close your fist and then put the sock on your fist. This is both easier and more sanitary than if he actually had you try the sock on your foot. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-the-cardinals-get-their-vestments-from-the-same-sort/298907/10 "2005-04-12T15:56:47Z")
In the city blocks surrounding the Vatican, one will find numerous stores catering to the specific needs of the clergy, selling all manner of vestments, chalices, etc. I would venture to guess that the Vatican, as a matter of course, provides each of these vendors with lists of standards that must be adhered to, including precise shades of color for vestments.