Danish priests are calling for a range of ‘off-the-peg’ cassocks after it was revealed that the tailor-made robes costs as much as fur coats. The long, black religious attire set Denmark’s Lutheran Church back DKK 4.5 million (EUR 63,500) last year alone, with each new cassock costing DKK 19,500 (EUR 2,615).
In previous years, costs have even been as high as DKK 6 million (EUR 804,000), according to news agency Kristeligt Dagblad. A tailor-made cassock takes up to eight weeks to produce and every priest is entitled to update his or her wardrobe every eight years.
Bishops are now suggesting that a ready-made range of cassocks in different set sizes could help cut costs dramatically, allowing the church to employ more clergy.
“For example, I don’t understand that we don’t standardise the cloth of office instead of having it tailor-made. This isn’t a parade uniform that has to look terribly impressive,” Haderslev Diocese Bishop, Niels Henrik Arendt, told Kristeligt Dagblad.