Saint Costume: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

  This year's Saint for All Saints Day was St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first American-born saint to be cannonized.  She started the first Catholic School in the United States, and founded the Daughters of Charity.  She grew up in the Episcopal Church, but converted to Catholocism as an adult (one of the many reasons I like her!).  One of my favorite quotes of hers is "Live simply so that others may live".  Profound even for colonial and early American times, this speaks to both environmental and social justice causes of today.

Since I don't sew, we purchased the costume.  My favorite piece, the black bonnet, is actually sold as an Amish style hat.  I've looked up the pieces on Amazon.com, and linked them to my store.  Here are the essential pieces to recreate the costume:  a  black bonnet , currently retailing for $7.99; a basic black robe (I would suggest cutting off the hood, as I did here), which currently retails for $8.99, and a short black cape , which currently retails for $4.99.  The total costume on Amazon.com would be around $21.00, and I'm anticipating reusing the pieces in future All Saints Day Costumes.

For accessories, the top photo shows my daughter's choices:  A chalkboard (to represent her starting a Catholic School); a rosary, as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton loved the rosary, and a Bible, as she was an avid Bible reader (likely due to her Protestant roots).