We can take light colors! We can take khakis and grays! Hallelujah!

A little over a month ago, the LDS church came out with some updated guidelines on how missionaries, Elders in particular, are expected to dress from here on out. It surprised quite a few people and created a stir among stores that service and help missionaries, since the guidelines for Elders has been exactly the same for literally decades.

When I received a mission call to Japan nearly twenty years ago, the rules were the same as they have been since then: dark conservative colored slacks and suits, and conservative ties as well. Although they generally allowed more latitude in the choice of tie colors, the general rules were decidedly cut and dry.

Suits and slacks must be black, navy, dark gray, and dark brown. Period.

We found out about the news early, when a newly called missionary came in to be outfitted and brought his freshly minted paperwork he had received only a few days prior. On his paperwork they allowed the missionaries new found freedom: TANS GREYS AND KHAKIS!

New Guidelines for Missionaries

We're not in opposition to change, in fact we welcome it! Our pant racks no longer appear to have 6 shades of black. Our suit racks no longer look like we outfit only morticians! We brought in the lighter colors and we were happy to have them. In fact I even purchased a lighter grey suit myself, because I want to be on the cutting edge of missionary clothing trends (that may not actually be a thing, but I digress.) So while we stock the clothing in accordance to the new guidelines we feel it's necessary to ask that missionaries be cautious when choosing to be part of God's new lighter toned Army.

The call says lighter colors like khaki, they don't say you can wear "khakis" like some missionaries seem to think. They still have to be dress slacks, and they can't be a cotton or Docker's style pant.

The other thing we would like to say is that the darker colors... hide a lot more. They hide dirt, grease, food, rain, mud, and most importantly: sweat. We can't emphasize that last one enough. When you are wearing your dress slacks it will usually be warm. In many places it will be downright HOT. Heaven forbid you are riding a bicycle in that heat... sweating... in tan pants. We don't feel the need to expound on that. Just take it for what it's worth.

So while having the option of new colors is exciting, and by all means take a pair or two if you feel so inclined, we suggest you leave the lighter colored suits at home and buy the lighter colors in your washable slacks. That way all the grease, bugs, oil, food, and other stains can be washed off and life is good again.

The missionary mix is evolving

We have been in the business of clothing missionaries for 62 years as of this year. One could say we have experience in knowing what Elders need and want when they prepare for their missions. So when the First Presidency announced last October that the church was changing the minimum age of missionary service to 18 for Elders, we knew we had that song down pat. All we had to do was bulk up our stock levels and prepare for the wave of new young missionaries to come in so we could help them get ready for their missions.

We did just that and we have seen hundreds of new missionaries come through our store in that short time frame. And for the most part we were effectively able to outfit nearly every young man that came through our shop. It has been wonderful to see so many young men willing to serve wherever the Lord calls them.

But when the Presidency announced the age change to 18 for Elders they also let loose with an even bigger announcement. Sisters. Sisters were allowed to leave at 19 instead of 21. We knew this change would be big, but we really didn't know how big until recent reports said that for the first time in church history, the number of Sister missionaries in the Missionary Training Center in Provo were outnumbering the number of Elders. That's huge.

At first we were determined to beef up our inventory for the Elders but we figured that surely the Sisters were fine with the offerings at the hundreds of stores around the Phoenix area. We were quickly proven wrong. Over the weeks following the announcement, time and time again we have received phone calls, emails, text messages as well as sisters coming into the store, asking us if and when we were going to start carrying lines for Sisters. 

Evidently it's is nearly impossible to find attractive skirts that are the right length and to find tops that are modest but stylish. Our Sisters were telling us they were unable to find coats that were truly made for cold, wet weather. They told us that truly comfortable and durable walking shoes were virtually nonexistant in the stores they had been to. In all honesty we had no idea that it was that difficult to find women's clothing to match the mission call.

Armed with overwhelming demand for a line that would send Sisters out into the field ready to properly serve, we went about the task of finding not only clothing for Sisters but the right clothing for Sisters. Durable, washable, cute and stylish, built for the mission, we wanted to make sure we weren't sending out things that were inferior just to cash in on the new demand. We feel we have some really good things in store for the new young sisters and even more coming in the next few weeks.

To all of the Sisters and their mothers who have helped give us direction and support with all of the styles and colors and pretty much everything else, we give our heartfelt thanks. Thanks also go to my wife as she braved the huge women's trade show floor scouting out coats and clothing all the while being 6 months pregnant. Quite a woman!

So while we don't have absolutely everything quite yet, we do have a lot of things already that we hope you will find an excellent fit for Sister Missionaries and LDS women in general.

I'll just get it when I get there, they'll know what I need.

If we decided to rank the things heard most in our store, the statement "I'll get that in (my mission), they have things more suited for (my mission)" has to be one of the top five at least.

Particularly having a base of operations in Arizona, people seem to think that because we live in such a hot climate, we can't possibly know about cold climates or outerwear that would be appropriate for the various missions of the world. This line of thinking works pretty well when shopping in a regular department store or chain store, because it makes sense. Why would a store stock a heavy overcoat or heavyweight winter boots in a place where the average temperature is in the 70s or 80s?

If you're a regular department store, you wouldn't. However, as a retailer that specializes in sending out LDS missionaries, you absolutely would.

For example, in Pomeroy's we stock coats made by a company that is based in Washington, winter socks made by a company that makes them in Canada, and scarves, winter hats, gloves and ear bands by a company operating out of New York City. These are not items made for Arizona boys. Well, I take that back. They are made for Arizona boys that are serving in Northern Europe, Ukraine, Idaho, Minnesota, and practically anywhere where ice driving is a necessary skill. We have sales staff that have served in 0F to -70F degree climates and they can attest to our winter gear. It works.

Another reason someone might want to reconsider waiting until they get into the field to purchase certain items is that you don't know where your first area is going to be. Say you are called to serve in Pocatello, Idaho. (It's a very common mission for Arizona based missionaries to go.) Well if your first area is the actual city of Pocatello, then you are probably in luck, they have stores that can get you warm clothing. 

However, the large majority of missionaries called to serve in the Pocatello Idaho Mission never serve in Pocatello.They serve in one of the dozens of small towns where the largest store is the corner market. That means no access to any winter gear outside of what you can borrow until you go to zone conference or get transferred, meaning you're freezing your tail off for possibly weeks before you can get to a store. Not ideal.

As any seasoned cold weather individual can tell you the key to keeping warm isn't a huge thick coat and huge snow boots, but a system of layers. When you are properly outfitted for winter, you will have as many as six or seven layers of clothing to customize your warmth day by day. On the coldest days you'll have your undergarments, thermals over those, white shirt over that, sweater over that, suit coat over the sweater, and a dual layer jacket over everything else! You may look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, but you'll be warm even in sub-zero temperatures.

Buying a heavy coat may seem like a good idea and many mission presidents will suggest buying a heavy down coat in their area, but what will you do for the other nine months of the year when the heavy down coat is too hot to wear but it's still cold outside? That's where your layers come into play. If you've got the six or seven layers, and it gets warm... just peel a layer or two off and you're back to being toasty but not too toasty.

Just remember the old Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared and take what you can with you. Don't plan on purchasing essentials out in the field, because you may not be in an area where you can do so. Purchase souvenirs or a nice new suit in your last area to go home in, but take what you need with you.