From the thirteenth century the Carmelites wore a habit made of undyed gray black wool, a material of low value and, thus, sign of poverty. In 1472 they started to wear black habits and then, from 1483, tawny (reddish brown) coloured ones.
The habit consisted of:
- A very wide tunic, girded at the waist by a leather belt;
- A mantle, initially with overlapping black and white stripes, replaced by a totally white one in 1287;
- A gray hooded scapular that, according to tradition, was given to the Carmelite friar Saint Simon Stock by the Virgin Mary in 1251 with the promise that those who would wear it would be delivered from the pains of Purgatory. For this reason the scapular has always been the sign of the Carmelite Order’s consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the acceptance of Our Lady’s protection over the friars;
- A skull cap, called zucchetto, in the same colour of the habit
- Lace-up sandals.