The term "Plain People"

There are a few of you that have emailed me this past week and asked about the term, "Plain people" or "living plain" as I sometimes use the terms in a post and with the Amish School shooting some of you have heard it used on the news.
It's another name for the Old order Amish and Conservative Mennonites and a few other groups that are similar in practice and dress. Headcovering, separation from the world and some form of a cape dress for the women. Simple clothes for the men too.The term refers to their dress of course and their whole approach to living simple lives. You would have to be a part of one of those communities or at least live, dress and believe as they do in order to be considered "plain".
Wikipedia says................
The plain people is a generic term used to refer to Amish, Old Order, Conservative and Old Colony Mennonites, Old German Baptist Brethren and Old Order River Brethren in Pennsylvania. Historically it referred also to plain Quakers, Dunkards and perhaps Moravians.The term originally came from sources external to the Amish or Mennonite groups in reference to their plain appearance and life style. The original dictates for a plain and simple life were to counter what they saw as the abomination of Roman Catholic Church liturgy and ritual and the lifestyle the Catholic clergy maintained prior to the Counter Reformation. While Martin Luther began the Reformation, many felt that he had not done enough to separate himself from the Roman Catholic Church. This separation led to many customs the groups still maintain to some degree. Among these are included:Plain clothes, usually in solid, normally dark colors. Plain church buildings, or no church buildings whatsoever. A utilitarian view of technology, similar to the precautionary principle of technology in that unknowns should be avoided, but the emphasis was on the results in the eyes of God. If they were unsure how God would look upon a technology, the leaders of the church would determine whether it was to be avoided or not. This applied to all technology, explaining why their clothing often consisted of hook and loop instead of buttons. The degree to which this principle was supported varied among the congregations, but in general, the Amish people believed that the Mennonites had not done enough to separate themselves from the rest of the world.

A favorite picture of a wall in my living room, where we hang our hats and a chair or two
Two "plain" dresses hanging on my clothes line. GIfts for a friend