"Jewish tradition recognises the democracy of death," writes American rabbi Maurice Lamm. Jewish doctrine dictates that all faithful be buried in the same type of garment, a plain shroud. One popular style has a heart in the middle of the chest area representing the sacred heart of Jesus, below which is inscribed "I place my trust in thee". For a Christian burial the breasting might have a religious motif appliqued to the front. It's basically a piece of material that covers the body from neck to toe but usually doesn't have a back or sleeves, The female version tends to be a little fancier and trimmed with lace around the collar and waist. In the event of a fashion crisis, funeral homes will offer the alternative of providing a shroud-like garment referred to as a breasting. "There is a moving contrast between their worn clothes and the newness of the unworn (clothes) - clothes that someone else will dress them in." "In tattered suitcases or in a Camel cigarette holdall, these elderly women have packed their final outfits - a white nightgown, an embroidered bolero, a pillow, a pair of thick woollen socks," wrote one art critic. The little-known custom has been documented by photographer Margareta Kern in a series called Clothes for Death, which shows elderly women displaying their chosen final outfits. In Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in Croatia, women prepare clothes they wish to be buried in. Not everyone leaves the decision about their going-away outfit to their families. OK, well let's not put her in them," she said, "but underwear and stockings and things like that, we send someone off respectfully." Footwear varies: "We dress them normally unless someone might say, 'Mum didn't like wearing shoes'. The funeral director said nightclothes, pyjamas for men or a night gown for women, were still common, as was dressing dad in a suit.
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