La Verne Ford Wimberly, 82, a retired principal from Tulsa, Oklahoma, has caught the attention of many for dressing up while attending church services that have been held virtually due to the pandemic.
“I really can’t believe all the attention that I have received the past two weeks,” she said.
Since the pandemic began, churchgoers have mostly been joining virtual Sunday services via Zoom and Facebook Live. Most of them attend on their pajamas or comfy workout clothes, But Dr. La Verne has a better idea.
Since last spring, the retired teacher has been posting wonderful selfies of her on Facebook. Wearing her colorful dresses up to her collection of fancy hats for her Sunday look.
“I didn’t want to become a vagabond and I know that it takes 21 days to change a habit or even break a habit or get a new habit and if I had sat at home in my sweats or something like that,” she told TODAY. “I probably would not have wanted to get dressed back up.”
“So, it was just a matter of making myself feel good and also others who belong to my church so that’s why I started that post,” she added.
Dr. La Verne has worn over 50 outfits for virtual church services every Sunday.
“I thought, oh, my goodness, I can’t sit here looking slouchy in my robe,” she told The Washington Post. “I didn’t want to sit around alone and feel sorry for myself, so I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to dress up anyway’”.
Robin Watkins, the church’s executive office assistant, told the Washington Post: “She never skips a beat with the hats, the clothes, and all that beautiful jewelry,”.
Dr. Laverne shared that she was so shocked to find out that so many people are talking about her.
“I really can’t believe all the attention that I have received the past two weeks,” she said. “I just can’t imagine what the fascination is, or the attraction is, for an 82-year-old woman that they keep calling and writing and texting. And I have just completed deleting about 800 friend requests.”
“In the 20 years I’ve been going to church there, I’ve always had my little routine that I learned from my mother as a girl,” she explained. “I’d pick out a nice outfit and hat and lay it out the night before so that I could be prepared and look presentable.”