Readers are permitted to wear a [[cassock]], although many do so only when attending services; this is done as a sign of his suppression of his own tastes, will and desires, and his canonical obedience to God, his bishop and the liturgical and canonical norms of the Church. Readers Even in those jurisdictions which favour them, readers will generally not wear a clergy shirt.

While reading in church, the reader will generally wear a [[sticharion]]; and in some places, will do so when receiving communion. What a reader wears while conducting his duties can vary, however, and many bishops and priests will allow a reader to perform his function dressed only in a [[cassock]] or (, if a [[monk]]) , outer cassock (riassa/exoraso). Often, a bishop will decree what vesting practice he wishes to be followed within his own [[diocese]]; for an example, see [http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/tikhon.lit1.html here], section VIII.

In contemporary practice, any layman may receive the priest's blessing to read on a particular occasion, particularly in the absence of an ordained reader. A layman so blessed, even permanently, may not take on any of the prerogatives of an ordained reader, i.e. may not wear a readercassock or sticharion within or outside of services.