So now let's look at the clothing of Orthodox Jews.
If you think that they are all equally black and white, then you are very mistaken. It turns out that there are 34 types of black hats alone, each of which carries information about its owner. Knowledgeable people by the color of the stockings, the material of the lapserdak and the shape of the headdress they can accurately indicate: this is a Yerushalmi, this is a Hasid of such and such an admor, this is a bakhur, and this one is already married.
Rebbe, did Abraham wear a black frock coat?
“I don’t know,” the rabbi answered, “whether Abraham walked around in a silk robe and shtreimle.” But I know exactly how he chose his clothes. I looked at how non-Jews dressed and dressed differently.
2. Already in biblical times, Jews dressed differently from other peoples, and, according to the Jewish sages, the people of Israel were awarded the exit from Egypt due to the fact that they did not change their clothes. The Jewish people have since dispersed throughout the world. But only its religious representatives, having met, will be able to recognize each other as blood brothers characteristic appearance black clothes. According to the orthodox themselves: “Clothing does not so much hide as it reveals the essence of a person. It is written: “Be humble before the Almighty.” We prefer dark suits because they are modest, festive and neat. That is why white shirts are “in fashion” among Orthodox Jews. That is why God-fearing Jews will never allow themselves to go out on the street wearing sandals on their bare feet.” 
3. Exists basic clothing, halakhic, which is worn by any Jew who keeps the commandments. This garment includes a head covering and tzitzit with 4 edges. A mandatory element is a quadrangular cape (poncho) with a hole for the head and four tassels along the edges. The cape itself, called tallit katan (or arbekanfes), can be hidden under clothing or worn over a shirt, but the tassels are always straightened over the trousers. It is made from white wool with or without black stripes. The corners are reinforced with overlays made of simple fabric or silk; threads of tzitzis - tassels commanded by the Torah - are threaded through the holes in the corners. If there are two (or one) blue threads in the brush, then most likely you are looking at a Radzin or Izhbitsky Hasid. The secret of making theylet, a blue dye obtained from the chilozon mollusk, was lost almost 2000 years ago and was rediscovered at the end of the last century by Rabbi Gershon Hanoch of Radzin. However, most rabbis did not recognize his recipe. Sephardim and many Hasidim have not one, but two holes on each corner of the tallit katan. In addition, on some brushes, in addition to the four (double) obligatory knots, you can see from 13 to 40 small knots on the thread turns. This feature can also be used to distinguish members of different communities. 
4. Traditional Jewish men's clothing is a tailcoat or frock coat. The tailcoat has no pockets and is fastened from right to left, like all traditional Jewish men's clothing (by non-Jewish standards, “female-style”), has a deep slit and two buttons at the back (where the tab is). 
5. Robes - as a rule, clothing for special occasions: festive silk, embroidered with a black on black pattern, a tish robe for festive dinners, a yeshiva robe made of the cheapest fabric without lining - for classes in a yeshiva or koilel. On Shabbat and Yom Tov, many Hasidim wear a special black satin cloak - bekeche. Both the hood, the frock coat, and the robe of the Hasid should be tied with a belt woven from black silk thread or fabric. 
6. Litvaks can wear jackets on weekdays. Hasidim wear hoods (rekl), which naturally also have differences. For example, lapels are pointed or rounded, or instead of the usual three buttons there are six (two rows of three), this is the case among Satmar Hasidim. In addition to hoods, there are also bekechi (bekeshi), zhugshtsy (jube), etc. And all of this is strictly black. 
7. Pants. They can be either ordinary black, or knee-length - ealb-goyen. Hungarian Hasidim wear short trousers; they tie the leg with a drawstring under the knee and wear black knee socks - zokn. In some communities, on holidays or Shabbat, it is customary to exchange black knee socks for white ones. Ger Hasidim tuck their regular trousers into knee socks. This is called "Cossack" knee-highs (kozak-zokn). 
8. Clothes of a non-black color are worn mainly by the Hasidim Reb Arele and some of the Breslov and other Hasidim, residents of the Meo Sheorim quarter. On weekdays they look like this: a plush (flying saucer) on the head, under it - a weise yarmulke - a white knitted kippah with a tassel in the center of the dome. White shirt, wool tallit katan, vest and caftan made of special fabric (kaftn). Kaftna fabric is white or silver with black or dark blue stripes. This fabric is produced only in Syria and is smuggled to East Yerushalayim. On Shabbat, the flying saucer will be replaced by a Chernobyl or regular shtreiml, and instead of a caftn with a silver background, the Hasid will wear a gold one. Sometimes (and on Shabbat and holidays - necessarily) a brown satin bekesha with an embroidered collar is thrown over the caftan. 
Photo from here
9. Let's return to hats. A Jew almost always puts on a hat or cap over a kippah (yarmulka). In rare cases, this could be a cap of an old European cut, the kind usually worn by old Hasidim from Russia and Poland - a kasket (kashket or dashek). Gray six-piece caps, vaguely similar to a cassette, are worn by children and teenagers in Litvak families. On weekdays, most traditional Jews wear a black hat. According to hat traders, there are 34 main types, each of which indicates the origin, community affiliation and even social status of the owner! 
10. The traditional hat of the hereditary Jews of Yerushalmi is plush. It is also called a Flicker-Teller - popularly a flying saucer or super. It has wide brims, but a low crown - only 10 cm. 
11. Other types of hats are made of velor (more like velvet or even short-haired black fur), which is as hard as ten-millimeter plywood. Among these hats one can highlight the Samet, one of the most expensive and luxurious styles; its owner is probably a Hungarian Hasid. 
12. A simple Litvak or Lubavitcher Hasid wears a kneich hat with a longitudinal crease. Litvak, who occupies a high position in the community, will exchange the kneich for an expensive hamburg (or maftir-gitl) - without creases and dents. On weekdays, many Hasidim wear the simplest of hats - the kapelush, similar to a kneich, but without creases in the crown or bends in the brim. All of them are made of hard felt. 
13. But the most “bright” and most eye-catching headdress of all is the shtreiml! This is the most natural fur hat! Only Hasidim wear it and only on Shabbat, yom tov, at a wedding or when meeting with the rebbe. Moreover, there are more than two dozen types of them! Usually, it is a black velvet kippah, trimmed with fox or sable tails. Wide and low, regular cylindrical shapes are actually “shtreiml”, low and wide, loosely shaped, shaggy ones are called “chernobl”, and a tall black cylindrical fur hat is “spodik”.
The price of a shtreiml can reach thousands of dollars. The history of shtreimla began many years ago, when non-Jews ordered the Jews of one of the communities to wear the tail of an animal on their heads. The purpose of this order was to humiliate and disgrace the Jew. The Jews had no choice, so they took animal tails and made hats out of them. 
14. A simple shtreiml is worn by Hungarian, Galician and Romanian Hasidim, a shaggy chernobl by Ukrainians, and a spodik by Polish Hasidim. There are special styles of shtreiml, which are not worn by entire communities, but only by their heads, rabbeim. This group includes the sobl or zoibl - a tall shtreiml made of sable fur, the cap - something between a spodik and a shtreiml. Shtreiml is worn only by married men. The only exception is a few dozen hereditary families in Yerushalayim. In these families, the boy first puts on the shtreiml on his coming of age, and his bar mitzvah at the age of thirteen.
In 2010 Pamela Anderson, an animal activist and fashion model, wrote a letter to members of the Knesset in the hope of persuading them to ban the sale of natural fur, and for the Orthodox to refuse to wear these stripes...:)) 
This post uses materials from
Who can name the main sign of how Jews differ from other peoples?
National Costume. Its description will be presented to your attention in the article, since it is clothing that always sets a Jew apart from the crowd.
Jews are a people of the West Semitic group, related to the Arabs and Amharas (Ethiopians).
Yes, strange as it may seem, Arabs and Jews, who are always at war and dislike each other, are close relatives, much like Russians and Poles.
However, the religion, culture in general and clothing in particular among these peoples are not at all similar.
The traditional clothing of Jews is very colorful and makes representatives of this nation stand out from the crowd.
To people who are modern and far from religion - and the way Jews dress is entirely based on religious ideas - it may seem ridiculous and somehow old-fashioned, “anachronistic”.
Black frock coats, hats, belts - these items Jewish costume become " business card"a real Jew. A little less known is the yarmulke - a round cap.
However, these are not all the details of the Jewish wardrobe.
The photo in the article shows us the image of a real Jew, dressed according to all the rules of his people.
Jewish ideology in clothing
The national costumes of the Jewish peoples go back to ancient times.
Over the centuries, they have constantly changed, and the reason for this is the desire of the Jews to disguise themselves (after all, in many countries they were forbidden to live at all or were allowed to settle in strictly designated places) or to assimilate.
The latest trend appeared at the beginning of the 19th century: educated representatives of the Jewish people decided to change their traditional attire to European clothes; they began to dress in the fashion of those times - this is how those same long black frock coats and hats came into Jewish use.
Later, this style was “mothballed” and became one of the options for “traditional Jewish” clothing, while in the rest of the world it went out of fashion.
But this transformation has a certain meaning - national, ideological and even religious.
His principle is reflected in a common joke.
Allegedly, at the beginning of the 19th century, one of these educated Jews approached the rabbi, seemingly the custodian of ancient piety, and, deciding to “prick” him, asked: “Rebbe, what did our forefather Abraham wear?”
The rabbi calmly replied: “My son, I don’t know what Abraham dressed in - a silk robe or shtreimla; but I know exactly how he chose his clothes: he looked at how non-Jews dressed, and dressed differently.”
Indeed, from time immemorial, Jews sought to differ from all other peoples and did this with greater fanaticism than all other eastern peoples.
They still stubbornly refuse to call the pagan religion of the Jews “paganism” (although, strictly according to science, only the Jewish faith can be recognized as real “paganism”, since it practically did not undergo mixing with foreign cults).
Jewish music, cooking, behavior, clothing - all this should always be different from its surroundings, but how exactly it should look is the tenth thing.
Even kashrut - a list of culinary (and other) dogmas - is interpreted by many Orthodox Jews only as follows: “Kashrut was introduced in order to distinguish a Jew from a non-Jew.” Same thing with circumcision...
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Western European costume of the beginning of the century before last is today officially considered traditional Jewish clothing.
The national costume of Jews in Russia may seem something strange and unusual, but these are the traditions of another people that must be respected.
Yarmulka
This is the same round hat.
Jews from former USSR They are accustomed to believing that its name is derived from the Russian name Ermolai. But when they come to Israel, local residents explain to them that the cap is called so from the expression “yere malka” - “one who fears the ruler.” That is, wearing a yarmulke, in theory, means that its owner deeply and sacredly believes in God.
How to choose a skullcap?
Choosing a skull cap is not as simple a task as it seems to the uninitiated. In Israeli stores they are sold as ordinary hats - the most popular yarmulkes are laid out on the shelves. different sizes, materials, colors and styles. However, which one the buyer chooses depends on the characteristics of his religion and state of mind. For example, Hasidim do not recognize velvet and knitted skullcaps. A religious Jew purchases a cap of the style that is worn in his community. This is also a reflection of the principles of Judaism: to outside observers it seems to be a monolithic, uniform cult, but in fact it is divided into dozens of movements, differing in dogmas, rules, clothing, etc. Relations between many movements are far from friendly.
Cape
The national costume of the Jews includes a cape. In Hebrew it is called tallit katan or arbekanfes. Like the yarmulke, this is also a mandatory attribute of the Jewish costume. It is a piece of quadrangular material with a hole for the head and four tassels (tzitzit) along the edges. The cape can be worn under clothing or worn over it like a shirt, but the tassels are always placed over the trousers. Each brush has eight threads. Here, too, there are elements characteristic of certain movements of Judaism.
The most interesting and even mysterious part is one (there may be two) thread in the brush, painted blue. It means that the owner of this cape is Radzinsky or Izhbitsky Hasid. There is a legend regarding the origin of such threads. It is believed that blue dye - "theylet" - was present on Jewish clothing in ancient times, but two thousand years ago the recipe for its preparation was lost. At the end of the 19th century, the Hasidic rabbi Gershon Hanoch received teylet again, but his recipe was not recognized by the majority of representatives of the Jewish public as “the same” paint. Therefore, this tehlet remained belonging only to the indicated Jewish movements.
In fact, attempts to restore the ancient recipe and obtain theilet have been proposed by many Western and Jewish scientists since the Middle Ages. Archaeologists who examined the remains of ancient factories and modern chemists also contributed to this matter.
Tzitzit, according to religious canons, must be worn by all men over 13 years of age. This marks the coming of age (bar mitzvah). Wearing tassels indicates that the boy is already able to take responsibility for his actions and participate in the affairs of adults, including reading and discussing the Torah in the synagogue.
"Casket" and hat
The national costume of the Jews necessarily includes a headdress. Every religious Jew is required to wear a yarmulke. However, it is usually hidden under the second headdress. It could be a cap, a hat or a “casket” (aka “dashek”) - an old style cap. The latter is especially popular among Russian and Polish Jews, including Hasidim.
But the most famous is the traditional black hat. Jews wear it on weekdays. Don't think that all hats are the same: according to her appearance You can tell even more about the identity of its owner than a passport. The size of the hat, its position on the head, the nature of the crease and other elements indicate which movement of Judaism the owner of the hat belongs to and even what social status he has.
Straimble
Shtreimbl is the third type of headdress that is included in the national costume of the Jews. But it is common only among Hasidim. Straimble is a cylindrical fur hat. There are also more than two dozen types. At the same time, three large groups are distinguished: the stroke itself - wide and low, of regular shape; Chernobyl is simply low, more free-form; and a spodik - a very tall fur hat. Shtreimbl Hasidim wear only on special occasions - on Shabbat, at weddings and other holidays, during a visit to the rabbi. There are also types of shtraimbla that are worn only by the heads of communities.
Tie and beard
There are elements of clothing that only some Jewish communities recognize. One of them is a tie. It is the prerogative of the Litvaks only. But Hasidim hate ties fiercely; They explain this by saying that the first step in tying a tie is tying a knot in the shape of a cross. A zealous Jew is supposed to hate everything connected with the cross.
Another part of the “clothing” is the beard. Some Jews go clean shaven, others carefully trim their beards, but Hasidim do not recognize any modification of their beard at all, which is why they have the thickest and blackest of all Jews.
Tailcoat
What else can be included in the national costume of the Jews? In some communities (for example, among the Litvaks), an element of the wardrobe that is old-fashioned according to European standards, such as a tailcoat, has been preserved. It is also black, long and has no pockets. It is interesting that the buttons on a tailcoat (and on any Jewish men’s clothing) are fastened so that the right side covers the left - that is, from the point of view of a non-Jew, “in a feminine way.” Jews usually wear a tailcoat during the holiday.
What does the Jewish national costume look like?
The photos in the article clearly show us a colorful and unusual clothing style for an ordinary European.
This may seem strange to many, but this is what makes Jews special. They are firm in their views and true to their customs.
And these features would not be a hindrance to any nation!
Eastern European Jewish women's costume.
Women of the old faith dressed in long dresses of a unique cut. The design of the bodice included lace, frills and folds, and beautiful hand embroidery. Puffy sleeves, gathered at the shoulder and gradually tapering, were fastened at the wrist with a button. Their shape resembled a leg of lamb, which is why they received the same name. The stand-up collar tightly covered the neck and was decorated with lace. Along the hem of the dress were several rows of lush frills. The skirt of the dress was straight in the front, and gathered in folds at the back, which turned into a train. The waist was formed using a belt, which was made from the same fabric as the dress, or from leather. This was the fashionable national costume of the Jews in the last decades of the 19th century and in the early years of the 20th century.
On the head there is a wig, on top of which there is a lace cap and a sterntikhl that holds the head cover - schleer. On the neck there is a pearl necklace in two rows. On the chest (colored insert on the blouse) there is a breastplate made of colorful and bright fabric.
Dolls in folk costumes No. 73. Eastern European Jewish women's costume. Photo of the doll. Since Jewish culture was purely urban, Jewish women did not weave the fabric for the dress themselves, but used store-bought ones. The fabric for women's skirts and sweaters depended on their income and local fashion.
The main decoration of the costume was a kind of shirtfront - brustihl.
A skirt with two aprons on it - front and back. The patterns on the fabrics, as a rule, were floral, repeating those that could be seen on expensive European fabrics.
IN late XIX century, yielding to the influence of urban fashion, Jewish women, especially wealthy ones, began to wear hats, and they demanded hairstyles. Then wigs came into use. At first they were not made from hair, it was a primitive imitation of a hairstyle. Currently, wigs are regularly worn by women only in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.
The preferred color for a summer suit was white. Winter clothes was usually dark shades of blue or Brown. Costumes differed for different age categories and depending on the woman’s role in the family. It was very rare to see a woman wearing a dress of bright colors (for example, green and red). Elderly women could go out in clothes of gray-blue or beige tones.
- Series numbers on sale here
In addition to dresses, the national costume of Jews also allowed the wearing of blouses and skirts.
Women's aprons served not only their economic purpose, but were also considered a protective element, protection from the evil eye. Festive aprons were decorated with embroidery, carefully starched and ironed.
Shoes - black boots with high tops, laced to the top and put on stockings, knitted by hand and held with garters at knee level or above.
In addition to the characteristic differences in traditions and cultural characteristics, each people of the world has its own national costume, emphasizing its inherent identity and belonging to a particular religious movement.
National Jewish clothing is colorful and makes representatives of this nationality stand out from the crowd.
National Jewish clothing has a rich history. In the process of creating a traditional costume, representatives of this nationality managed to ensure that the resulting outfit allowed them to look natural anywhere, without depersonalizing them.
Important! Initially, this outfit was created with the aim of facilitating the process of assimilation in any state for representatives of the nation.
In the original version of this outfit, the influence of the Babylonian culture is clearly visible. Having gotten rid of slavery, representatives of this nationality subsequently continued to wear two shirts with long or short sleeves. Linen was worn underneath and wool was worn on top. A similar outfit was complemented with a wide belt. Belts of wealthy citizens were made of linen or woolen fabric and lavishly decorated with gold and precious stones. The poor used simple leather or felt products for this purpose.
During the reign of King Solomon Jewish national costumes acquired a more luxurious appearance. They began to be sewn from airy, light fabrics, decorated with precious stones, as well as gold and silver embroidery. Girls from wealthy families often wove strings of pearls, corals and gold plates into their hair., thereby trying to further emphasize their social position.
With the advent of the twentieth century, the traditional clothing of this nation gradually lost its former chic. The national attire has become much more restrained and laconic. For the most harmonious interaction with European society, Jews began to wear long frock coats and black hats. They have preserved this custom to this day, despite the fact that such clothing has long gone out of fashion throughout the world.
Features of Jewish costume
National Jewish attire managed, through the centuries, to preserve its originality and uniqueness, even despite the fact that much of it was borrowed from the clothing of other peoples. The traditional clothing of representatives of this nation is characterized by modesty and restraint. Modern people who are far from religion may even consider it old-fashioned.
Color shades
Diversity and richness color palette traditional Jewish clothing is no different. During the period of settlement in small European cities in the 21st century, Jews tried to dress as simply and modestly as possible, so as not to attract unnecessary attention.
Reference! Characteristic feature Jewish national costume considered neutral. In the hot season, representatives of this nation preferred to wear white clothes, and in cold weather, outfits of predominantly blue and brown colors.
Fabrics and style
Jewish culture has always been based on urban life. For this reason there are no peasant models of national Jewish attire.
Jewish girls never had the opportunity to resort to making their own fabric for sewing various wardrobe items. In most cases, the fabrics needed for this were purchased at markets.
The type of fabric purchased for these purposes depended on wealth and local fashion.
Varieties of costume
Men's Jewish clothing
Male traditional outfit has a specific elegance. It consists of an ordinary black frock coat, a light shirt, trousers and a cape called a tallit katan.
The main feature of this element of Jewish clothing is that although the cape looks like outerwear, it is worn not only on top, but also directly on the shirt. The tassels should be straightened over the trousers.
Reference! Such a cape is a mandatory attribute of the national Jewish costume. It is shaped like a rectangle made of fabric. white with a cutout for the head. Tassels called “tzitzit” are tied to the four corners of the cape. Each such brush ends with eight threads.
Women's Jewish clothing
Women's traditional Jewish attire consisted of a dress or blouse with a skirt and an apron. The main characteristic of these clothes was practicality. The outfits were made from fabrics of predominantly dark shades (brown, gray and black).
There was an opinion that, in addition to its main function, an apron could also protect against the evil eye and curses. Dresses were usually decorated with lace and white embroidery, symbolizing purity.
The waist was tightly clasped by a leather belt.
Hats
An integral part of the traditional attire of Jewish men are headdresses, which include:
- yarmulke- knitted or made of fabric, a small round soft hat that covers the top of the head;
- cassette (dashek)- a cap of the old European style, usually worn over a skull cap;
- streimel- a fur hat with a velvet top, sometimes inherited from ancestors and worn on especially special occasions.
On weekdays, traditional Jewish costume men are complemented by a laconic black hat. Its size and elements depend on the social status of the owner.
Jewish women also wore hats with wigs under them. For decoration, graceful beads worn in two rows were usually used.
Shoes and accessories
As shoes comfortable black boots with high tops were used. Such shoes were worn tightly on bare feet in the summer and laced up to the very top, and in the winter - on hand-knitted stockings, which were fastened with garters at the level of the knees or slightly higher. Modern women usually wear flat shoes.
As accessories in most cases wide belts are used, in some cases, ties of the corresponding shade are also used. The use of a tie causes a lot of controversy, since when it is tied, a knot is formed that resembles a cross in shape.
Modern models of Jewish costume
In the modern world, traditional Jewish clothing continues to remain quite popular. Mandatory elements of religious representatives of this nationality are a skull cap and a cape (photo).
Despite the fact that outwardly such wardrobe items have become a little simpler, a full-fledged national outfit is often worn to meetings and various special events.
An integral part of Jewish culture is folk costume.. Men's Jewish costume consists of woolen black and white or blue and white prayer shawls with tassels, long robes, kaftans and cloaks. The head is covered with a special cap. Men grew beards and strands of hair at the temples. In an Ashkenazi men's suit mandatory attributes was tunic-like shirt, black trousers, boots, long-skirted caftan (lapserdak), black skull cap or hat trimmed with fur (shtreiml). Married women covered their heads wig
Women of the old Yishuv wore traditional long dresses with a fitted bodice, which, when skillfully cut, emphasized the chest and waist. The bodice was very intricate, with many ruches, pleats, lace, buttons, ribbons and intricate hand embroidery. Dresses were made with long sleeves, gathered at the shoulder, tapering towards the wrist and ending in a lapel with buttons. This sleeve was called a gigot (French for “leg of lamb”). The stand-up collar fit tightly around the neck and was trimmed with lace. The hem usually ended with two or three rows of frills. The front of the dress was straight and reached to the toes of the shoes, and at the back there were several pleats, and it ended with a small train. Up to five or six petticoats and a tight corset were worn under the full skirt. The train made the lady's silhouette from the side look like a hill, steep in front and sloping in the back. The waist was cinched with a belt made of leather or the same fabric as the dress. fashionable dresses Women of the old Yishuv - both Ashkenazi and Sephardic - wore this cut from the last decades of the 19th century until about 1910, and only in the second decade of the 20th century new trends began to penetrate into their clothing.
The majority of Jewish women in the old Yishuv were religious, observed traditions, and dressed modestly. In summer they preferred light colors and usually wore white dresses, and in winter they preferred dark colors: various shades of brown or blue. The color of the dress depended on age and marital status. Few women dared to wear red or green dresses; older women sometimes wore dresses in gray, beige or blue-gray tones. A black dress meant mourning. Typically, summer dresses were made from cotton fabrics - cambric and poplin, and winter ones - from crepe-satin, taffeta or thick silk.
Women also wore skirts with blouses. Blouses of complex cut were sewn from the finest cambric and trimmed with lace and fine handmade embroidery. They were worn with dark skirts, which used a lot of fabric, as they were pleated, frilled, and trimmed with ribbons and patterned buttons. Usually skirts widened towards the hem.
Dresses and blouses were buttoned so that the right side - a symbol of wisdom - overlapped the left - a symbol evil spirit- and protected the modesty and chastity of a woman: after all, right hand- “strict hand” (this, by the way, is the title of one of Maimonides’ books), and Kabbalists call the left side sitra achara (the other side), this is the refuge of Satan, where vicious desires take root.
Over the dress They usually wore an apron, which, in addition to its direct purpose, was also considered protection from the evil eye. On Saturdays and holidays, the white embroidered apron was starched and ironed to emphasize the neatness of its owner. The boots were worn high, ankle-length, laced to the top, usually black . The stockings were black or colored, hand-knitted, they were held on by round garters above the knees, hidden under a long skirt.
Lingerie included pantaloons with lace, over which they wore a long petticoat that fit tightly around the hips. Between the lower and upper skirts there were two or three more white silk or cambric skirts. The bodice had the shape of a vest. The corset was made with tight-fitting metal hoops, but later they were replaced with whalebone plates sewn into the fabric. The corset narrowed the waist, enlarged the chest and, naturally, made breathing difficult. The petticoats were sewn straight in front and flared in the back, which, together with the hip pads sewn into them, gave the figure a fashionable shape at that time: in those days, thin women were considered unattractive, and clothing was supposed to correct this flaw. Old women in Jerusalem still remember the full skirt with a thick cotton lining.
Underwear constituted a significant part of a girl's dowry, and its quantity and quality reflected the financial situation of her parents. Loose-fitting nightgowns made of fine cambric, always white, with long sleeves and a closed collar, were finished with embroidery with ribbons of soft pink or blue color . In winter, women wore dark ankle-length capes over their dresses, usually gray, with a narrow collar and slits for the arms. Some wore woolen coats, sewn by local tailors using patterns brought from Europe.
Jerusalem Sephardic women wore long black dresses and lace scarves covering their heads, foreheads and shoulders.. When a woman visited relatives and friends, the hostess herself took off this scarf and kept it with her, and when the guest was about to leave, the hostess, out of politeness, refused to return it, persuading her to take her time and drink another cup of tea. Sephardic women wore beautiful warm shawls with fringes in bright patterns.
The Eastern influence on the clothing of that time is evidenced by the traditionally embroidered scarf with which Sephardic women covered their heads and shoulders, and the black dress with a cape-shaped bodice, with a wide hem to the toes.
In Jerusalem, such attire could only be seen on the streets of the Old City, and women there also usually covered their faces with a black scarf so that no one would pester them. At the beginning of the century, women collected long hair into a chignon and, to emphasize femininity, they did not pull it very tightly. This hairstyle, brought over from Europe where it was called "Marie Antoinette", was especially popular among young women, and even women from the extremely Orthodox community wore it on their wigs.
Following religious precepts and traditions, married Ashkenazi women usually covered their hair with hats , which were secured to the head with hairpins or ribbons. The hats were felt or straw, trimmed with lace, ribbons, artificial flowers or fruits. And Sephardic women covered their heads with different scarves: on weekdays - made of thin cotton or silk fabric with thin fringe or patterns along the edges, holiday scarves were distinguished by brighter colorful patterns . Before the wedding, girls wore a light light scarf on their heads, and colored ribbons were woven into their hair. Young married women wore bright scarves, while older women preferred dark colors.
On top of the headscarf they usually wore a kind of tourniquet, tied in a knot at the back, and hanging loosely in front on both sides of the face, with something like pendants extending from it, covering the ears and reaching to the shoulders. Women from the Balkan countries wore a large colorful cape on their heads, folded into a triangle and secured with a hairpin. In the rain, they put galoshes on their shoes and carried umbrellas. Knitted wool gloves were also in fashion.
A woman's well-being was indicated by gold and silver jewelry: chains, bracelets, brooches, rings, medallions, typical of that time, often with precious stones. Immediately after birth, the midwife pierced the girls’ ears and passed a white thread through the holes, and soon the ears were decorated with tiny gold earrings.
Sephardim at home usually wore a white shirt and cotton pants, topped with a small tallit (Jewish prayer shawl), then a vest and caftan with a sash. When going out into the city, they put on a long coat and a fez on their head..
Almost all men wore headdresses: Turkish fezzes of cherry color with a black tassel, European felt hats, straw hats with wide brims, sometimes curved on one side, sometimes on both sides, sometimes not curved. The dandies wore straw canopy This is in French fashion and even in summer they wore gloves. The choice of hat unmistakably indicated the orientation of its owner: fez - for loyalty to the Turkish authorities, a felt hat - for a moderately pro-Western orientation, a straw boater - for panache, a French cap for opposition sentiments, sun pith helmet - for cosmopolitanism. And the absence of a headdress was perceived as an open rebellious challenge. At that time, ties were worn in various types, long, wider or narrower (“herrings”, “butterflies!”, “bows”), silk, striped or checkered. Men's boots or low shoes were often black, sometimes white, with laces. The dapper suit was complemented by a cane and a watch on a gold chain in the vest pocket. The man's hair was carefully lubricated with brilliantine and combed thoroughly. Most grew beard mustaches.
Michal Maurer
Everyone knows that Israel is essentially a country of immigrants. What can you see here! And everyone Big City in Israel has its own distinct characteristics.
Everything said below applies only to Jerusalem. I love this city very much. More than half of its inhabitants are so-called religious, i.e. practitioners of Judaism. This leaves a special imprint on the appearance of both women and men.
Relatively speaking, the entire population of Israel can be divided into secular and religious. I also included people who practice religions other than Judaism as secular, because their appearance is not particularly different.
A separate group is Arab women - they also add a special flavor to Jerusalem.
First, a few general words. Unlike my hometown of Kyiv, there are very few hairdressers and beauty salons in Jerusalem. Young girls prefer to wear long and very long hair. Israeli women have very beautiful hair, often curly. They are worn loose or put in a bun, and somehow they manage not to pin them up with anything, but to tie a bun from the hair itself.
But makeup looks very rough on many people due to the natural brightness of the face.
Secular women
If we talk about the secular youth of Israel, young girls wear short shorts with T-shirts tucked into them. Or leggings with t-shirts tucked in the same way. Leggings, oddly enough, are also loved by older women. Sometimes it looks just terrible. It seems to me that no one irons clothes. They wear T-shirts, tank tops, fashionable long skirts, and of course jeans. In Jerusalem, in addition to global mass market brands, there are many stores with cheap and terrible clothes of unknown origin. Young people willingly shop there.
There are many stores with the same low quality shoes. And in general, finding decent shoes in Jerusalem without going broke is not an easy task. Israeli women willingly wear ballet shoes and do not know how to walk in heels. Comfort comes first! Women from the former Soviet Union can be identified immediately - by their neat and “smart” clothes.
Religious women
The appearance of religious women, especially in the heat, arouses genuine interest among tourists. This large group of Jerusalem residents is not as homogeneous as it might seem at first glance.
Let me immediately note that all my critical remarks relate exclusively to the way women in Jerusalem dress, their appearance, and not to the religion itself, to which I belong.
For convenience, I will divide all religious women into three groups.
The first group includes the strict (Haredi) and Orthodox. Overall they look very sad. As a rule, these clothes are loose-fitting and seem to be two sizes too large. Clothing in black, brown or other soft colors. Diluted a little with white. No cosmetics or jewelry. Headdresses, often of bizarre shapes, sit tightly on the head so that not a single hair is visible. The length of the skirt is mid-calf. A skirt that is too long or too short is considered indecent. The sleeves are always long, the neckline covers the jugular cavity. Legs in thick stockings, at least 40 denier, and this is in the heat! Do not think that these clothes are made of light fabrics. As a rule, everything is very thick, opaque, and sometimes a knitted jacket is also put on top of the blouse. But no matter how much I communicated with such women, I never noticed the smell of sweat. I suspect that during the time they wore such clothes, their bodies were rebuilt!
The second group of religious women in Jerusalem is very heterogeneous, but they are united by the desire to be beautiful. Wigs are one of the ways to cover your head and look beautiful at the same time. Sometimes it can be difficult to guess that a woman is wearing a wig.
There are already fashion trends here. Women from this group, if they have taste, can look simply luxurious! They also only wear skirts, but they can also be a fashionable maxi length. There are also bright colors, jewelry, and cosmetics. But such women look very elegant, of course, no straps showing. But since the legs must be covered, tights or knee socks (in summer) are chosen so that they are visible, in a thick beige color. And this, in the strict opinion of critics, is not very beautiful.
Among the latest fashion trends are scarves tied on the head to resemble Nefertiti.
There is a definite advantage in this approach to fashion. With age, these women don't look funny, in pursuit of the latest fashion trends. No T-shirts on withered shoulders. Everything that should be closed is closed.
And finally, the third group. These are mostly young women living in settlements. Or just those who love the style a la paisan. They are not so strict about the length of the sleeves and go without tights. Their clothes feature a lot of lace, ribbons, embroidery, denim skirts, layers and embellishments.
Israeli women on the beach:
http://laviniablog.com/?p=2259
Chanel for the synagogue,
or Kosher bloomers
In the winter of 1989, one of our friends managed to go on a visit to Israel and, upon returning, gathered friends to view the slides. He was bombarded with questions: what is there? And what does everything really look like? In particular, the girls, who were sitting on their suitcases due to their imminent departure, were interested in: what to put in these suitcases, what do they wear there? He shrugged it off: “Israeli women don’t know how to dress at all. In Tel Aviv they walk around almost naked, just shorts and a T-shirt up to the navel. Religious is another matter. On the Sabbath, you can see elegant women in some large synagogue.”
Modest but clean
As you know, Jewish believers organize their daily life and everyday life in accordance with the laws of Halacha. And Halakha prescribes modest clothing for a Jewish woman. The only trick is that in each era the very concept of modesty has changed greatly.
For example, in the ancient world they did not know cut at all. Clothes were then modeled from pieces of fabric using draperies, buckles and belts. Then we learned how to sew several pieces of fabric. And everyone - men and women - wore robes down to their toes, cloaks, scarves or bedspreads. Among our ancestors who lived in Egypt under the pharaoh, modesty was expressed in the fact that Jewish women did not walk around with their breasts bare (or even topless) like Egyptian women...
IN medieval Europe all women of all classes constantly wore hats, even went to bed in caps. Everyone was draped in closed long multi-layered dresses. The Jews were no different from them at all. What did our sages write about modesty then? Never mind. But Rambam is credited with saying that a beautiful wife makes everyone respect her husband. In the Middle Ages, among the Jewish merchants, it was believed that a man should dress more modestly than his wealth allowed, and that he should dress his wife and daughters more richly than his wealth allowed. Evidence of this has been preserved thanks to rare copies of the ketubah - the marriage contract.
Medieval Jewish clothing
(Weiss, Kostümkunde).
Depraved Venetian courtesans started the fashion of appearing in public with their heads uncovered and with deep necklines on their dresses. But it is also known that the Jewish women from the ghetto did not even think of adopting this fashion, however, neither did the legal wives of the Venetians of the titular nationality. Later, throughout Europe, necklines became fashionable in high society (but only at balls). And still, pious Jewish women covered their necks and chests with gauze scarves: this can be seen in many portraits of noble Jews, for example, from the Rothschild family.
Baron Albert Rothschild with his wife Bettina
The laws of modesty became relevant much later - in France, after the revolution there, when Jews received freedom by decree of Napoleon Bonaparte and left the ghetto. It was during this period that revolutionary French women abandoned the corset and crinoline and introduced the ancient fashion of muslin transparent dresses with high waists and daring necklines. Under these outfits they didn’t even wear petticoats; at best, they wore flesh-colored tights. It was then that high society abandoned hats at balls and soirees, and hats became decent only on the street. Wealthy Jewish women began to subscribe to the first Parisian fashion magazines, and Jewish religious authorities, concerned about the decline of morality, began to draw up circulars on proper modest appearance.
Jewish clothing of the early 18th century. in Fürth (Bavaria)
And today Halakha puts forward the following requirements for the clothing of a Jewish woman:
1) the hem of the skirt should cover the knees
2) sleeves should cover the elbows
3) on the legs - stockings
4) the neckline of the dress at the neck should not be lower than the collarbones
5). married woman covering her hair with a headdress or wig
6) it is forbidden for a woman to wear men’s clothes, and a man to wear women’s clothes
Another thing is that many Jewish women gave up on these regulations long ago...
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