Saturday, October 12, 2013

Weather the Leather

This has been on my mind for quite some time now, as apparently its the new trend. I've been to Shul, to Simchas, even on the street on a Shabbos afternoon and have seen kids wearing leather outfits. Be it a Shabbos robe, or 2 piece outfit. At first I thought 'wow, leather on a kid-in a non-child color=well that's not even cute, more likely disturbing', the disturbing part though, was that the kids wearing it were Yeshivish & even Chassidish. 
Then I started noticing people in my community-first a yeshivish woman wearing a leather top, then the other day at the supermarket, a Chassidish woman wearing a black leather skirt! How appalling. Yes, I get it's in style-so are a whole lotta other things, but you don't see most frum people dressed in those other things. Yet, now the community seems to have accepted leather and even animal prints as a normal dresscode. And here I was even thinking about the whole leather idea just a year ago!
What's even more bothersome was that it used to be when a girl wore a leather jacket, she was considered to be prust or labeled as a non-Bais Yaakov girl. Yet, now even the most frum, the most tznius, etc. are walking around proudly wearing what used to be (considered) 'bad girl clothes'.
So, as disturbing as this is-I say, if I was ever debating leather-now that everyone has 'accepted' it as the norm, I might as well take advantage of the whole 'pleather' style.
Happy Shopping.

3 comments:

  1. Leather/pleather was in style back in the 80s. Lots of frum women wore leather. I remember seeing a woman on Simchas Torah in Manhattan in a full sheitel and a complete, tznius skirt suit made of real plum-colored leather. (A friend's sister, which is how I know it was real leather).

    A leather motorcycle jacket is completely different, sociologically, than a high-fashion leather designer outfit (or a copy thereof.)

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  2. Oh, I see the comments on last year's post. Listen, if wearing leather makes you feel less aidel, don't do it. But it doesn't mean you really are less aidel, and there are very few people other than yourself who care if you wear leather or not.

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  3. That just proves that it is all—ok, I'm just going to say it. Crap.

    Trends are not immune to yeshivish and chassidish circles. They just jump on the bandwagon when it leaves town. Then it is "permissible."

    In the end, whatever other people judge you by is none of their business. They can claim whatever "justification" they like, but in the end, no one is permitted to judge, especially on the flimsiest of premises, like jacket fabric.

    Welcome to the world of hypocrites, my sweet. But don't think this started today. Back in the '70s, when stilettos came in, then out, of fashion, all the chassidish ladies were wearing 'em when the thicker heel came out.

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