Stripes, Hats, and Fashion

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article examines the relationship between fashion and Jewish clothing. Certain clothing elements that are today considered signifiers of Jewish people, even among non-Jews, did not begin as specifically Jewish clothing. They started as the fashion of the general society but were retained by the Jewish community even after the fashions changed in the general world. In this article, we trace the process by which three such elements became associated specifically with Jews and Jewish ritual practice: the striped tallit, Hasidic dress, and black hats. Black hats are the most recent example of this process, and in this case have also developed legal significance in some Orthodox circles. This results in a fashion element being prevented from ever going out of style by virtue of being considered a halachic requirement.