(no subject)

[mamadeb]

New clothes!

I ordered them on Monday, I got them Friday.

Ten minutes before candlelighting. But the UPS guy knew the neighborhood, and would have signed for me if necessary.

The stretch blouses fit nicely, and they seem designed for the modest crowd because the second button, the one just below the collar, *is* just below the collar, not a couple inches down. The plain tunic t's are...plain tunic t's. Nice enough to wear to work or a family event - example. I'm going to an unveiling next week (about a year or so after someone dies, we have a ceremony where we reveal the gravestone. This is for Jonathan's uncle, obm, and Jonathan is doing the ceremony.) The blue tunic would be perfect for that.

And then there was what they called the "johnny collared shirt." Which has a little collar attached to a v-neck. And I thought that v-neck was fairly high, although it did worry me. But it was *cute*, so I thought I'd take the chance.

And the v is...um. By most standards, it's pretty modest, I guess. It certainly wouldn't reveal anyone's cleavage unless their breasts started right below their collar bone. But. It does extend below the collar bone. And my shirts must cover the collar bone. No argument. But it's a pretty shirt otherwise - a nice soft blue that will look good with my denim skirt, and the new beige skirt. And the sleeves hit the middle of my forearms. I didn't want to return it.

So. After Shabbos, I went rummaging through my drawers, and found a heather grey long-sleeved t-shirt that I can't wear anymore because it's stained, and I cut it down to a dickey. It looks fine, and the color is perfect with the blue, and it doesn't add a lot of extra material, nor does it show under the shirt. Problem solved.

In other news, one of my husband's cousins, a man in his twenties, is engaged! J is an idealogically committed Conservative Jew who helped his mother build a synagogue, and who is active in theater both as a profession and as a means to help kids (he does backstage work.) He's marrying the associate rabbi of a Conservative synagogue. This sounds like she's going to share a lot of his values. I'm thrilled and I'm looking forward to their wedding.

Comments

Clothing, etc

[(Anonymous)]

I'm appreciating the discussion of clothing. (Yes, really.)

We're leaving for Israel in 3 weeks. We'll be there for a month. So I'm busy looking for clothing that's both cool and modest, because there's really nothing like the Middle East at the height of summer. Especially when you're running around with young children. ('But it's a *dry* heat--'Feh.)

I tend to dress with more modesty in Israel than in the U.S. There's much less 'grey area', it seems--the divisions between religious and non-religious culture are sharply delineated. But being the boundary-crossers we are, we have friends in both communities, and I find that modest dress gives me more freedom. It's hard to socialize if your clothing is making someone uncomfortable, much less make new friends.

So right now I'm thumbing through the Deva Lifewear catalog(www.devalifewear.com)--and finding several things that can work. They have several long lightweight skirts with no slits, high necked cotton shirts and blouses, generously sized. Reasonably priced, as well.

Enjoy your new clothes!

karen

Re: Clothing, etc

[kmelion.livejournal.com]

welcome to Israel whenyou get here :)

[jenboo.livejournal.com]

I have to tell you, I love reading your journal when you write about preparations for Shabbos or a holiday. There's something deep in my soul that seems to find it familiar and comforting even though I haven't experienced it.
I'm not Jewish, nor do I have contact with any traditional or Orthodox Jewish households, and yet I've always found the culture extremely fascinating, especially in the modern world.

Do you have any recommendations of books to read for someone outside looking in?

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

The Faye Kellerman mysteries (Not the Harry Kemelman "Rabbi" series) are a good choice. Also books by Naomi Ragen.

For non-fiction, it's hard. Most of the writers of the "outsider" looking in books have their own baggage, and it comes out. Also. Can't remember titles off hand. :)

[kmelion.livejournal.com]

Mzal Tov on the engagement. It's always best to hear some good news.

You might want to try a scarf or something to fill in the v-neck :)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Scarf would work. I didn't think about that.

[basingstoke.livejournal.com]

I would whip-stitch the johnny collar shut--for an inch or so, as much as it takes to be modest--and then sew on a button and loop or a small frog at the transition between sewn-shut and open (both for aesthetics and to strengthen the join).

I get that problem too, where the V is a tad too deep. *sigh*

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

The v is too wide and shallow for that, which is why I thought it might be modest enough. I really have to fill in the whole thing for it to work and that would change the lines of the shirt.