Posted February 4 2008
Clothes Make the Yid
Long ago, I came to accept that the style I dress in is considered un-orthodox. Not to say that I wear anything that’s provocative and my pants don’t hang down an inch below my boxers, the way Abercrombie demands their pants be worn. It’s just that I am a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, which was frowned upon growing up in my right wing, black hat yeshiva high school.
But in Yeshiva it was easy. There were no women to impress and so I didn’t mind affronting fashion by wearing a simple solid colored t-shirt. Now that I am in the first quarter of my 25th year and in an industry that prides itself on being fashion forward, I tend to be a little more fussy about my adornments. I think the first real problem I had was when slogan shirts became all the rage. It became truly difficult for me to find a shirt that bore a motto I was willing to wear. I would veto based on both religious sensibilities and basic tastes. For instance, I would not wear a shirt from Express that had the slogan “Mr. Right…now” because I felt that it was in opposition to my religious beliefs about physical intimacy, and as such I didn’t want to give off the impression that this was the kind of behavior I felt should be glorified. But I wouldn’t wear the Abercrombie shirt that said, “It’s Go Time,” not because of any religious qualms but simply because I didn’t want to look like a douche-bag. I know that this may be placing too much thought into a simple t-shirt, but hey, I didn’t want to give off the wrong impression.
My tastes as of late have run to the darker, more rock and roll look. Shirts with pre-frayed sleeves and designs taken from tattoo parlors are popular, but once again Judaism has gotten in the way of my fashion sense. As I was in the mall the other day looking at a line of extremely cool shirts by the ultra trendy brand Sinful, I noticed that the majority of their designs are stylized with crucifixes. This, for a Jewish consumer, creates an immediate rejection. Yet the style was still really cool and I was pretty bummed that I needed to pass on Sinful products. Thankfully, I recently found a Jewish brand called Threaded Heritage. Their designs fit excellently with my taste and allow me to be in fashion. Thanks to Threaded Heritage I can express my culture while still looking Rock Star Chic.
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3 Comments currently posted. 
Benji Rosenzweig says:
Dave Weinberg says:
Nice shirts, I would wear a zip up hoodie if they made one.
Rachel Krich says:
I’m ordering their Ahavah sweater. This is a great find.
Very Cool Stuff. I would wear their gear ( my wife agrees with me on clothes, and that is a rare happening)