FRIDAY CHALLENGE ENDING MAY 17 2014. HEADGEAR THE CASUAL WAY

Facial hair is a manly endeavour.
-sorry for the derail.



EliodA said:

^ Seriously man, that looks great! Grow it back on!

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Thanks Eli, I think...

Nah, get outta here!

I get the joak!!!!

hiyo!!!

in stitches said:

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jrd617 said:

I get the joak!!!!
hiyo!!!

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BOOM! i win!!

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cleav, i too thought that was a stace in teh first pic and its awesome.

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HF - glad to have given you some entertainment. your hat suggestions are on point, but i was working with what i had available.

Thanks El S!

Holdfast said:

^ concept is great, and I like the shirt. Hat might be slightly big on you? Or at least, the crown might be slightly too high relative to the brim width? Something about the proportion isn't quite right IMO, but it's not far off.

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I think it's a little of each. This is a proof of concept hat -- it works better than most, but it remains to be seen if I like wearing it enough to pick up a better one eventually.

upr_crust said:

I can see what you're saying - I think that the hat might benefit from sitting slightly hgher above YRR's eyebrows - tipping it back a little might improve the look.

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This does help a fair bit -- I've been wearing it further back than that and it looks better.

Bonus score if I can work this into a fit?

you will win.



EFV said:

Bonus score if I can work this into a fit?

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EFV! Odds on favourite I'd a thought! Tariff high though...



Holdfast said:

Srs question: how much leeway do most reasonably observant Jews have in yarmulke choice? Can you have different ones for different outfits, or is there a more prescriptive range?

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@Holdfast - Sorry, I saw this on mobile and forgot to get back to you.

That is a very good question actually. Outside of the Orthodox Jewish community, like Conservative or Reform or Reconstructionist, or a million other segments of varying degrees of non-Orthodoxy, people generally do not wear yarmulkes at all, so when they choose to wear one, they wear all kinds of styles. Whatever they like really, and its no problem, its the standard.

Within the Orthodox community there are also various segments, too many to get into, and for this topic its not really pertinent anyways. We will most simply break it down to Modern Orthodox and Orthodox.

The Modern Orthodox community is less homogenous when it comes to yarmulkes, and you will see various styles being worn. In general, there is not much of a "uniform" in the Modern Orthodox community the way there is on in the Orthodox community. When it comes to dress, there is a lot more latitude with the Modern Orthodox, and it really is a matter more about dressing within the law (yes, there are Jewish laws pertaining to dress, mostly related to modesty). From leather, to velvet, to knit yarmulkes, and other kinds too, in different designs and colors. I believe some people do switch it up based on what they are wearing, but that is more so within the teenage and early 20s crowd, just because most other people don't care that much about yarmulke style and coherence to their outfit.

When it comes to the Orthodox community, your options are much more limited. It is, as you put it so well, "a prescriptive range." Not because any Jewish law dictates what color, style or material your yarmulke must be, but rather, because the Orthodox community tends to like that everyone dress the same. The same way you will see such a large majority of men in that community wearing only black pants and white shirts. The general yarmulke of choice within the Orthodox cummunity is the one I wear, solid black velvet, though some do wear solid black cloth that has a more matte look.

The reason for this is not really specific, its just that the Orthodox community these days tends to almost command that everyone be the same in dress, and to a degree, when one veers outside of the prescriptive range, you may be hitting on some stigmatism's, and whether you like it or not, you may be giving others in the community a reason to look at you and judge you in less then favorable way.

So when it comes to wearing a yarmulke outside the prescriptive range within the Orthodox community, it really becomes a question of how important is that area of individual expression to you, and is it worth enough to you to perhaps knowingly give people a reason to look at you in a way that maybe you would not like. Some people care, and they rock on with blue, gray and brown yarmulkes, my brother for example, and for others, it may not be worth the price, like me. Though I would by lying if I said it doesn't appeal to me, and I have not thought about giving it a go.

Then again, I choose to wear clothing that very much falls outside the prescriptive range of what the Orthodox community likes to see. For me, it is worth it. What I gained in being able to have a degree of individual expression through dress that is important to me, was worth whatever stigmatism's I might be placing on myself in the eye of some others. The risk was worth the reward so to speak.

Sorry for the lengthy derailment, but you touched upon a subject that is often on my mind so I ran with it.

Stitchy:
Do you get any pushback in your community for the way you dress (or is that just for SF and when you are done taking pictures you go back inside and change to black pants, white shirt).
Btw, there is a discussion on FB among the yeshivish crowd about which black loafers to wear and whether monks are loafers. Also how many suits and any colors other than black and is seersucker ok for summer (and can you wear a black straw hat). I thought of you, of course. Also to even have this discussion they can't be real yeshivish. I think they are RWMO



dopey said:

Stitchy:
Do you get any pushback in your community for the way you dress (or is that just for SF and when you are done taking pictures you go back inside and change to black pants, white shirt).

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verbal push-back? not really explicit, but i get snarky (or attempted snarky) comments often enough. i dont mind, i expect it, and i know that its coming based on how i dress and the community live in, and btw, i am very happy with my community, i just dont subscribe to all the senseless homogenous practices that have no relation to jewish law.

lol i stay in my gear all day. unless i am going to function after work where i know it just wont fly, then i change after work.

Btw, there is a discussion on FB among the yeshivish crowd about which black loafers to wear and whether monks are loafers. Also how many suits and any colors other than black and is seersucker ok for summer (and can you wear a black straw hat). I thought of you, of course. Also to even have this discussion they can't be real yeshivish. I think they are RWMO

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yeah that is not a true yeshivish convo. in the real yeshivish wold, like philli where i went to post high school, these things are not up for debate. they just are what they are and by intuition you know what to do and what not to do. its more like if you even talk about it you clearly are not getting it.

in any case, i did not see the FB convo, and i am glad i didnt because it would probably just make me mad.

To be clear, the FB discussion was among adults, wondering what they could get away with. They know what they are SUPPOSED to do and I am sure their kids all wear the uniform.

naturally.