Fashion them apart, girls still want to be stylish and look their best, which can prove to be challenging—especially in the spring and summer. As we all know, along with the warm weather always come higher hemlines, shorter sleeves, and generally smaller cuts—but this does not mean that these women cannot participate in the latest trends. Layering should be an observant girl’s best friend. Thin long sleeved shirts, tank tops, and cardigans allow girls to wear mainstream clothes while still keeping themselves covered. The Gap, J. Crew, and American Apparel have proven to be great strongholds of these basics. Also, layering with lightweight cropped jackets, vests, or summery scarves can make the layering look less awkward, if that is a concern. Sometimes, over-layering can get a little out of control. In that case, girls should stick to linen skirts, easily found at stores like Anthropologie or Free People, and thin blouse combinations. This does not mean that one still cannot be stylish. Look out for trends in prints or fabric. Plaid, floral prints, stripes and layering neutrals are all hot trends this summer that an observant Jewish girl could bring in to her wardrobe. Also, a religious Jewish girl’s greatest resource should be vintage shops. Back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, skirt lengths were a lot longer and the necklines a lot higher, making
these dresses perfectly proportioned for an observant girl. The one-of-a-kind charm of a vintage dress is merely a benefit! When all else fails, just accessorize. Wooden bangles, broaches, embellished headbands, belts, scarves, bags, and even nail polish—these are all things that are non-denominational in fashion, but pack a heavy style punch. Luckily, in high fashion, modest looks are making a comeback. Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter 2010 line is filled with turtleneck sweaters tucked into belted tea-length skirts. Additionally, Alexa Chung’s retroinspired collection for Madewell is host to adorable high necklines complete with bows and ruffles. For Spring/Summer 2010, Nannidoo came out with some lovely highcollared blouses that would undoubtedly look great with those ever-prevalent denim skirts. And here we are, back at the denim skirts, understandably popular for their versatility and comfort. I mean, how many of us secularists are guilty of wearing jeans seven days a week too? When asked about how she felt about the exorbitant number of similarly dressed girls hanging around the kosher section on campus, religiously devout Marisa Gruber (BC ‘12) replied, “That’s like saying how do I feel about how many hipsters or prepsters there are on campus.” Fair enough. HOOT | www.hootmag.org
7