Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Israeli Fashion

I have been making some observations about Israeli fashion. Here are some of the impassions that I have so far (if you are not interested in fashion stuff don’t read on):


Overall -    The look here is very relaxed, which most of the time is nice, however…. I have been shocked at what I have seen people wear to work, not that it’s horrible, it’s just that it would be considered completely inappropriate in the States. For example, the girl/woman that was working with me to open my account at the bank wore what in US would only be tolerated as weekend day-wear to hang out in, may be go to the grocery store or the gym. This was not an isolated experience, she dressed like that every time I came to the bank, and there are other examples. Most of the people I see just dress really relaxed, lots of jeans.

Men -      One thing I noticed is that they dress more colorfully than in the States, which is a good thing until you start getting in to the Ed Hardy territory. (HATE Ed Hardy!!!) But I haven’t really seen that here, so good for them. I also don’t think most men here know what a suit or a tie are. From what I understand men in general don’t like either of those things too much, so I guess men in Israel should be happy about their ignorance in that respect.

Women

      Cloths – as in US leggings are very popular, which goes along with the relaxed, comfortable look quite nicely. Otherwise the usual casual look prevails. Going to a wedding tomorrow so I will have more fun observations, however I have been to one here before and all I can say is that more than one person (both men and women) was wearing jeans or a jean skirt/dress thing, or a jean onesie – it was not cool... at all.

     Shoes - they are all about the boot, this is a chunky boot, a cross between a regular boot and a cowboy boot. It also seems that the shorter leg height (on the boot) is much more popular than the higher length. There are not a lot of heels, and the few heels there are, are on the shorter and thicker side. Overall the shoes are much more chunky than what I have become used to. Chunky in an artsy-craftsy way not chunky in a polished way. The only time I have seen elegant , high heels was at night when we went out to a clubby area, otherwise Israelis like to stay low to the ground in sturdy shoes.

Honestly I am a bit perplexed about the shoe/fashion thing. Israelites are much more influenced by European fashion than by US fashion (there are much more European labels here than US ones). From what I know the European look is much more elegant and polished than the US look. So what gives? Why the chunky and super duper casual???


I understand that it’s a cultural thing that influences the casualness, but still….

3 comments:

  1. You can become the fashion icon of Israel Sonnie!!! High fashion and high heels!!!
    Miss you!
    Chell

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  2. i want pics of this:) may be from the wedding

    you can become the fashion blogger of Israel. i always liked the bohemian look they got going on, but your right, lots of 'fails':) but on other hand...being super comfortable and no heels...not so bad, could even be considered kind of feminist (no sexy heels part)

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  3. I had to keep the insides of my stomach from soaring. I hate Ed Hardy too. Christian Audigier. Crap. And his daughter has a line now too. "Younger-cheaper-looking-tacky-crap", I believe is the name.

    There is a store here, in San Francisco on Union street and they sell Israeli fashion - it isn't marketed that way but it is owned by Israeli's and they get their stuff from Europe. Nabil bought some things. People love it. It looks so sleazy to me. It is better than bland milk.

    Chunky heels are something I don't like to do. I will do them when traveling because they are more comfortable but then I cry a little when I see pictures.

    I love your comment, "Israelis like to stay low to the ground in sturdy shoes."

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