Frum and stylish – creating your own trends

Frum South African women say that just because they choose to dress modestly doesn’t mean that their dress sense can’t be “creative”, “quirky”, “trendy”, and “personal” while still adhering to halachic guidelines.

While Western trends don’t target the tznius market, South African Jewish women are on top of their game when it comes to following trends and finding their own personal style.

The SA Jewish Report spoke to seven trendy frum women who enjoy being stylish and curating their own aesthetic.

“Dressing modestly doesn’t have to be something that isn’t cool or trendy,” said Amira Cohen, a young jewelry designer and modest fashion influencer.

Gym owner Ronit Garber agrees. “It’s normal to want to go out and feel sexy, feminine, and beautiful,” she said.

Garber attended an all-girl religious school where, from a young age, “certain parameters of modesty” were prescribed. Even though she wasn’t taught to express herself through style at school, she now dresses to feel her most confident and beautiful when she leaves the house. If a popular trend sparks her interest, she makes it comply with tznius. She also enjoys experimenting with style.

Cohen also grew up in an observant home, but her journey from a young age was to figure out the possibility of merging Western popular trends with tzniut. Halacha, for Cohen, is “a bubble which I must follow, and I choose to do so. But the bubble is endless.

“Instead of being stuck in a mindset of Western trends being unachievable, I wanted to mesh what was cool and trendy with the particular standard I was following,” she said.

Dani Sack, a student at the University of the Witwatersrand, said that as a teenager, “I remember feeling as though I couldn’t have fun with my outfits if I was religious, because I had to comply with certain guidelines.” However now a colourful clothes enthusiast, she has found a way of making modest dressing work with her personality.

“Long skirts and dresses made me feel frumpy and mature,” Sack said. So, she began playing around with her style to make it feel authentic. “That was when I discovered how much I loved using colour in my outfits.” She started incorporating  in her accessories, nails, or shoes and it’s rare that she wears “black, grey, or just one solid colour”.

“My cupboard is a sea of pinks, blues, reds, greens, and purples,” Sack said.

Cohen has no rules when styling herself. “I love mixing patterns if they’re part of the same family. You can mix and match animal prints!” When it comes to colour, her trick is to “colour block on the colour wheel”. While it might be too whacky for some to mix colours and patterns that don’t usually go together, the concept of matching the mismatched excites Cohen.

A tip she shares for creating your own funky closet is to “start with the basics”. After you have the “classic white T-shirt and quality black skirt” everything else is “fluff and glitter”. Elevate any look with bags, jewelry, and accessories without visiting the fanciest shops. There are so many copies of luxury brands, she said, women don’t need to waste money on a label to make themselves feel beautiful.

Said Garber, “I want to walk out of the house every single day feeling like a boss, because I believe what you wear influences how you hold yourself in the world.”

Though she “experiments with brands and styles”, she swears by wearing “what I feel good in and what makes me feel confident. It’s not necessarily what’s trending at the time.” She’s carried this policy into her business.

Garber has designed tznius gym-wear so that observant women can feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident while exercising. She’s created a range of gym skirts that vary from a pencil skirt to a skater skirt just above the knee. One even has built-in shorts underneath.

Shayna Levitt, a young fashion lover who is on a gap year in Israel, said, “Long denim skirts are essentials in a wardrobe, especially in different shades of blue, white, and black.” She enthuses about their versatility and re-wearability. Levitt advises using the “sandwich method” to tie outfits together by matching the colour of your shoes with the colour of your top. She “stacks necklaces, adds bags, and collects denim and leather jackets” to make outfits a bit more to her taste.

She suggests investing in “long, flowy skirts with different patterns” and says “stripes are very in”. Her go-to items of clothing are “long linen skirts” and “oversized button up shirts” with a few “bows” here and there to create a funky look.

Levitt encourages “branching out to find different statement pieces that are interesting to curate a look around”. Another tip she offers is to wear a fitted skirt with a loose top, and vice versa. “Neutrals are essential,” she said. “You can never go wrong with a beige skirt or linen look.”

Yakira Shalpid, a student who works parttime for the Jewish National Fund of South Africa, said she “colours outside the lines” while still complying with Judaism’s modesty prescriptions. She takes pride in still being perceived as tznius even though she adds her own “twist and flair” to her outfits.

“Sometimes trends require you to show more skin, but I always find there’s a modest way around it,” Shalpid said. She relies on her trusted “staple pieces” to accessorise beyond standard jewellery. Whether Shalpid layers a cardigan, pops a pair of sunglasses from her collection on her head, or dons her favourite chunky shoes, she ensures she is expressing her “edgy” but “timeless” aesthetic.

“I get inspiration from Pinterest,” she says. “I’ll try to copy the styles and just lengthen the skirt.” Her trick is to find a skirt she likes at the shops, buy it in a bigger size so the length suits halacha, and have it tailored to fit her.

Sydenham Shul’s Rebbetzin Estee Stern opts for a more “clean look”. “Longer dresses and long sleeves are now trending, which is a plus,” she said. If she stumbles upon something she likes, she visits a seamstress afterwards to tailor it according to halachic requirements.

Nurit Joselowsky, an account manager at Mama Media, opts for a more simple style to feel comfortable and confident. Whether it’s Shabbos or just a chilled Sunday, she finds that throwing on a shirt and long skirt is the most adaptable to any situation. Her “latest and easiest go to is a leopard-print skirt and button down top with sandals or sneakers”.  She dresses it up with a silk shirt for work during the week.

These women hope to inspire other tznius women to explore their own aesthetic, creativity, and sense of style, saying that it’s worth it to feel confident and beautiful.