Purim time.
Time for things to be upside down.
Postal workers were on strike for a day.
Some of the light rail workers were striking too.
The Knesset members were not showing up to vote – on purpose.
The foreign service workers are they still striking?
And David Cameron is to arrive in Jerusalem, Israel.
What a great time to get away from it all.
A new exhibit, opened in the Israel Museum,
Dress Codes, Revealing the Jewish Wardrobe.
Israel Museum Director James Snyder gave an introduction.
First were garments worn by Jewish women from Central Asia,
influenced by Muslim society, they certainly were not very revealing.
As Jews migrated from Mashhad, Iran to Afghanistan,
they took the chador with them.
This was what a mid-20th century Jewish woman wore in the streets of Herat.
However, Rock stars could find inspiration
in the underneath garments on display.
Clothing was influenced by environment and reflects history.
The robe design for Israeli Chief Sephardi Rabbi came from Turkey,
the red number to the left from Morocco.
Now a few favorite photos,
Men’s belts, earliest male bling?
Elegant white wedding dresses from many parts of world.
Baby Gap was not first to make children’s clothes like little adult wear.
This ornate wedding dress from Turkey was interesting.
Unlike in today’s disposable society, a wedding dress was worn for a life time.
Curator Efrat Assaf-Shapira explained how when a woman died,
the fabric could be used to make a parochet,
a special cover for ark where Torah scrolls are stored.
Along with colorful scarves,
was a special talit, prayer shawl.
If these do not give you some inspiration for Purim,
then across the hall,
check out the ancient masks.
These masks from thousands of years ago,
were found in the Judean hills.
After the very popular Herod, this is indeed a change.
You have six months to see Dress Codes,
if you miss it let me know, I have more photos for you.
