Reply To: Tight-fitting clothing and tznius – the elephant in the room

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#1335275
Gadolhadorah
Participant

Just a reminder that the inyan of tzinius is relevant for BOTH men and women although 99% of the focus seems to be just on women….How we act, how we talk and how we treat others are all a part of tzinius which doesn’t mean to be “modest” so much as to act with propriety and dignity..men are obligated to avoid dress or behavior that attracts inappropriate attention to them or otherwise would lead to inappropriate thoughts and visuals among members of both genders they encounter.
Chazal bring down that tzinius applies to men’s clothing along with women’s lvush…e.g.

•In Yoma (35b), Rav Elazar’s chevrah would not permit him to wear a finely-woven bekishe because it was too sheer and his form was visible through the translucent material;
•In Shabbos (114a), clothes are referred to as, ” the things that honor a person” and chazal bring down that it’s considered shameful for a talmid chacham to wear stained or patched clothing, as such are beneath his dignity (Note: by that standard the lvush worn by kolel yungerleit in many kollels is a massive “tzinius” issue). Likewise a neatly kept beard is fine but its not meant to look like a habitat for endangered species…
•Also iinShabbos, (113a), we are told that it is unseemly for a person to be overly concerned with fashion, except in the case of special lvush for Shabbos when such a fashion sense is an appropriate way of showing kavod for Shabbos kodesh

Bottom line: (as the Dems would say) Stop the war on women (at least in relation to clothing and hairstyles)