It’s unfortunate that this had to happen. Sarah, if it’s any consolation, I was puzzled when I read the “why are you blocking my posts” thread, thinking that the poster “Sarah” never seemed very similar to the poster “Give Me a Break”. I just shrugged and figured that the user must have been crafty- but now I see that YWN mixing you up with “SarahB” makes a lot more sense. I don’t know the extent of the deception that’s going on here, if there is any, but I hope it gets straightened out soon.
Re tzniut, which is the *actual* topic of this thread: I have a funny story about women and the color red. When my mother was in seminary in 1978, she once wore a red dress, and another girl at the seminary said, “You shouldn’t wear red. It attracts men.” So my mother thought to herself, “What a great idea!” and when she got back to the States she went out and bought an entire wardrobe of red! The following year, she met my father, and in honor of that seminary girl, they had red bentchers at the wedding.
Red is an eye-catching color, but there’s nothing wrong with men noticing women. Women do not need to always dress in drab colors and hope to blend in with their surroundings. Now, if the red garments are tight-fitting or skimpy, that’s another story, but the color itself should not be an issue.
It’s true that color affects mood to some extent, but I think the frum community has taken it too far. Black may be a more “serious” color, but if worn head-to-toe and all the time, it ceases to be serious and starts to become depressing. My brother wore an olive green suit to the last wedding we went to; it was so easy to pick him out of the crowd when we wanted to leave! I also stood out in pink. Mind you, this was a modest outfit, and not even a hot pink or magenta, just a cool pastel pink, but nearly all the other women were wearing black, brown, or navy. I don’t understand how they do it. I need to have color in my life.