acceptable attire for orthodox Jewish wedding?

[Anonymous]

Am attending orthodox Jewish wedding this summer. Is it appropriate to wear off shoulder/ halter dress and sandals?? Or covered shoulders and toes? Please advise, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Absolutely covered shoulders. A knee lengthish skirt or longer would be preferable. Sandals would be fine. The halter/off shoulder dress would definitely be a no-go.

[Anonymous]

No bare shoulders, bare back, etc. Neckline should approach collarbone. Nothing super-tight, either. Sleeves should come at least partway down your upper arm and skirt should be at or below the knee, no long slits. Sandals are fine.

Essentially, the less skin, the better. You do not want to stick out and feel embarrassed.

[Anonymous]

No sandals, really, either. Dress sleeves should go down to the elbows, dress should be knee length or more ( gown if you want) and neckline should be up to the collarbone. This is one time you do not want to be stared at- and there are always guests who didn't get the message.

I tend to wear a plain black shift with a dressy jacket. There is always a lot of black dresses - besides the men who are all in black. You will not see your husband all night, BTW. He will be on the other side of the ceremony and in the reception. Wear dancing shoes as you will bop around with the ladies in group dancing fashion.

[Anonymous]

You will see a lot of the women wearing off the rack formal dresses with long polo type shirts under them to cover the arms and chest. Yep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No sandals, really, either. Dress sleeves should go down to the elbows, dress should be knee length or more ( gown if you want) and neckline should be up to the collarbone. This is one time you do not want to be stared at- and there are always guests who didn't get the message.

I tend to wear a plain black shift with a dressy jacket. There is always a lot of black dresses - besides the men who are all in black. You will not see your husband all night, BTW. He will be on the other side of the ceremony and in the reception. Wear dancing shoes as you will bop around with the ladies in group dancing fashion.

You're assuming this is a black-hat wedding. If it's more modern, there may well be mixed seating and I think sandals would be OK.

[Anonymous]

agree that sandals are ok. many orthodox women wear sandals... agree you should have your shoulders covered (most women will have long sleeves), not too low a neckline, and dress at least knee length. since you are being invited, the couple presumably know you are not orthodox and you are not expected to dress 'just like' everyone else...like if you wear short sleeves it is probably ok. and definitely sandals ok

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No sandals, really, either. Dress sleeves should go down to the elbows, dress should be knee length or more ( gown if you want) and neckline should be up to the collarbone. This is one time you do not want to be stared at- and there are always guests who didn't get the message.

I tend to wear a plain black shift with a dressy jacket. There is always a lot of black dresses - besides the men who are all in black. You will not see your husband all night, BTW. He will be on the other side of the ceremony and in the reception. Wear dancing shoes as you will bop around with the ladies in group dancing fashion.

You're assuming this is a black-hat wedding. If it's more modern, there may well be mixed seating and I think sandals would be OK.

If it is modern O, there will certainly be mixed seating at the reception, just not at the ceremony, and no mixed dancing.

If it is an ultra O wedding, you can still see your husband, by wandering over to the gap at the end of the mechitzah (modesty barrier) to chat with him. If he is not at the barrier when you need him, call on your cell phone (cell phones have made Ultra O weddings much more tolerable for non O guests)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:agree that sandals are ok. many orthodox women wear sandals... agree you should have your shoulders covered (most women will have long sleeves), not too low a neckline, and dress at least knee length. since you are being invited, the couple presumably know you are not orthodox and you are not expected to dress 'just like' everyone else...like if you wear short sleeves it is probably ok. and definitely sandals ok

Sandals nothing and short sleeves ? Never to events and not to synagogue-ever. It's also incorrect that guests and their dressing habits will be tolerated. I've seen women "dressed" by other family members with sweaters etc. before entering. Please don't set this guest up to be embarrassed . And yes, Modern Orthodox is somewhat more relaxed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No sandals, really, either. Dress sleeves should go down to the elbows, dress should be knee length or more ( gown if you want) and neckline should be up to the collarbone. This is one time you do not want to be stared at- and there are always guests who didn't get the message.

I tend to wear a plain black shift with a dressy jacket. There is always a lot of black dresses - besides the men who are all in black. You will not see your husband all night, BTW. He will be on the other side of the ceremony and in the reception. Wear dancing shoes as you will bop around with the ladies in group dancing fashion.

You're assuming this is a black-hat wedding. If it's more modern, there may well be mixed seating and I think sandals would be OK.

If it is modern O, there will certainly be mixed seating at the reception, just not at the ceremony, and no mixed dancing.

If it is an ultra O wedding, you can still see your husband, by wandering over to the gap at the end of the mechitzah (modesty barrier) to chat with him. If he is not at the barrier when you need him, call on your cell phone (cell phones have made Ultra O weddings much more tolerable for non O guests)

I can't imagine not knowing anyone at a wedding like this!

[Anonymous]

I'm not Jewish - have been to a wedding like this (with genders separated all night) for DH's friend. Didn't know anyone, but had a great time and met some awesome people.

The only thing I can add based on my limited (one wedding) experience - I'd avoid bright colors. I saw lots of black, grey and navy; no red or any other attention-grabbing colors/patterns.

[Anonymous]

Reform Jew here who made the mistake (25 years ago, right out of college) of wearing sleeveless to a modern Orthodox wedding. Felt like a shiksa the whole time. Which, in fairness, they thought I was anyway, but it was certainly a faux pas.

[Anonymous]

I wore a spaghetti strap gown with a cardigan. And sandals, but you could barely see my toes. But lots of women had sandals on, even though it was orthodox with a mechitza. Maybe because it was Miami?

[Anonymous]

better to err on the side of conservative, OP

Wear a modest dress (past the knees and 3/4 length sleeves. closed toe shoe

maybe with a bit more coverage around your chest - But you get the idea.

[Anonymous]

I had a modern Orthodox wedding and lots of my (non-Jewish or not-Orthodox) friends wore sleeveless and it wasn't a big deal and our last set of dancing was mixed dancing.

Wear any shoes you want - total non-issue.

If you want to feel comfortable, be reasonably covered and enjoy!