Hitch up those trousers, soldier!
Male Israeli soldiers hearing that command may just be sloppy. But more and more female Israeli soldiers are deliberately wearing their pants low on their hips to be stylish: and their commanders won’t tolerate the immodesty.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman told the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot that 120 female soldiers have recently been tried for the low-cut khakis they sported and that several were disciplined for their mod attire, which violates military rules. It seems that the women (military service is compulsory for women in Israel at the age of 18) have been redesigning the uniforms to make them more in keeping with the fashion they sported as teenagers: waistlines at least two inches below military regulations. The women complained that the military dress code is unflattering to their figures.
Many of the women expressed regret during their trial, saying they had "innocently" lowered their waistlines. As evidence of that, the newspaper reported that in the last few days female soldiers have returned 500 pairs of the altered trousers to the quartermasters’ stores and swapped them for military-issued trousers.
A senior military official was quoted as saying that the lower waistlines on female soldiers are "a severe blow to the norms and disrespect to army uniforms. On the other hand, we can’t forget that these are young women who until recently dressed in adolescent fashion … They’ll have to leave the fashion shows for the weekends and their civilian lives," he added.
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
