Oh! Nilly, I have a random question for you. I have an Orthodox coworker, and I swear, she bare legs under her skirt the other day. Could that be? I really don't think I've ever seen her withuot stockings before.

I have an Orthodox coworker, and I swear, she bare legs under her skirt the other day. Could that be? I really don't think I've ever seen her withuot stockings before.

Her skirt ended below her knees, though, right?

Only the most strict Orthodox women (what you'd probably call "Hasidic" in English?) wear socks all the time. I don't, for example.

Regardless, the skirt has to be long enough to end below the knees (even when sitting). And then you can go to all sorts of questions regarding how tight it may be, if it's cut a bit (so that it's possible to walk in strides longer than a couple of inches), whether it's OK and where and how high, and so forth. But that's already way more than you asked, right?

Ah-ha. Yeah, her skirt was below the knees. Maybe I've just never noticed her bare legs before, even when they've been there! She's not Hasidic for sure, but does wear a wig, for example.

See, this is what I like -- the coworker and I don't have a relationship where I can go, "Hey, are your legs bare? That's OK for you, religiously??? I had no idea!"

Only the most strict Orthodox women (what you'd probably call "Hasidic" in English?) wear socks all the time.

That's interesting. My co-worker wears thick flesh-colored tights all the time (I've never seen her without them), and she also wears either a wig or head covering--since she had her first child, she sticks with the head covering (maybe the kids pull the wig off?).

Nilly! Have SO much fun with your Muppet Show access!!!!

Even mineral makeup makes me break out (summer, winter...whenever...). I'm just not meant to be made up, apparently. Sigh.

Nilly! Big article on local traffic bottlenecks and recent studies on flow etc..

Big article on local traffic bottlenecks

San Francisco needs Random Early Detection queuing.

Maybe I've just never noticed her bare legs before, even when they've been there!

If she usually wears long skirts (which, here, are practically easier to find lately, because they're somewhat in fashion now, even for non-religious girls), maybe it wasn't easy to notice, either way.

does wear a wig, for example.

I know it's different between Israeli and American Orthodox Jews, but here, the strict married women always cover their heads. A wig vs. a hat/scarf/handkerchief is an issue, though. Ashkenazi women are more likely to wear a wig than Sepharadi women (some of the Sepharadi rabbis say that wigs are not a good head-cover if it's difficult to tell that it's a wig and not the woman's hair), for example.

Also, there was a big mess a couple of years ago regarding the wigs. It turned out that the hair used in making the wigs was cut in India, IIRC, as part of some religious ceremonies there (and then sold to make wigs). Since the hair was cut for religious purposes which seemed to be far from monotheistic, and there's a problem in using materials with such a meaning in a Jewish religious way, a lot of the women threw out their wigs and started using some other hair-covering instead, at least for a time, until they could find wigs which were made from "non problematic" hairs.

don't have a relationship where I can go, "Hey, are your legs bare? That's OK for you, religiously??? I had no idea!"

I absolutely *love* it that you feel comfortable enough with me to ask. I remember, in fact, that you were quite attentive to when I washed my hands before eating and when I didn't, when we were walking around in NYC. I loved it then already!

My co-worker wears thick flesh-colored tights all the time (I've never seen her without them)

Some go even further and wear non-flesh-color stockings, so it will look even less like a bare leg.

since she had her first child, she sticks with the head covering (maybe the kids pull the wig off?).

I don't know of any rules regarding any change in head-covering after giving birth.

Have SO much fun with your Muppet Show access!

Trudy! Thanks! I'm sure I will.

Hec! Thanks for that link. We *did* try to suggest a way to time traffic lights based on our model, just like they said they need, in the article. Nobody listened to us, of course, because what do theoretical physicists know about such practical things. Sigh.