Why do Jewish women wear so much black?

Question

Usually, the color white is associated with purity (as indicated by the kittle). I don't know if the opposite color in the spectrum represents the opposite of purity (yes, I know it's not technically the opposite, but is perceived as such); but if the purpose is to dress in a modest way that does not attract attention, there are certainly better colors than black, which seems to be the most frequently worn color in the female Jewish world (based on my unscientific study of looking around every day). This is especially true at joyous functions like a wedding. Why wear a somber color at such occasions? Furthermore, black is generally seen in the fashion world as a slimming and elegant color, so assumedly it would actually attract more attention than say a nasty brown or gray, thus defeating the purpose of wearing it to be more tznius.

So I ask again, why do women overwhelming favor black clothing?

Answer 1

The Shach on Shulchan Aruch 178:1 (s.k. 3) says

וצבע השחור הוא דרך צניעות והכנעה וכדאמרינן מי שיצרו מתגבר עליו ילבש שחורים ויתעטף שחורים

Not clear if he's talking about men or women or both. But he's commenting on the Rema saying not to wear red, which it's reasonable to suggest is probably at least aimed at women as well, I'm not sure how many men would even think about wearing red in the Rema's time.

Answer 2

Based on my observations (I am an anthropologist and fascinated by things like this) over the last 20 years, it is a recent custom for women to wear black, but it's spread very fast in the last decade. I can well remember my (and other people's) shock at attending a wedding in Jerusalem in the early 1990s at which the bride's female family members (right-wing Modern Orthodox, from New York) all wore black - this was completely new to all of us. In the 16 years I have been living in London, it seems that more and more women in the haredi sector are wearing black, down to small girls. I asked an acquaintance, who was a bit surprised and after some thought said she thought it was because 'black was always fashionable, so women don't have to keep buying new outfits for special occasions'. However, this wouldn't explain the everyday use of black. It seems to me that the custom has no specific, conscious source but that (a) women want to fit in with their community (b) the men in their communities wear black, so there is an element of identification with them (c) the need for distinctive dress signalling the wearer's identity as a member of a 'frum' community may be becoming more acute.

Answer 3

Well, for starters black matches with everything so its the easiest color to wear.

Answer 4

An alternative approach:

Mishna Sotah perek 1 mishna 6 describes the procedure with the suspected adulteress. If she was wearing white clothes, then they change them to black clothes. Bartenuro says that if the black clothes look good on her, then we change her into horrible clothes. It seems from the first part that she is less likely to look attractive in black clothes and that is why her dress is changed.

Perhaps our womenfolk, in an attempt to be very modest, have decided to wear black.

Answer 5

Here the author says that “but the adoption of a particular fashion is generally viewed as a manifestation of group behaviour.”

This article “Got an Original Idea? Not Likely” – published in "Scientific American" ends like this:

“But there is also a hazard in connectivity. If everyone ends up knowing exactly the same thing, you have a world of like-minded people, and this homogeneous group ends up acting like a single explorer rather than a federation of ideas. People pile on the well-known bandwagon, even if it is a really bad idea. It happens in politics, in musical taste and, yes, in the world of fashion."

I removed the last sentence because I think it takes away the focus on the issue.

Answer 6

My own understanding based on the shuir linked below

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From a kabbalistic perspective colors are associated with different sephirot (aspects of how God relates to the world). Though this is not a literal association, meaning the sephira of Chochma is not white/silver there is an inyan of using physical manifestations to tap into or associate with a particular sephira. So, for example if a person needs to perform an act that is related to gevurah the Ramak advises you to wear the color associated with gevurah (see linked shiur above starting at around 40min).

With this understanding it would make sense that women would generally wear dark/opaque colors as they are associated with the sephira of Malchut which is seen as feminine.

Answer 7

From @RebbecaBurns answer to this question:

Black is always elegant. Always. Simple is best.

It is important to remember that the purpose of tznius is not to be ugly or unattractive, but to not stand out or draw attention the eye to one's physique. (This applies to men too.) So a color that is slimming can actually be beneficial for tznius.

Answer 8

Because all too often, women are being told this or that color is not tznius. It gets to the point where the only tznius colors are black, dark grey, dark dark blue, and brown.

Answer 9

First of all black matches with everything. Second of all, if you have many kids or siblings it's most natural to get your clothes dirty and black covers most of that up. For some people black is a sign that you are elegant and sophisticated. In extreme communities such as the Lev Tahor Jews, wearing all black is modest. This is not true, wearing bright-colored clothes is permitted, as long as it does not attract too much attention. This is my opinion and you should not take what I say as a rule. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, have a great day! - S.P

Answer 10

1. It's slimming.
2. It's not somber — that's a Christian concept, similar to wearing black at funerals.