Do you dress down when using the NYC subway?

Mevater

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 10:22 am

Do you dress down when using the subway so as to disappear into the woodwork? Do you make a conscious effort to dress differently than when walking in your neighborhood, so as not to call attention to yourself? Im not talking about Tznius, Im talking lowering the style/quality level that might make you more noticeable.

youngishbear

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 10:25 am

If I realize I'm wearing my diamond ring (which happened a lot more when I was a newlywed) I turn it inward so it looks like a simple ring.

Last edited by youngishbear on Mon, Mar 16 2015, 10:27 am; edited 1 time in total

pesek zman

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 10:44 am

I literally don't understand your question so I don't know if this answers it, but nyc subway is my primary mode of transportation; we don't have a car. Which means I take the subway every day to/from work or anywhere else I go. So no, I don't dress differently. I dress as I do every single day of my life

Mevater

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 10:53 am

OP here. Im newly fearful because of recent increase of anti-semitism (and asst crime on subways) and I often travel not during rush hour.

Real jewelry is out of the question (I rarely wear real jewelry even in my neighbohood) except for costume thats clearly costume, but Im thinking less good sheitel, less good clothing, or is it only me?

Barbara

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 11:15 am

Mevater wrote:

I hate to say it's only you, so I'll just say that you need to chill.

Don't make yourself an easy target. Keep your purse closed and close to you. Don't totter around in stilettos that hamper your movement. Don't flash your iPhone or other expensive electronics. Other than that, relax.

MamaBear

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 11:19 am

Less nice clothing because you think it makes you look more religious or because you think it makes you look wealthy and a target for theft? So confused by your concern....

Mevater

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 11:23 am

Barbara wrote:

Years ago I used to see women wearing expensive jewelry on the subway. It might have been costume, but they got stared at. These days almost everyone is wearing jeans and sneakers etc. outside of people going to work at rush hour.

I know someone from my neighborhood who wouldnt use the subway unless it was a matter of life and death. She probably isnt the only one.

Mevater

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 11:26 am

MamaBear wrote:

Less nice clothing because you think it makes you look more religious or because you think it makes you look wealthy and a target for theft? So confused by your concern....

Nothing to do w religion, more uppity among all the denim.

perquacky

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 1:29 pm

Rush hour is probably the safest time to be on the train! Everyone has their iPhone, Android, or Kindle out and very few women bother to hide their expensive diamond rings. I used to turn mine around when I first got married, because dh was concerned about it, but when I saw what other women wear, I stopped worrying so much. (Although my ring is a sapphire, and I have been complimented on the subway more than once. It doesn't bother me.)
Keep your pocketbook tightly by your side, don't wear a backpack, and if you have to wear ear buds, make sure the volume is low enough that you can hear what's going on around you. Look confident and nonchalant and no one will bother you.
If you plan to be on the train at 3:00 in the morning . . . well, that's a different story.
(Although I've done that too, and there are a surprising number of people on the trains at that hour.)

sequoia

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 1:43 pm

I also don't understand the question. If I'm going somewhere, I take the subway. Unless I'm moving laterally, in which case I take the bus.

vintagebknyc

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 3:03 pm

while I personally find the subway far more disgusting and crowded than I've ever seen it, I don't dress "down." I just dress. tons of frum people on the subway (and frum men manspreading, which really annoys me...)

Barbara

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 3:16 pm

vintagebknyc wrote:

C'mon. It shows the world that we're just like everyone else.

But ob the original question. Look. If I were layering 3 or 4 of my $2,000 David Yurman necklaces, I'd put them under my shirt before getting on a crowded subway. And I anyone wants to give me the necklaces, I'll prove that. But normal skirts and shirts and jewelry? No issue.

mirror

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 5:15 pm

Once when I was on a crowded subway, a man had used a knife to cut the strap of my pocketbook (draped over my shoulder). Boruch Hashem, I heard a woman next to me shout "Ah" and I turned around and the guy took off before he could finish cutting the strap, so I still had my pocketbook, but one piece of strap was just a thread.

Lady Bug

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 5:48 pm

I have a fur jacket and I don't wear that when I take the subway. I don't want any PETA activists ganging up on me and I don't want to look like a target for theft.

Barbara

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 6:15 pm

OPINIONATED wrote:

In college, pre-kosher days, I was waiting in line at a fast food restaurant with my purse slung over my shoulder, but resting on my back hip. I must have felt a small tug, and instinctively swung the purse forward. When I got home, I found that the purse itself had been slit with a knife. The thief must have been trying to pull my wallet out through the slit.

And FTR, I'm sure I was wearing jeans or shorts, tee shirt, no makeup. Because that's what I always wore in college.

ValleyMom

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 8:15 pm

This passed summer I took the subway both ways from UWS to CH dressed for a wedding.
I had heels in a bag.

I felt weird but I didn't want to drag a dress AND heels in a bag.

NO problems.

And I wore my decent jewelry.

I do not live in NY anymore but I can certainly bring back that attitude in a flash!

dancingqueen

Mon, Mar 16 2015, 8:19 pm

I also don't understand. In the evening you will see plenty of people of the subway dressed up going out to dinner the theater etc. Now if you're going and coming to bad neighborhoods especially at off times you should definitely always be cautious and aware of your surroundings.

Do you mean wearing a Magen David, kippah etc?