gnomi | Yom Kippur 5768: Sartorial Observations

-- The weather (evenings in the high 60s, days in the 80s) meant that my usual Yom Kippur outfit -- navy blue suit, yellow or turquoise Chucks -- was a no-go. So I wore short-sleeved dresses both last night and today and brought a sweater to counteract the air conditioning.

-- Because of the heat outside, the AC was on even higher than usual for Yom Kippur. Most of the women were wearing sweaters or shawls, as they have to be in the same room as the men, the majority of whom are wearing many warm layers: wool suit, kittel, wool tallit.

-- Because we don't wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur, this is the one day a year that a significant number of men are wearing suits and sneakers (some were wearing non-leather sandals in the minyan I was in)

-- On the women's side, I saw some canvas sneakers, as always, but there was significant representation by Crocs and non-leather sandals, again most likely because of the warm weather (I was wearing my less-than-fancy-but-not-leather sandals from North Face. Comfy to walk to shul and comfy to stand for all of Neila).