Fashion In Tel Aviv
I just got back from a 10-day Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, so fashion and shopping were not the top priorities.
The free Israel by Bike trip is open to Jewish young adults who are ages 18 to 26 and who have never been to Israel on a peer program. This was my last year to participate in the trip.
The trip was good as it was advertised, including seeing the Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a sunrise at Masada, floating in the Dead Sea, a traditional Bedouin tent dinner feast, camel trekking the desert, trendy Tel Aviv, mystical Tsfat, the Sea of Galilee.
The bike part is an off-road countryside trip where we pedal through the Judean Desert, the Carmel Mountains, the Golan Heights, the Jerusalem foothills and the Mediterranean Coast.
But we really spent only two days biking – once in the beginning and once toward the end, which was in the desert. The rest of the trip consisted of hiking, sleeping under the stars and floating in the Dead Sea. The most amazing part of the trip was the personal relationships I made. We had eight Israeli solders join us for the second half of the trip and as cheesy as it sounds we all became one big family and it was really hard to say goodbye.
So where’s the fashion in this trip. We sneaked it in. But you know me, I had to get my fashion fix. And our last stop in Tel Aviv is where we were allowed to engage in a little retail therapy. What a relief! Since this was an outdoor trip, I packed light, mostly because I didn’t bring any heels, but truthfully I was starting to get sick of all my clothes I had brought with me. Who wouldn’t? I needed a little retail excitement.
Tel Aviv offers lots of street markets and haggling over prices, but I chose to check out the boutiques that seemed to be on every block. OK. I admit I am a sucker for store-front window displays. They tempt me and speak to me – enter, browse and buy.
One of the staff members recommended one particular boutique shop called, The Third Eye. I admired her style, so I couldn’t wait to see the store where she bought her clothes.
The store is full of amazingly comfortable, yet fashionable clothing. I would call it hippie chic. The clothes are well-made with soft flowing materials, some with discreet patterns, but mostly solid earth tones. You can get frayed jean shorts here, which are really in style in the U.S. right now so it was exciting to see they are just as popular in Tel Aviv, I was tempted to buy a pair, but I want to make my own.
So what to buy? What to buy?
Shoes? A dress? Something more causal? Accessories?
So many options and really so little time because I was heading back to the East Coast soon. I had to get something. So what to do? What to do?
How about a little bit of everything? OK, I’ll be a little more budget cautious.
I bought a blouse that is not normally my style, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a grey strapless shirt that covers the whole torso but it’s not tight or clingy its soft sheet material hangs of the body. I will get a lot of use out of it because I can dress it down or up. I wore it in the picture with a pair of shorts and flats. If I wanted to dress it up, I would wear black slacks with cardigan or suit jacket over it and a nice pair of heels.
My roommate Eva and a staff member Yael tried on lots of fun apparel. Eva got a pair of pants she had been looking all over for. The pants are a version of a wrap shirt. They are really comfortable and can be worn during yoga or just chilling. She also bought a beautiful scarf that was a pale blue with red script on it. She has great taste.
Eva and I left the store but Yael remained shopping at the Third Eye. Who could blame her? She wasn’t going to leave. We left because we are under a time constraint with the trip ending, and we thought we should check out a few more stores.
But if I had a few more days, I’d be fashionably camping out there, trying on outfits until the store closed.
Note to Birthright: Please schedule more retail therapy into the trip. It soothes the soul and helps the economy.
(Feature photo by me: From left to right.: Eva, Me , Adi I(sraeli solder), Lir (also and Israeli solder). We jokingly took this picture saying it should be a poster for Israel by Bike. I love these girls I feel as if they are my sisters that I have known my whole life.)
The
Links
https://www.facebook.com/thirdeyefashion
Gwynne Davis is a blogger for her Earring/Jewelry business called Ear Candie. She is a recently certified Zumba teacher. She makes earrings out of just about anything. So keep an eye out for her fun blog posts & funky earrings.