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Most Jewish cultural traditions were private, intended for the intrtnal circle of family, friends, and synagogue, and did not have much impact on the outside world. Costume and hairstyles, however, marked Jews visually. Not only did they affect how Jews saw themselves, but they also played an important role in determining how the non-Jewish world viewed- the Jews, and how Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors related to one another.

As in other aspects of Jewish cultural life, the great tradition played a role in determining how Jews dressed, but this role was much smaller than (the role played by climate, fashions of the surrounding culture, available materials, and the relationship between Jews and Gentiles. Aside from Jewish religious requirements regarding dress, such as rules of modesty and head coverings, there were two possible attitudes Jewish and non-Jewish populations could have about how Jews should dress. One option was to minimize the differences between their dress and that of their neighbors so that they could blend into the general population. After all, differences in religion don't have to be visible, and the relationship between individual Jews and God is a private matter.

The second option was to make the differences between Jews and non-Jews as visible as possible. Historically there were a number of different sources and motivations for emphasizing religious differences in costume. One source was Jewish pride. To make one's Jewishness visible to all was considered a mark of honor. A second motive was the desire to prevent unauthorized mixing of Jews and nonJews. If Jews were recognizable at first glance, the chance for them to become romantically involved with n"bn-Jews would be lessened. This led both rabbinical and non-Jewish authorities to encourage Jews to dress in a distinctive way Finally, visual differentiation-making the Jews wear a special hat, hairstyle, or badge-could be enforced by the non-Jewish authorities as a way of humiliating Jews and demonstrating their lowly position in society.

There were also more neutral reasons for Jews and non-Jews to dress differently. People of different nationalities, ethnic groups, and social classes all bring different traditions and practical needs to bear in choosing how to dress. They may not consciously desire to look different from or the same as members of other groups and yet still be recognizable because of their different mode of life or patterns of migration.

In the various societies in which Jews of the Diaspora have lived, these consl"derations have all helped form the ways Jews presented themselves in public. Sometimes there were clear notes of ambivalence in Jewish attitudes, a mixture of pride in their distinctiveness and fear or shame of being visibly Jewish in a hostile society. No single Jewish attitude has existed over time with regard to dress. It is not necessarily true that they would have dressed like everyone else, had they not been forced to wear a special garb, or that they necessarily wanted to look different at all times. The range of attitudes differed widely from one society to another.

It is important to keep in mind that national costumes often differ from everyday dress. As we all know, the same individual can dress very differently for different occasions. Usuafly the most picturesque costumes, the ones that artists depict and that appear in books on costume, are worn only on special occasions-for church or synagogue, at weddings, festivals, or in processions. Ordinary clothes tend to be less picturesque and often less distinctive than national costumes. In many parts of Europe today, local costumes are preserved by special societies and worn only at festivals, to church, and to impress visitiqg tourists. Similarly the traditional costumes in which Jews were depicted were often worn only on the Sabbath, for weddings, or on other special occasions. The preserved examples are usually the most different, the most beautiful, or the most exotic. The clothes worn by Jews on weekdays may have been somewhat distinctive, but they were not necessarily considered worthy of depicting in art and probably were not as different from non-Jewish cosume as special-occasion clothing was.