Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on December 11, 2011 by Nikki Fig
By Nikki Fig
Here at Pardes we are our own little melting pot. From a student’s religious observance to their personal style, there really isn’t a prototypical Pardesian. This new blog series will give you a glimpse of our motley crew by featuring a different student every week along with a short interview about the way their unique perspective and personality drives their style choices.
Andrew Lustig
Our first feature is Andrew Lustig, whose personality is as bright and boisterous as the hair on his head. From what I can tell, Andrew’s style is always playful, yet pretty unpredictable. He’s just as likely to walk into class wearing orange basketball shorts and a hemp necklace, as he is to breeze through donning a blazer and slacks. We sat down to discuss what drives his fashion choices…
Nikki Fig: How do you define your personal style?
Andrew Lustig: Umm… Colors and patterns make me happy! Clothing is more about making me happy than it is about looking good or being ‘appropriately’ dressed. If I have a really colorful shirt it makes me happy even when I’m not wearing it. Also, if something is even a tiny bit uncomfortable I won’t buy it, no matter how much I like it. Oh, and I really don’t like tee-shirts with slogans on them.
NF: Who is your style icon?
AL: I never thought about it. I don’t think I have one. I do, however, really like when the formality of one’s dress contrasts the formality of their job. Steve Jobs just wore a plain black tee-shirt or sweater and jeans every day and for that I think he’s a baller.
NF: What do you think about fashion in Israel?
AL: I think that it’s nice that fashion and style aren’t as competitive they are elsewhere. People seem a lot less judgmental. Here, nobody cares what kind of knot you did on your tie… because Israelis don’t wear ties. I also really like that you don’t have to wear a suit with a jacket and a tie to Synagogue. In America, heaven forbid you should wear athletic sneakers instead of high tops to play basketball…
NF: What is your favorite item of clothing in your closet?
AL: My orange Miami basketball shorts. They’re polyester.
NF: When you wake up in the morning, how do you decide what you’re going to wear?
AL: Very little decision making. If I could I would wear shorts and a blank tee-shirt every day I would. In the winter if I’m not wearing a tee-shirt I like to wear dress shirts because they are light and when I wear a sweater, no matter how cold it is outside, once inside, I become very warm.
