Project Idea: Religious Dress and Fashion in Jerusalem

My idea for the large project at the end of the semester involves fashion and religious dress in Jerusalem. Dress in Jerusalem speaks volumes about a person's religious beliefs (or lack there of), what community they are part of, various holidays and festivals, gender, levels of observance, and status within the community. As part of the project I would like to look at religious texts regarding fashion and compare them to modern interpretations of them as seen in Jerusalem. I am very interested in the Palestinian dress within Western Jerusalem as I have personally witnessed many different types of dress while in Jerusalem, other parts of Israel, and in various areas of the world.

I am drawn to this topic because of two experiences I have had, one in Israel and one in New York. I'll save my experience about religious dress in Jerusalem for a later post, because I think it deserves a full post of its, as I have a lot to say about the matter. My NY story:
Growing up in New Jersey I spent a lot of time in New York, one the world's fashion capitals. One of my favorite parts of New York City is the Diamond District because of the various types of religious dress one would see when walking through that area and of course, all the shiny things in the windows. I was intrigued by the men in long black coats and fur hats speaking in Yiddish to their friends and in English to a customer all in the same breath. I'll never forget the angry stares I received as I passed glatt kosher restaurants on Broadway in my strapless summer dress. After that experience I wanted to fully understand the laws of dress and the way they function within modern society, especially because Tel Aviv is another fashion capital.

My other interest is religious music and how it is preserved or altered in order to create or keep it sacred. For example, in Jerusalem the call to prayer is blasted from top of the minaret is a recorded track. Does the call to prayer lack authenticity? How has modern technology and music collaboration on the internet changed the music that has come out of Jerusalem?  Just some thoughts about this one...