Funny Tznius Story

Rikki went to Lakewood last week and told me a funny story that she witnessed. There is a frum-owned store/boutique in Lakewood that sells women’s undergarments and lingerie. I am not sure what need this store fills or problem that it addresses, but nonetheless the store seems very successful. (To Rikki, I have never been there) I mean underwear, etc. is by nature not "Tznius" so why is there a frum store? I understand a frum outer garments clothing store as there are specific needs to be addressed for frum women. Is there such a thing as a tznius bra or underpants? I must be missing something.

So Rikki was in line waiting to pay for her purchase. The lady in front of her was purchasing underwear for her daughter to take to camp. Again, I don’t understand why girl’s underwear can’t be purchased at Wal-Mart or Target.

The lady paid for her purchases, and the cashier then proceeded to open each package and remove the insert that shows a picture of a woman wearing the underwear contained in the package. I guess the insert is there so that prospective purchasers will know what the underwear looks like before they buy them, and won’t need to try them on, yuck.

So the customer asked the cashier why she is doing that. The cashier responded that the store does not want women to bring home products from the store with un-tznius ladies on them. What if their husband or yeshivah boys see the picture?

I am not criticizing the practice from a religious perspective. I can see the merits of doing this from a frum perspective. I just think it is presumptive of the store to open the packages that someone just bought, touch their brand new pristine underwear, and render the package un-returnable. Maybe that is the real intent.