LAKEWOOD, NJ – A Lakewood women’s clothing store was the target of a robocall calling for a boycott this week because they were accused of selling dresses that didn’t go below a woman’s knees and were otherwise too short.
The call went to Lakewood residents claiming the store violated the religious Tznius. Tzniut describes both the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct.
The robocall, which was anonymous and not endorsed by any rabbi or religious institution, claimed religious Jews should not enter the store, let alone wear the contemporary and modern clothing sold there.
The store, which is located on Route 9 in Lakewood, has become a hit with younger women in the community. The store sells clothing that in the secular world would be considered modest but too revealing for the Orthodox Jewish community.
Now, somebody wants it to go out of business, for the employees to lose their jobs during the holidays and for the owner to suffer a financial loss.
In a community message board, one shopper wrote, “I went in there a few weeks ago. Was a little taken aback. They’re selling outfits and skirts that do not cover knees. Very strange to open a store like that In the heart of Lakewood. The people working there were wearing skirts above their knees and gave off a certain look that’s not common in lkwd.”
Another commented, “What a shame. I bought skirts from them online but the longer sizes and they covered my knees and were perfectly tznius and very comfortable. It sounds like they opened right near yeshiva and are showing off their less-than-modest clothes. Wrong location and wrong advertising. It’s a good store but they should have done better research before opening a Lakewood location.”
Not all comments were negative, one woman wrote, “Why not the 5 towns they would totally have clientele there ….my teen daughter would love to shop there.”
The boycott may backfire on the anonymous sender. A story published in the Lakewood Scoop this week piqued curiosity among some.
“Can someone fill me in? Sounds like the kind of store I’d like. They have normal enough clothing to make nutty people make robocalls. Saw it on the scoop and got curious,” one woman responded.
“Just saw that article too and so curious,” another said.