Wearing my religion

One of the latest trends in fashion seems to be to wear your faith on your sleeve. Or perhaps around your neck or on your chest. Whatever takes your fancy, really. Not too long ago David Beckham was snapped sporting a fashionably bling bunch of rosaries around his neck, much to the consternation of the Roman Catholic Church. Officials insisted that purchasers of rosaries should know something about the function of the beads before wearing them as a fashion statement. The Catholic Church's fear was rooted mainly in the idea that the rosary beads would lose their religious significance if worn so casually.

Now it appears to be the turn of the Jewish faith. Three Los Angeles-based sisters have decided to translate their faith onto fashionable t-shirts. Nina Bush, Myla Fraser and Daniella Zax wanted to mix their Jewish heritage with hip fashion and turned to their father, Rabbi Jerry Cutler, with their ideas. Despite his objections against turning such an outlandish idea into a business, the girls persevered and established "Rabbi's Daughters" in the summer of 2003.

They began by selling their tight t-shirts adorned with Jewish sayings to boutiques. Within the year the three had gained an international presence, selling t-shirts to 250 boutiques in places as far away as South Africa. They have since introduced new graphics with texts like "You had me at Shalom", "Chutzpah" and "Yo Semite". The girls have also expanded the brand to include childrenswear, menswear, jewellery and even dogwear. Most recently they have joined forces with purse maker J.J.Matis to add a line of bags and make-up cases, just in time for Hanukkah. Within days of their launch the bags had been sold out and are on reorder.

Apparently Yiddish sayings are becoming hip again, thanks to popular culture. The girls' parents are therefore grateful that their daughters are contributing to the revival of the dying language. They were most excited when the girls purchased a Yiddish dictionary to augment their creativity.

Perhaps the faithful of older generations can look to our fashion-obsessed generation and applaud the often crazy ways in which we chose to express ourselves, instead of frowning upon what some of us seem to use in vain. After all, we are keeping the faith alive, so to speak.

The t-shirts are priced at around $38 (GBP 21).