Every fashionista knows May is the most important month for fashion statements because of The First Monday in May Met Gala in New York City.
However, the real statement garment with international “buzz” was not worn by a celebrity in the United States. It was not worn during the Shabbos-Shavuot weekend in England at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meagan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The most influential, most noticed fashion statement was Miriam Adelson’s long jacket worn during the opening of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem and the private gathering afterwards that Adelson and her husband, Sheldon, cohosted with theRepublican Jewish Coalition and Christians United For Israel.
What made this garment so special? The long white jacket was designed for the history made on Yom Yerushalayim, the Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem after the victory of the Six Day War in 1967.
Miriam Adelson told me I could share the garment with my readers provided that I did not write about her and her husband but instead used the opportunity to promote Israeli fashion.
The only thing I will write is how gracious she was and how much I admire her mitzvahs.
When Sheldon and Miriam Adelson entered the enclosed seats for the embassy dedication, jaws dropped at how wonderful and appropriate Adelson looked.
Adelson knew she wanted a connection with what she would be wearing to the historic events of the day. She went to the mother-daughter team of Tovelah, based out of Tel Aviv. Adelson told me she has a long relationship with the fashion house. They also designed the outfit Adelson wore to the White House Chanukah party.
The long white jacket she wore to the dedication displayed many facets of Jerusalem with hand sewn beads. Down the center of the back were the words “Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim, Tishkach Yemini.” In English, it translates to, “If I Forget Thee, O Jerusalem, May My Right Hand Lose Its Cunning!” This is from chapter 37 of Tehillim.
It was no coincidence that the words were beaded in gold, as in “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” in reference to the Naomi Shemer song often sung as an patriotic anthem to the city.
The rest of the jacket was just as significant. Adelson showed me her sleeves and parts of the front representing the Old City. Olive branches were sewn throughout the jacket, as well as small rectangles representing Jerusalem stone. Most of the other beads were black, with hints of red and silver.
While this year’s Met Gala theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” there simply is no mistaking that Miriam Adelson’s garment stole the show at the embassy dedication.
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