The tzit tzit were originally part of a traditional four-cornered garment worn by the Israelites. After the Roman dispersion, the outward symbol of being Torah observant was no longer displayed on an outer garment, and the tallit was transformed into a prayer shawl commonly known as the tallit gadol. A smaller four cornered garment called the tallit katan, was typically worn under other garments but did have the tzit tzit on the four corners. Since four-cornered garments are not common in most of the world today, many have adapted the tzit tzit to articles of modern dress. Wearing tzit tzit on the belt loops appears to have "caught on" here in the western predominantly Gentile world and is certainly a novel modern adaptation of the use of tzit tzit -to remind us to keep the commandments and to spark the questioning minds of innocent bystanders. We prefer another innovation on the theme of the tallit, which has been named the micro tallit. It is a four-cornered garment that is worn over the belt and even qualifies as a four-cornered garment according to rabbinic specifications. The problem is one must wear a belt in order to wear a micro tallit, but that should be no problem for someone who is tying tzit tzit to their belt loops. The micro tallit is at home with casual jeans but can also dress up a formal tuxedo at any black tie gala you may be attending. The micro tallit is all the rage in Israel today and is making its way around the globe. You may want to check out our selection here.  

The only germaine instruction that we have concerning women wearing a tallit is that women are not to wear men's clothes and men are not to dress in women's clothes. Even though women were wearing pants while men were still wearing jalobeas, pants are no longer considered exclusively women's attire and jeans have made the cross-gender leap. Tzit tzit are not gender specific and the only requirement is that they have a blue thread, which reminds us of the sapphire blue floor in the throneroom of the Almighty. The color of the other threads was never specified.  In Israel the tallits for women are obviously feminine in their design to avoid any confusion between men's and women's clothing. 

For more information about tzit tzits and the blue thread, watch episode 5 "The Hem of the Garment".