Hi PB, new to your site. Q for you–I’m a 35-year-old fashion-challenged rabbi in CA. May I wear my sunglasses on top of my head in the office? I love how it looks & feels but wonder if it is too casual.
Hi Rebbe,
I do it all the time if I’m not going to be meeting with anyone. I think for staff only days, it’s fine. Other than that it’s a bit too “Hey, I’m on my way to the beach, make this snappy.”
But in CA one wears one’s sunglasses anytime one steps outside the door, even to get the mail, walk to one’s car, etc.–out of necessity/regard for our eyes, not fashion. So I think we maybe have a bit more slack in this than you would in MA? To me it doesn’t say, “On the way to the beach”–it says, “Have been outside earlier and will be going again.” “Outside” may mean driving to the hospital, walking across the courtyard to the sanctuary, etc. [Although PeaceBang gives consideration to regional differences, sunglasses on the head are too casual for pastoral interactions. It takes but one second to whisk them off. Please do. One wouldn’t jingle one’s keys in one’s hand or carry on a counseling session with one’s purse on one’s arm, would one? Same non-verbal message. – PB]