Published: 12 February 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
"On Saturdays everyone is wearing bikinis, shorts, guys aren't wearing shirts," Ms Polonsky remembers. "It's really just a fun, chilled beach vibe… and as a kid you just want to fit in, except we had to go to Synagogue."
Her sister chimes in: "And my mother would buy us these frilly, collared dresses and patent shoes with matching bows … and it's a really hot summer Saturday in Coogee!"
As Orthodox Jews and daughters of the local rabbi, the sisters were expected to follow the Torah's teachings of tznius: modesty.
What some might view as a restriction, Ms Polonsky and Ms Chanin saw as an opportunity.
Throughout their teenage years the pair nipped and tucked their conservative clothes, added extra fabric to on-trend outfits and spent countless afternoons paging through Vogue.
So when both sisters found themselves living in the United States working in unfulfilling jobs, fashion that promised a pathway to brighter things.
Inspired by glossy magazines and a phonebook of well-dressed female friends who were happy to sell last season's wears, the pair organised their first pop-up.
FULL STORY Sydney sisters build empire with 'man-repelling' Orthodox Jewish fashion (ABC)
Photo: Orthodox Jewish sisters Chaya Chanin and Simi Polonsky at Coogee Beach (Siobhan Hegarty/ABC):
