Size 60 Tallit or Size 70 Tallit?

Posted by Ben G. on 29th Jun 2014

We often get inquiries from customers wondering which tallit size to choose. Today we received a question that sounds very specific to the asker, but I think it's actually fairly common.

I am interested in the Bnei Ohr Blue Medley tallit. I have the following questions:

1. Can you email me (or post on the web site) someone wearing the tallit? (A full body photo from the back)
2. I am trying to decide between the size 60 tallit and the size 70 tallit, and I am about 6 feet tall. Is it possible to email me or post photos of someone wearing both the full length (70) and the 3/4 length (60) sizes, so I can see the difference on how they look on an adult?
3. Do you think most people buy the full length or the 3/4 length?

Thank you! Jonathan

I don't have a model available to take photos of it worn. And in fact, I'd need three or four models of varying height. But the truth is it's very hard to get sizing right based on a photo, because the difference from one size to another is quite subtle, only 4 inches. If you just prop the tallit on your shoulders a bit differently, those four inches will disappear.

I wear a size 60 tallit. It drapes down in back on me to mid-thigh. If I were to wear a size 70 tallit, the tzitzit would be just barely off the floor, and I'd be constantly readjusting the tallit. That's not to say that nobody my height (5'7") wears a size 70 talit. I have a neighbor who's a smidge shorter than me, and he wears a size 70. He likes the long, elegant, frum look. I prefer manageable. I would say that a size 70 tallit on Jonathan would hang just like a size 60 tallit on me. If he decides to go with a size 60, it would hang down four inches higher, which I estimate would be around the top of his thighs.

I'm curious myself whether most of my customers buy a full-length or 3/4 length, but I have no way of knowing. I do know that among those who have a weekday tallit and a Shabbos tallit, some choose one size smaller for weekday use. It's really a matter of personal taste. And I always tell customers not to agonize over it, because since a tallit is a hanging garment, it doesn't fit like a t-shirt, and the four-inch difference from one size to the next is rarely critical.

However, note that kohanim normally buy a roomy tallit, because it's hard to duchan if the tallit is smallish. Of course this is going to be a much more important factor for those kohanim who live in Eretz Yisrael.