Bulletproof Stockings was an American Hasidic

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band based in Crown Heights, New York City. Formed in 2011 by lead singer Perl Wolfe and ex- Hopewell drummer Dalia Shusterman, the group independently released its debut EP, ''Down to the Top'' the following year. They were noted for their unique sound among

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and in domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may origina ...

, as well as their adherence to the prohibition of ''

kol isha ''Tzniut'' ( , , ; "modesty" or "privacy"; ) describes the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. Description ''Tzniut'' i ...

'' by performing for female-only audiences.

Band history

Origins (2011–2012)

In 2011, singer-songwriter Perl Wolfe moved from Chicago to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

's Crown Heights neighborhood. There, she was introduced by a mutual friend to ex- Hopewell drummer Dalia Shusterman, and the two formed Bulletproof Stockings in December 2011.

''Down to the Top'' EP (2012–2015)

The band independently released their first official recording, ''Down to the Top EP'', on April 1, 2012. A documentary about the band, ''The Bulletproof Stockings'', was screened at the 2013

DOC NYC Doc NYC (stylized as DOC NYC) is an annual documentary film festival in New York City. Co-founded by Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, the festival is the country's largest documentary film festival with over 300 films and events and 250 specia ...

film festival. On August 7, 2014, the band performed at

Arlene's Grocery Arlene's Grocery is a bar and music venue located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is located at 95 Stanton Street between Orchard St and Ludlow St. The venue was opened by Shane Doyle and two partners in 1995. Shane Doyle was also owner ...

on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

. The show was filmed by the

Oxygen Network Oxygen (branded on air as Oxygen True Crime) is an American cable and digital multicast television network owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group unit of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. The network primarily airs true crime television series ...

for the reality show ''Living Different''.

National tour, ''Homeland Call Stomp'', and separation (2015–2016)

In the spring of 2015, the band launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to fund their debut full-length album, announcing that they had begun recording at Strange Weather Studios with producers Marc Alan Goodman and Howie Feibusch and would soon release the album's first single, "Mind Clear". The campaign was successful, with the album set for release in late January 2016. In December 2015, the band embarked on their first national tour, the Homeland Winter tour, beginning with a

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

concert at

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

. The tour included stops in New York City,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Washington, D.C.,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. On April 8, 2016, the band announced via Facebook that they had disbanded, and that members would be "

oving Oving may refer to: * Oving, Buckinghamshire * Oving, West Sussex {{geodis