Halacha forbids wearing freshly-laundered clothing during the week of Tisha B’Ab, from after the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Ab through Tisha B’Ab. It is therefore recommended that one prepare for the week of Tisha B’Ab by wearing all the clothes that he plans on wearing during that week, so that they will not be fresh.
For how long must one wear a garment for it to be considered no longer freshly-laundered?
This issue is subject to a dispute among the Halachic authorities. Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in his work Or Le’sion, rules that one needs to wear a garment only long enough for it to absorb some perspiration. Especially in the hot, humid weather that is usually experienced around the time of Tisha B’Ab, this translates into just a couple of minutes or so. According to Hacham Ben Sion, this is all the time that is needed to wear a garment in advance of the week of Tisha B’Ab. Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, rules more stringently, and maintains that one should preferably wear each garment for at least one hour.
Hacham Ben Sion adds that one may wear two garments simultaneously while preparing them for the week of Tisha B’Ab. Even if a garment did not touch the person’s skin, it can still be considered "worn" and thus no longer fresh, such that it may be worn during the week of Tisha B’Ab. Hacham Ben Sion explains that if a person wears two shirts at the same time, and his friend asks him if he could borrow a shirt, the friend would not want either of the shirts that had been worn, even the outer shirt. Even though it did not touch the person’s skin, it is nevertheless considered no longer fresh, and it may therefore be worn during the week of Tisha B’Ab. It is advisable to use this method, especially if one follows Hacham Ovadia’s ruling requiring that each garment be worn for at least an hour. Many people do not have enough time to wear each garment individually for an hour, so it may be helpful to wear several garments simultaneously.
If a person had not, for whatever reason, prepared garments for the week of Tisha B’Ab, is there a way that he can wear his freshly-laundered garments during that week?
Hacham Ovadia Yosef addresses this question in his annotation to his work Hazon Ovadia. He cites the ruling of the work Lehem Ha’panim that leaving a garment on the floor for about an hour suffices for it to be considered no longer fresh. (One does not have to step on the garment; it just needs to lie on the floor for an hour.) Although we do not generally rely on this position, and we require that clothes be worn before the week of Tisha B’Ab, one may rely on this ruling if he forgot to prepare his clothes ahead of time. In such a case, he should place the garments he wishes to wear on the floor for an hour, and they are then permissible to be worn.
Summary: One may not wear freshly-laundered clothes during the week of Tisha B’Ab, and one should therefore prepare the clothes he wishes to wear during that week ahead of time, by wearing them for a short while. Preferably, each garment should be worn for at least an hour, and two garments may be worn at the same time. A person who did not prepare his clothes ahead of time in this fashion should leave them on the floor for an hour, and they may then be worn. Optimally, however, one should wear the clothes for an hour before the week of Tisha B’Ab.
