Appearances Matter or Dress Locally Part 2

I recently had this conversation with my Iranian born but American raised co-worker about dressing in Iran.  Even though she grew up in an Iranian household she was raised completely in an American environment. When I told her I’d been to Iran we had a long discussion about the dress code and appearances. So I just wanted to share my and her experiences again and emphases some points I outlined in my previous post.

-Yes, you have to wear a veil. Make sure you are dressed “islamically” before getting off the plane.

-Yes, you have to cover your neck, shoulders and make sure your “manto” or  tunic goes lower your knees.

Scenario 1: I personally was stopped by the police once in Iran because my tunic wasn’t long enough. After looking at my passport they let me go under the condition that I would get a longer tunic.

Scenario 2: As I was entering a very busy metro station in Tehran I got hit by a police officer with a baton. I was more shocked than hurt. He was  walking around the station slightly hitting the women who were passing by and screaming at them ” Rosarit-o dorost kon” (Fix your headscarf). I know it may sound and look humorous but , frankly, I didn’t feel this way at the time.

Bad headscarf habits are officially called “badhejabi” in Iran

– Yes, no one is allowed to wear a “crazy”  (inappropriate ) type of haircut, and I am talking about men.

Scenario: I was hanging out with a guy who had a tiny mohawk. Actually it was so tiny that I didn’t think it would count as a mohawk. But the guy thought differently, he wouldn’t take his cap off outside because he was afraid he might be stopped by the police. Believe me he didn’t imaging things he got busted once or twice before.

– Yes, boys are not allowed to pluck their eyebrows.

Scenario: The same guy again. This time he was telling me a story from his school days. Once he showed up at school with plucked eyebrows . This resulted in a 2 week suspension from attending classes. His photo was also place in the school hallway as a warning for others.

– Yes, many Iranian women have a nose job done.

My coworker confirmed that her cousin had her nose fixed. Iranians say jokingly that among other things a father is supposed to do for his daughter is to pay for her nose job.

Reviving Iranian ‘Vogue’

There was a time when…

Iran was a Fashion Mecca of the Middle East

There was a time when…

Iranian women dressed according to the latest Paris fashion trends

There was a time when…

Iranian cinemas showed Western movies

There was a time when…

There ruled a King and his beautiful Queen in Iran

Vogue

These day are gone… But pictures are here to stay

I couldn’t wait to share these wonderful collection of photos made in December 1969 by Vogue photographer Henry Clarke. You will find more pics here and here.

Isfahan, 1969

Henry Clarke photographed his models in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and ancient ruins of Pasargad and Persepolis. Just by looking at this beautiful shots don’t you feel like this is kind of what it was meant to be?

The history of Iranian Vogue finished after 1979  for the country but not for its people.

In 2010 a popular Iranian-American director and artist Shirin Neshat was photographed by Vogue Italy.

And in 2011 a famous and rather controversial (because she is now banned from visiting her homeland after her nude photos were published) actress Golshifteh Farahani also appeared in Vogue France and I would say having a quite similar look.  Again black-and-white and a bit masculine.

I have no understanding of whether the image was chosen on purpose or whether it has some under-the-surface meaning, I just fell in love with those feminine pictures of 1969 and I want those times back. Inshallah…

Dress Locally Or Choosing Outfits In Iran

The popular saying goes “When you are in Rome, do like Romans do” which is absolutely correct. When you are visiting a country you need to follow the tip every travel magazine will give– get familiar with the local habits, act like a local. You know how to spot a foreigner, right? May be they have that confused look in their eyes, a map in their hands and a phrasebook in their bags. What else can be a red flag of an ‘outsider’?
They dress differently, of course! So before going on a trip you can do a little research about what people actually wear in that place. You have a choice whether to dress locally or not, unless you are going to Iran where you have to obey the Islamic Republic dress code.
When I was preparing for my first trip to Iran I went to a Muslim dress shop in my area. They had a couple of nice outfits in there but as soon as I told a shop assistant I was travelling to Iran she immediately suggested …. a veil, because “Iranians are really serious about that”. The whole idea made me tremble I didn’t want to look like a batwoman ( by the way Iranians call this type of a veil chador-e khoffashee, which literally means a ‘bat veil’). I went out of the shop without giving it a second thought.

When I actually got into the country I discovered there was the whole other way to dress there apart from putting on intimidating black veils that of course do exist, there is no denying it. But it’s mostly worn by married women whose husbands or whose families are very religious or by Basiji women (Iranian militia) or the women who hold high governmental posts. So no one wears it unless they have to. Women from all over the world want to look pretty, don’t they?