Message for the Supreme Leader

Much has been made in the Iranian blogs the last few weeks about the effort by the Iranian government to crack down on “unIslamic dress” in order to encourage more conservative dress among Iran’s youthful population. (75% of Iranians are under 30) The “fashion police” have been out on the streets peering into cars and stopping women on the streets to chastise them and some times arrest them for “bad hejab”. (I have not seen any of this activity) Our guide said that his wife felt the need to purchase a new manteau that would cover more of her curves. Yesterday my wife, Marcia, decided that she needed to purchase a second manteau. I am not sure whether this reflected the need to make more of a fashion statement or the practical need to be able to get one washed after wearing it for a week. Buying a manteau is a bit like buying a Model T Ford. For the most part you can get any color that you want as long as it is black. In order to accomplish this mission, we asked the young lady at the hotel desk where to go buy a manteau. This was the wrong question. I should have asked “Where does your mother go to buy a manteau?” After a hair raising cab ride through the traffic mayhem that is part of the adventure of Iran and the near death experience of crossing the street (I find it useful to find an Iranian woman covered in a complete abaya and stick close to her. The men are much too agile.) we arrived at the mall. This was Thurday night, the Saturday night of the Iranian workweek, and the mall was filled with young people “cruising” to hook up with members of the opposite sex. The girls were dressed in jeans and manteaus that had to have been painted on. The XXL size in the shops was about a 10. After 30 minutes in this mall, I have a message for the Supreme Leader: In your battle to improve Islamic dress in Iran, you are losing.

PS: Our cab driver finally understood the problem and took us where his wife shops. Mission accomplished.