March 21, 2023
Mohammad Javad
enters a fashionable shop in well-to-do north Tehran with his mother. For the
first time ever he wants a necktie, long banned in Iran as a symbol of Western
decadence.
The 27-year-old
dentist said he opted for this clothing accessory in hopes of looking his best
during the first meeting with his future in-laws.
"In our
society, wearing a tie is like wearing a mask before Covid-19 hit," he
said as the salesman adjusted his suit. "People would look at you
differently because the negative view still remains.
"I think a
man looks chic with one. Unfortunately, we Iranians have imposed strange and
unnecessary restrictions on ourselves. It'll take time for that to change, but
hopefully it will."
Dress rules have
stoked strong passions in Iran, especially restrictions on women who have long
been required to wear modest clothing and headscarves.
Iran was gripped
by unrest, labelled "riots" by the authorities, after the September
16 death in custody of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, following her arrest for
an alleged violation of the country's strict dress code for women.
Iran banned the
tie for men after the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed monarch as a symbol of
Western culture. Although it has made a slow comeback since, government
officials and most Iranian men continue to shun the cravat.
The upmarket
Zagros shop on the capital's Nelson Mandela Boulevard however displays rows of
ties in different colours and in wool, cotton or silk.
"We sell
around 100 a month," said deputy store manager Mohammad Arjmand, 35.
"We import them mostly from Turkey, but some are also made in Iran.
"Customers
buy them for ceremonies or for work. In this neighbourhood, you will find that
two out of 10 people wear one. These days more people are wearing ties compared
with previous decades."
The recent
unrest "had no effect on our sales", said branch manager Ali Fattahi,
38. "Our customers who were wearing ties before still do so and come to us
regularly to buy new ones."
- 'Sign of
decadence' -
Iran's Shiite
clerics who came to power in 1979 banned the tie because, in their eyes, it was
un-Islamic, a sign of decadence, a symbol of the cross and the quintessence of
Western dress imposed by the shah, said one trader who asked not to be
identified.
After vanishing
for decades, ties reappeared in some shop windows during the era of reformist
president Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005.
Today,
government ministers, senior civil servants and heads of state-owned companies
don't wear ties with their suits and opt for shirts with buttoned, open or Mao
collars.
Lawyer Masoud
Molapanah said "wearing a tie is certainly not a crime" under the
constitution or Islamic sharia law. "But there are dress restrictions in
certain places such as on television."
Javad, while
choosing his tie, was accompanied by his chador-clad mother, who not only
encourages him to wear one but also asked the salesmen to teach her how to tie
it properly for her son.
"At one
time, some sought to remove it," said the 50-year-old state employee, with
a smile. "The reason given was the rejection of any sign of
Westernisation.
"But then
it would have been necessary to also remove the suit and return to the
traditional dress worn at the time of the Qajar dynasty" of 1794-1925, she
said, adding this "was obviously impossible".
- 'Ties give
prestige' -
The head of a
nearby Pierre Cardin store, Mehran Sharifi, 35, said many young people now are
enthusiastic about the necktie.
"Ties give
prestige to people -- a lot of people buy them," said this son and
grandson of a tailor, pointing to a century-old photograph on the wall of his
grandfather wearing a tie.
"Customers
come to buy suits and we match ties to their choice of clothing. Others buy
them as a gift."
In some classy
cafes, the black tie or bowtie are part of the uniform of waiters, and doctors
in several Tehran districts have also sported ties.
The fashion
accessory is almost compulsory for Iranians working at embassies and in some
foreign companies, although most remove it when they go out on the street.
Sadeq, 39,
employed at the Japanese embassy, said he puts on his tie when he gets to work
"because wearing a tie in public is not very common in Iran".
"If you
dress up like that and walk in the street, you'll definitely turn a few heads.
People will think you're either a foreigner or someone headed to a very formal
meeting with foreigners."
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