Look at that painting by Afshin Pirhashemi... Impressive, no? Unless you look up-close, you could almost think it is a photograph. It is called Seduction… and I think it is an illustration of the Iranian's man's fear of the Iranian Woman's opening to the world.
Iranian only? No, let me rephrase that.
I think it is an Illustration of Man's fear of Women. 8 women wearing black abbayas are moving towards us with the sword in their hands, and most importantly wearing an affirmative lipstick. One of them even holds a banana, illustrating all the weapons that women have vs men… eventually leading to an influence within the previously man held societies.
...One thing I learnt living in Paris, is that the boundaries between what was once strictly of the feminine domain and the masculine one are no longer as clear as they once were, and that is applicable to all fields, including fashion... Take Marc Jacobs for instance, he has single handedly revamped the skirt for the western man, and it certainly does look good on him!
Of course some men feel threatened by these changes, and make lousy jokes about taking one's sister clothes, but looking at it, what we consider feminine or masculine also strongly depends on the cultural background. Where I am living today, men wear the Dishdasha, which in Europe would be called a dress eventually. Nevertheless, it is the most virile type of clothing here and men prides themselves of wearing it.
So men of the world, free yourselves from the black suit dictatorship! I am not asking you to wear dresses and skirts all of the sudden, but how about we begin with a little colour in our wardrobes? I officially proclaim tomorrow pink polo day!
Will you be daring enough ? ;-)