Developments of Iranian fashion and clothing in the first decade after the 1357 revolution

The importance of clothing as a material object can go beyond utility and beauty. Fashion can represent the culture of a country and the political spectrum that governs it. Changing the style of women’s clothing in Iran after the revolution is an excellent example of this. The purpose of this article is to examine the changes in clothing after the revolution and explain its reasons.

The interplay of fashion and politics In the first decade after the revolution

Politics and religion are strongly intertwined in the Middle East, and at their intersection, the role of women is a central issue. The most obvious recent example of the intersection of politics and religion in the region was the Iranian revolution, which created the first modern theocracy in the world and once again turned Islam into the center of political power. The Iranian revolution not only changed the ruling power, but also brought a set of new laws and regulations that affected the Iranian society. One of these laws was the law of making hijab and Islamic clothing compulsory.

Iran’s Islamic revolution brought great changes in the clothing of society, especially women, and women’s clothing underwent great changes in a short period of time. These changes can be clearly seen in the 60s and during the war.

Mandatory hijab law After the Islamic revolution in Iran

The first sparks of the mandatory hijab law were struck in March 1357, that is, less than a month after the victory of the revolution. One day before March 8, International Women’s Day, Keihan newspaper was published with this headline: Women should wear hijab to offices. On the first page of this newspaper, words of Ayatollah Khomeini were written. These words emphasized that there is no obstacle for women to work in offices; But they must observe the religious hijab.

These statements brought protests from a number of women and even those who agreed with the revolution and had worked for it; However, political groups avoided directly commenting on the issue of hijab or considered it a secondary issue.

Examining Manto developments in the last 40 years in Iran, from the revolution to today

Prohibition of entry of women without hijab into offices and Sharia Penal Law

Finally, on July 14, 1359, women without headscarves were banned from entering government offices. This was the beginning of the mandatory hijab in Iran.
This time, unlike in 1957, there was no strong protest against these words. Perhaps one of the main reasons for this silence can be considered related to the political atmosphere of that time and the beginning of whispers of the Iran-Iraq war.
The process of legalizing compulsory hijab continued until 1360; But no law in this field was approved in the parliament until 1363. In that year, with the approval of the Islamic Penal Law in the parliament, compliance hijab It became necessary for all women of the country and even for tourists over the age of seven. Therefore, women were forced to observe hijab.

Men were also banned from wearing tight pants, short-sleeved shirts, shirts that reveal the chest, and jewelry.

During this period, the clothes of Iranian women in informal circles such as parties were still similar to the clothes before the revolution; But in offices and official circles, women wore long cloaks and veils and veils, and when walking in the street, long scarves, cloaks and loose pants were seen on women.

Wearing colored veils in public circles was common as before the revolution.

The Iran-Iraq war and its effect on the clothing of the Iranian people

With the start of the war, fashion was limited and the fashion industry was marginalized. The appearance of women’s and men’s clothes became simpler and more covered.

The political developments and war at the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution made the style of men and women closer to Islamic clothes, and the problems of the war made few people think about western clothes and fashion. Therefore, in those years, most of the clothes were simple and far from luxury.

simple fashion During Iran’s imposed war

Between 1958 and 1967, there was a wave of anti-Westernism among the revolutionaries, and this opinion was followed until any imitation of the western fashion trends was prohibited and the revolutionaries expressed their opinions with simple clothes. Among these clothes for men were loose shirts, linen and fabric pants, and simple jackets. Shahid Rajaei was one of the symbols of this revolutionary appearance.

In the article about the changes in clothing during the second Pahlavi period, we have discussed how people’s clothing changed during the changes of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s government. To get familiar with these developments, we suggest you to cover this article.

Two distinct versions of hijab In Iran after the revolution

In Iran after the revolution, two distinct versions of the hijab are seen: religious women’s veils and administrative veils. Informal and unconventional clothing that was inspired by the fashion of the 80s.

The first version covers more religious women. The tent and mask are inseparable items of this cover. A cover that was seen a lot in the employees of government offices and educators and teachers. These people were much more limited in choosing clothes and freedom of action to modify their clothing and wore dark colors such as navy blue, gray and black.

Informal and hidden fashion and imitation of 80s trends In the post-revolution era

80s trends in Iran

When we think of ’80s fashion, the word glitter comes to mind. The decade when covered hair, apple comb, large accessories and jewelry and crushed pants were the trend and the colors and designs were eye-catching. Fashion trends in the 1980s were all about material values ​​and flaunting wealth.

80s fashion spawned more fashion icons than any previous decade. Michael Jackson, Princess Diana and Madonna were among the famous fashion icons of this era.

Michael Jackson and Madonna symbolized the exaggeration of 80s fashion glamour, and Princess Diana symbolized powerful female fashion and power suits.

Imitating the trends of the 80s in Iran

As you probably noticed, this was completely contrary to the common events in Iran at the same time, and as a result, imitation of global trends and their entry into Iran was seen by a limited group of people and mostly in private parties. In street fashion, in spite of the many limitations in the coverage, apple coats with exaggerated shoulders were designed inspired by the power suits of successful western women. Iranians were inspired by the fashion of the eighties in private and at parties. Braided hair and petticoats were common among women and jeans among men.

Appearance The society after the adoption of the mandatory hijab law

Almost at the same time as the mandatory hijab law was passed, disobeying it started.

Women tried to follow the trends within the framework of these rules; However, during these years, many women received warnings for wearing puffy hair sticking out of scarves or light mantos and short scarves. Sometimes even men were punished by committee officers for following exaggerated eighties looks like jeans and t-shirts.

However, after the end of the war, fashionism gained attention again. At this time, due to the economic recession and poverty after the war, buying and selling Tanakura clothes became common in Iran, and some people were able to follow the trends with the help of these second-hand clothes.

Conclusion

Fashion is a global phenomenon and trends are common in most parts of the world, especially since the spread of television and later the Internet, and countries more or less follow these trends despite having their own unique traditions and laws. Fashion in the first decade of the Islamic Revolution was indicative of the state of the society in those days and different styles at that time represented the different opinions of the people.

This conclusion proves to us that the coercion of covering laws cannot affect all the people of a society in the long run.

To learn about the historical and social events during the first Pahlavi rule and its relationship with the type of clothing of the people, read the article A look at the history of Iranian clothing during the first Pahlavi period.

References:

www.fashiongonerogue.com

theconversation.com