Several months ago, Nooshafarin, a 28- year-old resident of Isfahan, began wearing leggings under her manteau. She found the pairing of tight pants under a loose manteau the perfect fashion statement, a more pulled together look that also happened to be very comfortable. Across Iran, tens of thousands of women were coming to the same conclusion: leggings were the Iranian woman's best friend, an affordable garment that lent the required manteau covering a more chic appearance, and were easy to coordinate.
“They make my figure look better, and they're affordable,” says Fatemeh, a young journalist in Tehran.
Once only worn for aerobics classes, leggings have become standard fashion in cities across Iran, showing up in clothing stores everywhere, sold in home legging shows, and spawning a domestic market in Iranian-made leggings and a glut of imports from both Turkey and China. As Iranian women continue to push the boundaries of what can be worn within the state's strict dress codes, looks that were risque even a decade ago are becoming, by sheer force of mass determination, ordinary today.
The nationwide popularity of leggings however, is provoking a backlash from hardline bloggers and religious websites, who fear the onslaught of tight pants is perilous for the country's morals. “This year women's fashion has changed yet again,” laments the conservative website Fater News. “They are now wearing leggings instead of pants altogether, not even tight jeans!” The website News Base of Supporters of Velayat blames the trend on “spy agencies of the enemy and anti-
Everyone is born equally capable but lacks equal opportunity. Pierre Omidyar
