Coming from a culture where, in some instances, pasties and daisy dukes are appropriate public attire (I've seen this first hand on numerous occasions), it is hard to fathom walking around looking like a Halloween ghost. To them it is standard practice. Women's beauty is a private affair meant only to be seen by their husbands. As is stated in the Quran, "O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should draw over themselves their jilbab (outer garments) (when in public); this will be more conducive to their being recognized (as decent women) and not harassed." This type of garment is usually made out of cotton or crepe material and is typically black. It drapes from a woman's head to her toes, only exposing her eyes, hands, and feet. She is anonymous. Besides being unidentifiable, women are severly restricted when wearing a burqa. Peripheral vision is disrupted, the long length makes walking difficult, and typical regions where burqas are worn tend to have very high temperatures. It seems so impractical yet these religious garments have been worn for centuries. Because burquas are so vastly different from the dress of almost every other culture in the world, you would think they would be almost impossible to translate into high fashion. BUT...you would be wrong. Give any good designer a concept, and they can almost surely tweek it to be runway ready. Take a look at these interpretations of the burqa:
All of these "modern" styles have taken away the annonymity of the burqa in terms of showing a woman's face, but they are all still modest. This just goes to show we can keep women looking "decent" and celebrate their beauty at the same time. Thank you western culture, for understanding and embracing individualism.
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