How into fashion are you ?

[Catya Sher]

Spogmai, Yes! My apologies. I did not read a few pages of the thread that had been posted before I wrote mine.
Later I browsed back and saw yours.

I meant to write something to acknowledge your excellent sense. As well as say that I didn't mean to copy yours.

I just saw pages and pages of pictures etc. Yours was the best comment there.

I always liked the word Spogmai. I remember seeing a Full Moon - as you have pictured there in your avatar - on the way into Afghanistan with Wardak mujahideen on my first trip there. They taught me the word for it, which always has stayed with me.

You have good avatar sense too, I see, in addition to being confident enough to resist current trends in attire.

[Sheenka]

sholombay we know u too :P

[Catya Sher]

GoPashtunGo, No way! I never LOOK at any ad or display in a store. I barely go into clothes stores. I wear whatever I think is immortal. Fashion = changeable, based on human whims. I have more to say, too. May be controversial so I'm thinking how to express.

[Catya Sher]

Fashion meaning which STYLE is "in style". That's why i think nearly all modern styles are ugly. Like why do people, even women, wear the horrendous 'style' of t-shirts. Or jeans. Who wants to look like a turn of the century laborer in a field? That;s what jeans were created for. it's just a style, nothing more. And not elegant. Same with ugly shoes like 'tennis shoes' for everyday wear, especially by women. Looks terrible.

[spogmai shaglay]

Spogmai, Yes! My apologies. I did not read a few pages of the thread that had been posted before I wrote mine.
Later I browsed back and saw yours.

I meant to write something to acknowledge your excellent sense. As well as say that I didn't mean to copy yours.

I just saw pages and pages of pictures etc. Yours was the best comment there.

I always liked the word Spogmai. I remember seeing a Full Moon - as you have pictured there in your avatar - on the way into Afghanistan with Wardak mujahideen on my first trip there. They taught me the word for it, which always has stayed with me.

You have good avatar sense too, I see, in addition to being confident enough to resist current trends in attire.

Manana Catya....i didn't mean that u copied mine....i quoted both of our posts just to let u know that our responses matched so much....
and i would love to discuss your views tooo.....

[Catya Sher]

Thanks for your kind words, Spogmai.

Great minds think alike !

Don't you agree ?!!

I plan to post about some more ideas on the subject over the next few days.

And also reply to Jasmine's question. That's fun to describe.

Swat,

Yes, everyone should be interested in looking NICE - unless they are trying to look very low profile and even ugly as a religious idea. For example, wearing what's called the habit of a nun or monk. It is not becoming appearance-wise, and has one style only.
However, such attire announces publicly that the wearer is trying to forget the self and give full attention to his or her spiritual salvation. In short to give glory to God and forsake every last shred of vanity.

[..]

I wear both, but see my Pakistani clothing as a way of opening doors to tell someone about the situation in Pakistan. I live in a part of the U.S. that is rather liberal and where people wear whatever they feel most comfortable in. At the same time, people always stop me in the market, or on the street and tell me how beautiful my clothing is, and then I tell them about Pakistan and my projects there.

I am somewhat unconventional! LOL...

[Catya Sher]

Good idea!
What do you wear, shalwar kameez? With the scarf [dupatta] too? That's such a nice feminine accent to the outfit.

I was so upset when a teenage Hunza girl told me she hated the outfit and her one wish was to wear...jeans!
I tried to persuade her that her national dress was so graceful and special. But to no avail.

For this very same reason: she wanted to be "in" with current fashions among her high school class peers. I doubt it was personal taste.

So Rabia is her opposite !

I remember wearing my Afghan Kochi dresses for months after I would return from a trip on the streets of my district. It was San Francisco: no one noticed !
No one asked, either.
I just felt more comfortable in them after wearing for so long in Pakistan/Afghanistan region.

[Admin Khan]

Was anybody able to point you out in the local population in Afghanistan or Pakistan? Or did you blend easily the minute you followed the fashion trend in Af-Pak?

[Catya Sher]

Re Admin Khan's post:
That latter part made me laugh!
W-e-e-e-l-l-l.... I have a confession to make.
[Salafis do not read beyond this sentence. Switch to another thread while there's still time.]

It's about hijab. The times I HAD to wear a chaderi for either getting into Afghanistan through the Tribal Areas OR traversing the mountains under Soviet bombardment once inside the war zones, I fit in perfectly!
At least, I think I did.

Mujahideen we would meet coming the opposite direction along the narrow trails would greet me just like i was an Afghan mujahid with a hearty 'Staray Mashay' when they pass our group going the other direction. Not once did any of them look askance at me out of the lineup.
I considered this a great victory to blend in like that.

However.
Back to Peshawar, I ....well, I kind of hated to wear any hijab. So...my light hair gave me away.
While everyone knows that there are Nuristanis with blond hair and light eyes, I always tell the truth when asked from where I am. [Even in Khomeini's Iran, though people warned I would be killed if I admitted to being an American.]

So let's say I failed to pass the unwritten law in Pakistan that a foreign woman should veil. At least a scarf. In fact, I always wore one around my neck. But only when going into a special holy place did I drape it over my head out of respect - and obligatory custom.

My attitude is: hijab is great! In the West, I always try to give an approving look when I see women wearing it, to encourage them in the face of SO much negativity.

I deplore the laws in France against hijab in the public schools & now the niqab. I have argued vociferously about this with American men, even those familiar with the Muslim world, who rail against hijab. They call themselves liberal, but why are they suddenly so restrictive when someone wants to follow her religious ideas?!

For myself, I like the blonding effect from sunlight beating down on my hair too much to want to wear any headcovering. I admire those who do, as it's modest and good.

Back to the original point, I probably blended in quite well otherwise.

I quickly adopted beautiful customs from Pashtunkhwa such as wearing bangles, a few lined up on each arm. I have worn them ever since, and probably could not live another day without my bangles [from the Isfahan bazaar - purest gold & best craftsmanship of anywhere. I would never buy ANY gold jewelry in Western countries if I could avoid it.]

[Catya Sher]

Shlombay,

Yes, I am a daring type!

I wore my gorgeous handmade Afghan dresses all over San Francisco!
I was so disappointed that not one soul gave a second look as I got on and off the public buses, walked on major boulevards. But n

Not even friends asked me about where they came from. OR much BETTER: about the country which is what I was half-hoping, as I was feeling nostalgic and would loved to have had a short discussion.

Actually, I wore my pattu over that when it was cold. That means almost every single SUMMER in San Francisco...

[..]

Catya and Shlombay..-

Yes, I very often wear Shalwar Kameez here in California. Most of the people who comment on my clothing, which is often, say how beautiful my clothing is. Sometimes I wear the veil, sometimes not. Often when I give a presentation about Pakistan I wear my Kochi dress, it is so wonderful to wear on a sunny day because then I dazzle (all the mirrors!)...