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In just a few years 1990 will be 30 years away. When I think “30 years ago” my mind still says 1970

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Memories of Lebanon: Batroun

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Dar El Medina Hotel.  ☕

( Medina old Town of Tunis ). 

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Saudi Arabia seems like an austere “black and white” country. Saudi men mostly dress in white thobes, a long flowing garment, and women wear the abaya, an enveloping, shapeless black cloak that they must wear by law. The uniformity in dress in Saudi is unique to the Middle East, but even these customs are changing, as the country is becoming rapidly urbanized and women begin to experiment.

Step into the Riyadh atelier of fashion designer Honayda Serafi for a burst of color and a view of fashion, Saudi style.

“You know, Saudi women were always fashionable,“ says the 43-year-old designer as she shows off her latest designs on clothing racks that line the walls.

“They’ve been mixing silver jewelry with hand embroidery,” she says, even in the old days when this tribal population still lived in desert tents.

Her designs include the black abayas with sparkling details of red lips and flowers. The meticulous beadwork is handcrafted. She recruited two specialists from India, Alamdar Hussein and Mohammad Khan, and they can take up to three days to complete just one of the designs.

Serafi seems to relish breaking Saudi taboos. Her career as a fashion designer is the least of her challenges. For her 2016 summer collection she’s designed a bikini, white with gold details.

“I’m the first Saudi woman to design a bikini!” As the brand grows she says she will design more swimwear, but admits clients are limited in the Kingdom. A bikini? In Saudi Arabia? “Well,” she explains, with a shrug, “a Saudi woman could wear it if she was swimming with other women.”

Still, Serafi dreams of expanding her line to a Western market, where scanty swimwear is more acceptable.

But for all the color and bling in Serafi’s designs, there is still the risk of wearing her creations on the street. Saudi Arabia’s notorious Religious Police can be the enforcers of the traditional black abaya.

In January, a squad of religious police swept thru the Marina Mall in downtown Riyadh, and ripped all but the black abayas off the racks. Reformers in the Kingdom shuddered as they talked about the incident as a worrying sign that the Religious Police were flexing their authority again.

Serafi is not worried. “They can not stop it,” she says, especially as more Saudi women are donning colored abayas and embracing more fashionable designs. “They are accepting the change,” she insists. Not every one agrees.

- Deb Amos, #NPRSaudi2015

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Giambattista Valli

Spring 2017 Couture

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When the airline loses your luggage, but you carried on your computer (to write your conference paper on the plane)

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Still here and still proud! Nican tlaca Cemanahuac!

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For more Joe Biden Memes visit Bidenbro.com

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– Alice Walker

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i only accept 1 form of catcalling

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sweet: luanna pinhiero and diana bouchardet for nif magazine

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