For many of the chic and well-to-do here in the capital of Iran, a country where women are required by law to conceal the shapes of their bodies, Simin Ghodstinat's designs provide a sort of middle way. Her clothes are elegant, luxurious and expensive - all while staying well within the religious authorities' strictly enforced boundaries of propriety.
Ghodstinat's outfits are long and enveloping. They are usually made of several pieces of hand-woven and hand-dyed Indian fabrics, all in lively colors and based on traditional Persian, Kurdish, Afghan or Indian designs. And they have become something of a phenomenon among Tehran's small minority of wealthy women.
"They are so comfortable and convenient for Iran," said Mojdeh Abedi, a 36-year-old lawyer in the city. "I can wear them outside, I can wear them in the evening and even overseas."
Another regular customer, Vida Ansari, 73, who said she often shopped at Armani stores or American brand-name stores, said she received compliments overseas for the things she bought from Ghodstinat. "People ask me even in New York and Washington where I have bought my clothes when I wear them," Ansari said.
Women's clothing has been a battlefield since the Islamic revolution in 1979, when the religious authorities in the government first required women to wear long, loose coats and cover their hair. A police corps was created to enforce the new moral codes. Dark, drab colors were made mandatory. And the religious police have regularly cracked down on women who defy the strictures that govern appearance.
The latest crackdown started this summer with the arrest of hundreds of women. But it seems to have had little effect. Although there are women who wear the head-to-toe chador on the street, there are still many who wear short coats or small head scarves that show some of their hair.
The police department announced last month that it would arrest women who wore long boots over their pants or hats instead of head scarves. But many women defy the rules, especially the one about long boots. If a woman refuses to wear the head scarf, she can be jailed for 10 days to two months, according to the country's Islamic Penal Code.
Limits on color became less strict, and fashion shows were permitted after the election of a reformist president, Mohammed Khatami, in 1997. Critics said the dark colors had caused depression among women and children. Gradually, the authorities allowed schoolchildren to wear colorful head scarves and coats instead of dark colors.
"The existence of such designers shows that society is developing, and that includes fashion and clothing as well," said Shabnam Rahmati, a reporter who has covered fashion for the daily Shargh, which was shut down by the government. "They emerged under the presidency of Khatami when more freedom was granted on other levels, too."
Ghodstinat's clothes, however, leave no room for criticism by the moral police.
"These clothes give a queenish posture because they are long, have a lot of textile and are traditional," she said at her home in north Tehran. She uses part of her large living room to exhibit the outfits, and she also sells them in a boutique in Dubai.
Ghodstinat, 57, said her designs were the result of her own "process of growth." After living in Europe and America between the ages of 13 and 34, she returned to Iran.
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