false<![CDATA[The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie]]>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223266489m/1572375.jpg15723751This book reveals a largely unknown and unexplored side of Arab culture and design—one rarely glimpsed in today's geopolitical debates that characterize the region. In Damascus and Aleppo, approximately 200 companies vie for a highly competitive domestic lingerie market. The lingerie forms part of popular Syrian tradition surrounding marriage; if a groom does not buy the undergarments for his wife-to-be, then her mother will. Some lingerie designers resort to gadgetry (blinking lights or sound loops of pop music) or the sweet tooth (candy- or chocolate-encrusted panties), while others stick to classics like the thong panty featuring a bird embedded in a ring of fl uorescent pink boa feathers: called Ish Al Asfour („bird's nest" in Arabic)—a kitsch interpretation of women's pubic hair. Malu Halasa describes her and Rana Salam's visits with the designers, manufacturers, vendors, and consumers of these undergarments, shedding light on the social mores of Syrians and questioning Western preconceptions about Islam. Photographs by Gilbert Hage highlight the editors' „top 30" of lingerie styles discovered on their many trips to the souk in Damascus. Also in the book: self-portraits by the young Syrian artist Iman Ibrahim; a history of the Syrian textile industry and how dictatorship created a homegrown fashion empire; excerpts from fi lmmaker Noura Kevorkian's journal, impressions and observations made while listening to Syrian women speak candidly about their lives, leading her to further investigate the relationship between lingerie and polygamy; and an interview with one of Syria's reformers, the author, publisher and activist Ammar Abdulhamid, among much more depicted within Rana Salam's graphic collection of Arabic design. Texts by Malu Halasa, Noura Kevorkian, Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, interview with Ammar Abdulhamid, and photographs by Gilbert Hage, Iman Ibrahim, and Issa Touma among others. <p><i>Why would a veiled woman buy crotchless panties? Or underwear with zippers and feathers? Or panties with cartoon birds and musical buttons? Is it possible for a woman to walk comfortably wearing underwear with feathered Tweety Birds the size of apples resting against her crotch? Most likely these indulgences are meant to be worn only in the house, possibly just in the bedroom. But then what about the musical panties playing Western pop tunes? Why would a society that shelters its women design and sell such explicit lingerie? And why do the women buy it? I grew up Christian in the Middle East. These women were my neighbors. Yet a number of contradictions about the life of these women of Damascus perplex me, and I am determined to fi nd out their meaning. - Noura Kevorkian </i>15650882822007The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerietotal:1|5:1|4:0|3:0|2:0|1:0|1519100falsefalseFri Nov 07 07:53:39 -0800 2008Fri Nov 07 07:53:51 -0800 200850falsefalseThu Oct 22 11:57:17 -0700 2009Thu Oct 22 11:57:17 -0700 200900falsefalseFri Nov 07 08:09:09 -0800 2008Fri Nov 07 08:09:09 -0800 200800falsefalseFri Oct 17 08:35:21 -0700 2008Fri Oct 17 08:35:21 -0700 200800falsefalseFri Oct 17 08:29:07 -0700 2008Fri Oct 17 08:29:07 -0700 200800falsefalseFri Oct 17 05:10:40 -0700 2008Fri Oct 17 05:10:40 -0700 200800falsefalseFri Oct 10 15:56:53 -0700 2008Fri Oct 10 15:56:53 -0700 200800falsefalseThu Oct 09 11:38:43 -0700 2008Thu Oct 09 11:38:43 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Oct 05 17:43:08 -0700 2008Sun Oct 05 17:43:08 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Oct 05 17:34:06 -0700 2008Sun Oct 05 17:34:06 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Oct 05 10:30:51 -0700 2008Sun Oct 05 10:30:51 -0700 200800falsefalseWed Oct 01 10:16:58 -0700 2008Wed Oct 01 10:16:58 -0700 200800falsefalseTue Sep 30 05:52:43 -0700 2008Tue Sep 30 05:52:43 -0700 200800falsefalseMon Sep 29 13:17:00 -0700 2008Mon Sep 29 13:17:00 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Sep 28 21:01:08 -0700 2008Sun Sep 28 21:01:08 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Sep 28 18:03:19 -0700 2008Sun Sep 28 18:03:19 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Sep 28 16:41:56 -0700 2008Sun Sep 28 16:41:56 -0700 200800falsefalseSun Sep 28 11:39:35 -0700 2008Sun Sep 28 11:39:35 -0700 200800falsefalseWed Sep 03 10:49:13 -0700 2008Wed Sep 03 10:49:13 -0700 2008
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