I don’t care who you love, and neither do these girls. I only care that you show support to manteau style. We accept everyone who shows respect and never spreads hate!
Middle fingers to all the haters- I love it!!!!
North Tehran Lifestyle
The Stunning Northern Twins
These girls look perfect (their skin and eyes are almost too perfect…makes me fear there is Photoshop involved!)….the silk scarves are tied low, and their gorgeous blond hair is flowing proudly and freely through them, while their glossy Northern-style lip make-up and heavy eyeliner captivates and pleases the viewer..stunning!
Manteau, Mini-Skirt, and Stockings!
This is one cool series of photos…below you can see the girl getting out of the car with her black trench coat exposing her mini-skirt, and knee-high stockings fully…
..and now she is walking down the street in her cool patterned stockings and red scarf tied low with brown curls flowing out the sides. I love manteaus with mini-skirts- the ultimate defiance!
Parkour in Manteaus
Parkour is an edgy, urban sport originated in the “ghettos” of France, so it only makes sense it appeals to North Tehran girls. The following article details how girls practice parkour in Northern parks. The authorities grudgingly accept it, but at the same time, call these girls “wanting to be like men”- a woman having fun, being daring, stylish, and athletic is such a threat to them!
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Iranian women use parkour to navigate obstacles and prejudices
March 19, 2014 Updated: March 19, 2014 14:19:00
Agence France-Presse
TEHRAN // In a Tehran park, sneering men look shocked at a group of brave young women as they perform flips, mid-air somersaults and bound from pillar to pillar.
The group has discovered parkour, the fast-moving sport blending acrobatics and gymnastics that has become their outlet for evading social constraints and dealing with stress.
“As a woman, it’s a bit complicated,” says their teacher Maryam Sedighian Rad, 28, who earned a master’s degree in physiology.
She and the others wear the hijab and her group often has a male escort when they practice outside to ward off unwelcome company – and sometimes police.
Conceived in France in the late 1980s, parkour involves getting around or over urban obstacles, with a fast-paced mix of running, jumping and gymnastic rolls and vaults.
Offering a cocktail of excitement, danger and risk, it caught on around the world thanks to blockbuster movies like Yamakasi and District B13.
Now, it has gained a foothold in Iran – and not only among the usual young male aficionado.
Ms Sedighian Rad and about 50 women, teenagers and young adults, are among the hundreds of Iranians practicing this non-competitive discipline that morphed from military obstacle course training into a mainly urban sport.
The parkour motto: “Never move backwards”, seems to hold particular resonance here.
Three times a week, Ms Sedighian Rad trains her groups at three indoor sports complexes.
“We encounter problems but we try our best to cope with them because we love doing parkour,” she says.
While their baggy outfits allow for ease of movement, [ah yes…the baggy t-shirt manteau over a long-sleeved top!] the jogging, jumping and somersaulting can cause hair to fall loose.
Unperturbed, Helia Goharbavar, 16, readjusts her hijab after every move.
“It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “It’s cold anyway and you have to wear something. Besides, we are used to it.”
One of the most agile in the group, Arefeh Shoari, 17, admits she often fears that certain moves might expose parts of her body. But she and the other girls say parkour, often billed as a holistic discipline, has given them freedom and confidence.
“There was a jump I couldn’t do at first … learning it made me realize I am capable of doing anything and defeating any obstacle,” says Ms Sedighian Rad. “I feel free.”
Arefeh says parkour allows her to cope with everyday life.
“I am really stressed out because of my studies but parkour helps me a lot to deal with the stress. I feel happy”
“Practising parkour shows that even if you are a woman, you are not bound to stay at home,” says Helia.
Apart from the risk of injury, the women also brave derision in a country where mixed activities are banned.
“Sometimes people criticize us saying this isn’t a sport for girls. They say we’re supposed to knit … They can’t imagine a girl exercising like a boy,” Ms Sedighian Rad says.
Athena Karami, 19, recalls how she once had to leave the park during practice after a crowd of teenage boys “made fun of us and filmed us with their mobile phones”.
To head off such problems, Ns Sedighian Rad usually takes along male members of Hitall, the parkour club she joined in May 2012, when her group trains outside.
At times police have interrupted their workout.
“But when they see that it’s just a sport and that we are really exercising, they let us be,” Ms Sedighian Rad says.
“Sometimes they even express interest in parkour and ask where they can get training.”
[Actually, even many other countries have become interested in girls doing parkour in North Tehran- the two still shots below come from a Chinese television documentary about these girls!]
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This article is not the first about North Tehran parkour-loving girls- the first such article was actually written by The Guardian in 2013, but it had no pictures (only some videos, which I have linked below). Here is the shorter Guardian piece – I have spread around some of the pictures from the AFP article into the Guardian article.
Parkour life: Iranian women get physical
First it was martial arts. Now Iranian women are combating their bullying street culture by taking up parkour.
On any given Friday, groups of young women across Iran can be seen jumping from rooftops, scaling the graffitied walls of apartment blocks, and catapulting themselves over stairways. They are not being chased by riot police, but merely practising their parkour moves, especially the ground roll, tricky to execute while wearing a headscarf.
Parkour’s popularity among young women in Iran is soaring, despite the bulkier clothing and head coverings Islamic dress codes require them to wear. The outdoor sport, a fast-paced hybrid of gymnastics and martial arts, seems designed to get you out of a fix quickly, which perhaps explains its appeal to young Iranians, whose social lives in the strict Islamic republic often require considerable agility. Iran’s female practitioners are running their own threads on Persian-language forums and posting films online to showcase their skills. Unlike the men’s scene, with its heavy rap culture overtones and emphasis on group rivalries, the girls’ movement comes across as more athletic and purposeful, despite the greater challenges women face practicing outdoors.
Men hold major parkour tournaments in urban parks and talk openly online about parkour being accepted by local police. Not so for women, whose equal access to sports facilities and public areas for exercise has long been contested by the government.
The authorities may tolerate matrons doing aerobics in parks, but young women dashing over obstacles pushes the boundaries of acceptability. One young woman, hiding behind oversize sunglasses, says in a YouTube clip: “It’s become quite acceptable for guys, but because we’re girls, when we’re out practising, they sometimes hassle us.”
What’s striking about parkour’s appeal among Iranian women is the sheer breadth of the trend. It’s not being led by the reed thin, Fendi-clad women of North Tehran, but girls in trainers and practical headscarves (maghnaeh) [better known as snoods- they are not technically scarves] from Lahijan to Shiraz. [Northern girls come in many styles- the “urban” culture is something they are deeply interested in, too]. Parkour’s punchiness seems to resonate among Iranian women, who in recent years have also taken up martial arts in record numbers. [Below are two girls in snoods doing parkour – the one leaping has bright red pants!]
The context is the bullying culture and street violence that women face under the country’s Islamic government, whose discriminatory laws make seeking legal recourse for domestic violence almost pointless.
Women in Iran, who make up 60% of graduates, have never had so much to feel angry about, with the state increasing gender segregation at university, among other changes.
Nooshin, a councillor for Iran’s welfare organisation in the city of Hamedan, says she has seen women’s awareness of their own physical capabilities shifting. “Do you think it’s coincidence that more women are taking karate and kung-fu classes? Women, especially young women, are learning about their rights and fighting back.”
Even in the rebellious milieu of Iran’s parkour scene, where you encounter endless clips set to edgy Persian hip-hop and would expect to find more progressive social mores among men, women’s involvement has met with criticism. One young man questioned on the national parkour website whether the sport was in line with women’s “modesty and chastity”. But in film clips online there are also scenes of men standing by to aid women doing air somersaults, clearly enjoying their role as helpers.
As one student from a Tehran parkour clan says: “It gives us courage and helps us release our pent-up energy. It’s great to feel that nothing can stand in your way.”
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I have featured two girls doing parkour in manteaus in 2013 on this blog – this photo can be found right here! And here are a couple shots of girls at a men’s parkour competition from back in 2011!
We’ve Made It!
All I can say is- “OMG, we’ve made it to the Guardian”!!!
Yes, the British world-famous newspaper!
Yup, this blog is making it big! 🙂
Who better to put here but the “Essential Ensembles” girls- they are still the epitome of true manteau style, 8 years later!
And Another One- Happy Purple People!
Let’s do it again- see how far we’ve come!
Everything is here- green, purple, AND red velvet leggings! LOVE IT!
Oh yeah, and I said TWO Happy videos! Another one was made last week, despite the fact that the people from the first videro were arrested (they were released after a huge outcry by the world). This one is shot in different Northern locations- can you spot which ones? Some amazing manteau styles there- enjoy it!
Open Coats and a Flashback to a Concert
I have a couple miscellaneous things to post…originally, I was just going to post a beautiful photo of open (button-less) manteaus. Some idiots out there hate them because they proudly reveal the full outfit underneath…well, you know what that means – I love them! I even have a beige knit one like this myself! The ones here are great too- one is jersey knit and bright yellow, while the rest are silk and flower-printed.
And then,I found a purported statement from a woman who was allegedly featured in a series of crackdown photos that were intended to humiliate those who enjoy underground hip-hop music. These women were arrested at an underground hip-hop concert in North Tehran back in 2010, and their photos were taken with their faces forcibly covered so as to say “You do not exist and do not matter”. I was deeply outraged by this event because I know how underground hip-hop is incredible and serves an important social purpose. In my city, underground hip-hop is an industry in and of itself and disproves many stereotypes created by the media regarding “hood life”. It has been a tremendous force for change in myself, making me confront so many things about myself that I could not deal with for YEARS! So, I created beautiful defiant crackdown banners which you can see below to show love and support for these women!
And now, let us hear one of these women (she is very careful about concealing her identity, and I understand why- that sick government is probably watching her) speak about her experience in her own words.
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They arrested us for being ourselves and wearing the way we pleased. Then they took a photo of us and posted it with pride on their websites numerous times . How do I dare now to look into the camera and take a photo to show that I do not like the compulsion? I am even deprived of this stealth freedom
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The girl who got humiliated over and over again as the photo of her arrest got published countless times
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Hoping for the day they arrest thieves (possibly referring to the big thieves who hold the power over the country) instead of us!
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Student Outfits in Water and Fire Park
Water and Fire Park is a North Tehran institution in its own right- it has some amazing installations, beautiful columns with fires at the top, unique fountains, and of course…gorgeous style by its attendees (which can be seen, for example, here). It’s been around for maybe 5 years now and has hosted some iconic events, such as the famous water fight.
Below are three girls walking through Water and Fire Park, wearing those classic student outfits- black manteau, jeans (well, black and beige skinny pants in this case), flat shoes, and the snood pushed back to show off lots of hair! Nice to see that the style in the park has conti8nued to remain strong through the years.
Because I’m Happy!
Everyone is familiar with Pharrell’s song”Happy” and the YouTube phenomenon it has become. There are millions of “Happy” videos from all around the world…but none was so controversial as the “Happy Tehran Edition” video. The people in it were ARRESTED just for making it, and guess what? There is nothing controversial in the video- no nudity, no drugs. The only thing there is are six young men and women dancing on a rooftop…which proves to me that those who hate manteau style (and there is not a lot of that in the video mainly because they wear regular clothes, and a guy actually puts a scarf on his head for fun!) simply hate women and men who enjoy life and who want to spread positivity and kindness rather than fear and frothing hatred! So, here it is, for all those who want to affirm their happiness!
Here is a link to an article about the video- all participants have been now released.
P.S. My personal memory of “Happy” is that I first heard it when it JUST came out, on the plane to and back from my honeymoon (the airline we were flying had this awesome radio station system where you could listen to all sorts of genres for hours), and I just knew it would be a hit. It’s a very refreshing summery song with a great retro sound and very cheerful lyrics. To me, it’s always associated with my honeymoon, so when I see someone frothing because of this song, I see it as someone insulting joy and love, and it makes me even more determined to publish on this blog!
Black Fitted Coats and Amazing Make-up
The two fitted manteaus are both black, yet the styles are different- one is a classic trench coat with a huge square buckle, while the other is a soft jersey tunic (possibly a dress manteau). Both are worn with jeans and sneakers, which is the more generic version of this look, but the tall hairstyles adorned by thin scarves are amazing, and how can you not love the stylish Northern make-up?
Manteaus Daily 