eGlobal Education: Iran--some advice (and photos) on how women should dress

woman in chador

GS dressed for dinner

stylish young women with GS in daytime attire

woman wearing hijab

Iran is a desert country, so dust and sand blow regularly. Don’t bring your favorite clothes! In the winter, it’s cold; summer, it’s hot; in between, it’s lovely. You can get laundry done at most hotels.

Iran is a very conservative society. Women tend to cover themselves completely in garments that do not show their bodies. Some younger women are breaking out of this mold, wearing fitted, long jackets over pants and bright scarves instead of hijabs. Look at the photos to see the variety of dress among Iranian woman. This (and the photos of me) will give you an idea of what to wear when visiting Iran.

women in varied dress at bazaar

While most of the women in Iran wear the chador, the long, flowing black garment that covers them from head to toe, I only saw one woman actually wearing a veil. Almost every woman wears pants, even tight pants, under her chador or covered by a tunic or long coat that comes to or below mid-thigh. In villages, women may wear tribal clothing which is also body-covering and, always, a headscarf.

Every woman, by law, must cover her head outside her home or hotel room. That can be uncomfortable when it’s hot, so I used long, loosely-woven, linen scarves. If they have some texture, like linen or cotton provide, they will stay on your head better than if they are slick like silk or polyester. You can throw the ends over your shoulder or, if it’s hot, just let them hang down. If it's chilly, they'll keep your neck warm.

Iranian Kurdish family on cold day in Kandovan

Some Iranian women have ponytails and rest their scarves on their ponytails, letting the front part of their hair shine for all to see. Most, however, wear a hijab that covers their heads, hair and necks.

Women—and men—should dress modestly. This, of course, has different meanings for women and men. Men should wear long pants, but can wear short-sleeved shirts and T-shirts. Women must wear long-sleeved shirts, though I saw a few women with ¾ length sleeves.

I wore hiking pants, somewhat baggy, and hiking shirts hanging out over my pants. This worked fine and wasn’t too hot.

my 2 lightweight tunic-length sweaters

I also bought 2 lightweight cotton tunic shirts, one at Target (one of their “man-shirts”) and one at J.Jill, which has lots of tunic-length tops (I looked online for tunics and found they had many). Both of these came down below my fanny (preferred). When I wore more fitted pants, I wore my longer shirts or a lightweight sweater over my shirts (also J.Jill tunics). These came down to my mid-thigh.

I bought shirts and sweaters that buttoned up the front for ease of use. I found that, on warm days, the looser shirts were very comfortable. You do not have to wear them over another shirt or T-shirt. You're fine with just a loose shirt. The day we hiked up a mountain to a medieval castle, it was quite warm, so our guide even suggested I take off my headscarf when we were by ourselves. I also took off my scarf when we were in our van driving because the van had dark windows, though I was careful to put it back on when I saw a police stop (common). I did not want to put myself or our driver and guide at risk. Iranian women do not take off their hijabs or scarves when they are driving.

nomad selling colorful chador to Tabriz woman

You can wear sandals if you wish. I took 2 pairs of running shoes since they are most comfortable for me when I’m walking a lot. Nothing else.

The key caveat is that your head must be covered, wholly or partly, at all times. The rest of it is good judgment and consideration for the culture and mores of Iran.