Syrians get kinky, who knew?

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Like many guilty Americans I have a less than healthy curiosity about Middle Eastern culture. So, naturally, when I discovered an article about "strange and sexy Syrian lingerie" in my inbox it became an immediate priority- not to mention my American duty- to dissect, understand, and possibly acquire some material evidence of this completely scandalizing news. The lingerie is strange for sure and kinky, but in a sweetly naive way- campy even. It's playful and innocent, like something a muppet might wear to a suburban key party.

Perhaps most scandalizing, however, is the complete lack of scandal this trend has caused in the Middle East. Kinky lingerie is openly displayed in the markets and frequently recommended by pharmacists as an alternative to potentially emasculating ED medications. It's even common practice for brides-to-be and their female relatives to make pilgrimages to their local unmentionables dealer and buy upwards of 30 of these ensembles.


These leather hands are fantastic. Sadly, the closest thing I could find on eBay were these stupid nipple pasties which I may or may not have ordered under the pretense of improving international relations... one pastie at a time.


To get around pornography laws shop keepers avoid printers by making their own photo album style catalogs for customers to flip through on-site. The models are all Eastern European women with badly shaved bikini lines and cheesy wigs which is apparently a turn-off for Syrian men, and thereby eliminates any moral ambiguity concerning the profession of skivvies peddler.


The above such model on the right is sporting The Curtain- one of my favorites- which functions just like an actual curtain with a rod and everything and (like most of the pieces) conjures up images of swinging Gumnaam style dance numbers (my favorite of which, below, I suspect was Tarantino's inspiration for the Crazy 88 fight scene in Kill Bill).

The book The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie was created by graphic designer Rana Salam and Malu Halasa and has easily become my new favorite hostess gift. Look out.