Sexy Lingerie: Gentlemen Welcome!

An online underwear store on Instagram. The page promises to send the items anywhere in Iran

 “Want to come with me to a women’s lingerie and sleepwear show?” I ask my friend. He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Men are allowed?” he seems to be asking. I explain that that, through Instagram, I have access to a service that displays and sells attractive and sexy women’s sleepwear, promising to send the goods to Tehran and elsewhere in Iran. No censorship, no blurring.

When I log in, the website displays pictures of beautiful models in anything and everything, from pantyhose to lingerie to nightdresses. Product information is posted below each image. The business does not have a shop or a physical address customers can visit. It takes orders through Instagram and sends the goods by mail or by messenger. But now it is advertising a three-day show, adding that “Gentlemen are allowed!”

Forbidden Clothing & Home Shows

To get the address, I sent a text message. The show was near Saadat Abad in northern Tehran. I checked the unit number against the information provided in the message and rang the bell. A 30-something woman opened the door and welcomed me with a smile. The place was simply but tastefully decorated.  Household items were arranged in a way that would not disrupt or restrict customers from moving around. One of the rooms had been turned into a fitting room – the bras had to be fitted. My friend and I stood next to the racks and a stand loaded with fancy lingerie and sleepwear. Young women and men inspected the articles, behaving normally apart from the odd mischievous giggle.

Prices varied, from $6 for crotchless pantyhose to $65 for a Turkish nightgown. Women’s shorts made out of a variety of fabrics, sexy, fancy bikinis and lace bodices were displayed around the room. Bodices varied in price, from $20 to $30 – relatively reasonable.

I paused in front of a stand displaying outer garments including single-size boots and low-neckline tops. I was looking at a $10 top when a smiling young woman approached and informed me of the colors and sizes available. She then showed me another style, a little more expensive and respectable, the likes of which you can find in shops around Tehran. The prices, however, were lower than in most shops. I had seen something similar in Vanak Passage for $60. I asked the young women if one person had imported everything.

“This show displays merchandise from two online stores selling women’s clothing,” she explained. “We don’t have a complete range of sizes because we cannot buy or import wholesale.”

“You only bring in women’s underwear?” I asked. She told me that I should ask another saleswoman, who was talking to a young woman across the room about some lingerie made by the Turkish brand NBB. “These are very popular now, dear. They are made from good Turkish material that you cannot buy anywhere else. Even if you could, men would not be able to shop for them. We want to give couples a chance to shop for lingerie together, and decide together.”

According to her, many of her followers on Instagram are men. “This way, a woman can get a pretty nightgown or bodice as a Valentine's Day gift,” she explained. “Many of our customers are men who buy for their partners, or young men and women who go to the comments section and ask for recommendations from each other.” They make recommendations by tagging one another, alerting friends to particular products.

It was the first time that my friend had stood before such a big pile of women’s underwear, free to touch the merchandise and choose something. He inspected the items with curiosity. It seemed that everybody was trying hard to behave normally. It was clear that the show’s organizers were the most relaxed and comfortable.

Internet Shopping, Internet Marketing

Home apparel shows offering select Turkish brands are not a new phenomenon. For years, showrooms and community halls in Tehran’s residential complexes and high-rises have been host to unofficial shows that do not follow official guidelines and regulations when it comes to pricing merchandise. They display well-known brands, as well as more obscure ones. Marketing is normally done at a local level, through word of mouth or the distribution of leaflets, and sometimes through promotional text messages.

But now social networking sites and smartphone apps have introduced new opportunities, freeing these unlicensed sellers to expand beyond their normal turf in Tehran and use the postal service to reach the whole country. Businesses using the internet to sell their goods are based as far away as the province of East Azarbaijan, hundreds of miles away from Tehran. They sell their products online, package them and send them to customers across Iran, and particularly to Tehran. And this includes businesses selling sex toys and dildos. Prices range from $40 to $160.

Using Kik Messenger, I contacted the administrator of an Instagram page selling provocative and sexy clothing for men and women, asking how the business orders their merchandise. Travelers bring the merchandise back with them from South Korea, the administrator replied, so quantities and sizes are limited. “If we have it in stock in Tehran, we can send it out the same day by messenger. Otherwise, we have to order it from Korea, which takes two or three weeks.”

Many of these online shops started out on Facebook. Later, with increased access to apps and new social media, including Instagram and Pinterest, many of these shops had the opportunity to expand.

Facebook and Instagram are also popular among those businesses that sell primarily through unofficial shows. Dress designers, fashion houses and individual brands have multiplied in recent years, and, with a little browsing on Facebook or Instagram, potential customers can find a show somewhere in Tehran where gowns, brand-name dresses or any other particular item of clothing is being sold. For the most part, these businesses do not sell their products online, relying on shows and sales staff. But increasingly, the marketing and promotion of these goods is done via social networks. In addition to the fashion business, merchants using the internet to promote their work include a large number of jewelers and handicraft artisans. To create a home business, all one needs is some business acumen and a smartphone.

A young woman called Shirin sells gloves via Instagram. She allows her customers to order using every means of communication available: WeChat, Viber, Pheed, Kik, WhatsApp, as well as other mobile apps popular in Iran. She also provides a phone number – the number of a prepaid phone – for her customers.

“Do you make good money?” I ask Shirin. “It depends what you mean by that,” she answers. “The sales are good. I am careful to post beautiful pictures and advertise my page in the right places. My prices are not high. I sell a pair of gloves for 15,000 tomans ($6) and knitting them does not take more than three or four hours.”

Crossing Red Lines – In Silence

Business through Facebook and Instagram has spread rapidly, attracting widespread media attention online. The majority of the coverage is, of course, in English. There are apps to make it easier for internet customers to find what they want, including Hashbag, which searches Instagram for sought-after items. One article points out that using hashtags is an effective way of increasing sales. Many non-Iranian sites use interrelated hashtags: customers can use them to find whatever item they are looking for on Instagram.

Few online stores in Iran, however, use hashtags regularly. Many of them don’t need to. Customers are able to find what they need – including illegal goods – without them. The lingerie shop I mentioned has 20,000 followers without using a single hashtag. Sellers’ primary concern is to satisfy their customers and to avoid restrictions, prohibitions and bans placed on particular products. They are not interested in technology. They use apps and modern technology as tools to avoid rules and regulations, to cross red lines confidently and without drawing attention to themselves, to make an income – all far from the prying eyes of the government.

After the three-day lingerie show, I told my friend I no longer wished to go to official shops to buy underwear. It is a completely different experience to shop with your partner, selecting what you want together while holding hands, without fear.

Sitting with a few friends in a café, I told them about the show. I did not mention the store’s name, but one of my friends searched on her phone and found it. Wasting no time, she immediately sent a message to the owner: “Would it be possible for you to put on an in-person show ASAP?”