"The difference between style and fashion is quality" – G. Armani

I've been trying to start up a blog for quite some time now and hopefully this will stick (fingers crossed) because I think my friends and family are sick of me whining, complaining or being negative about my views on people's attire in Afghanistan. See one of the greatest forms of art that we all perform on a daily basis is fashion.

Allow me to introduce myself, I'm an Afghan American, I returned to Afghanistan in 2004 for a short-term employment and recognized my love for Afghanistan and its people. One of the major influences of my return was my beloved father. See, like every other girl in the country, I was my father's princess in our little kingdom called home. He asked me to go for higher education and to return after receiving my masters, and so I did. I've been working in the Afghan government for the past four years.

In my time here, I have observed the distasteful and unflattering attire of our people. I wasn't used to this as I had very stylish parents. My father encouraged me to explore men's style but with a feminine touch, which has become a signature of mine. This is where I first began recognizing the potential for art in style.

The goal of this blog is to share what is perceived by our attire in Afghanistan in terms of trends, garment, accessory, street fashion, professional fashion or that of politicians, musicians, actors and media personalities. You see, style is not funny, endearing or relatable, it's a sort of brief biography about oneself. Style can touch on hair, make-up, clothing, shoes and accessories. We will narrow down style blogs based on gender.

Women are held to a higher standard, everywhere. Anytime women are looked at, people are eager to judge her on her appearance. It can describe her character, personality, confidence level, her position in society and much more.

In Afghanistan, especially in major cities, well-dressed women are an exception, not the norm. The history of underrepresentation wrestles with the new role of women in Afghanistan. The time of the burqa uniforms in major cities have reduced to choice of fashion versus force of fashion. Afghan women are on the verge; there are enough tasteful women in media, entertainment and government to begin positively representing style.

One of these women is Fatima Gilani, the Head of the Afghan Red Cross Society. Her exquisite reserved style in dynamic colors expresses her confidence, love for culture and ability to flaunt what most won't find appealing in a store.

There are some constraints in the major cities of Afghanistan as shops are limited and tailoring is high demand. But on this blog, AFGHANeeSTA, we will focus on both simple and elaborate modern styles for men, women, and children, as well as vintage fashion, since true style isn't determined by the numbers – age, price or otherwise. We will focus on what happens to wardrobes when you combine seasons, holidays and special events. We will feature favorite styles, designers and tailors.

I went around Kabul the other day and photographed styles of women at university to Kabul street shopping. Your AFGHANeeSTA likes imperfections, as we are not perfect especially when it comes to style, but we can always be presented in our best. In my next blog, I will post the photos and review.
Stay tuned for a detailed blog. I encourage you to take photos of your favorite style and submit it for my next blog and explained why you chose it. Until next time.