Content area
Full text
Along this capital's best boulevards, some young women go about their days in distinctive style: They cover their hair with silk, drape their torsos with smartly cut wraps and, with some aplomb, maneuver the streets peering through layers of white gauze on their faces.
They are part of a nose job nation.
Black-shrouded matrons are still the backbone of Iranian society. But in increasing numbers and at young ages, Iranians are altering their bodies in the pursuit of beauty.
"It's very common in our society," said Zahra Kalantar, 18, her body swathed in heavy black robes and her nose in gauze. Her father paid $1,200 for her surgery.
"I really didn't want to have a nose job, but there was a lot of pressure," Kalantar said. "My classmates made fun of my nose. So did my cousins.... My nose was big and wide. And here, appearances matter."
Plastic surgery is common elsewhere, but patients in Iran exude a remarkable enthusiasm about their decision. Bandages are worn openly and youngsters routinely discuss the benefits of looking like Nicole Kidman or Angelina Jolie.
Rhinoplasty has become a common reward for passing college entrance exams. Some people even undergo surgery two or three times - - at a fraction of the cost of Western procedures -- to perfect their profiles framed by the ever-present hijabs, or scarves, they must wear.
The sculpting doesn't stop there. Chins are filled out. Older women...