Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

The catwalk and the dazzling diamonds...

Saleh
Saleh
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The fashion show in Muscat was a revelation in many ways.


The models, adorned in diamonds, each one the size of a peanut, walked elegantly on the ramp.


As I watched them, I wondered if they ever eat.


To them, lunch is a single leaf of lettuce and dinner just a piece of carrot.


They were painfully thin but accepted as beautiful young women by the audience.


I guess the pressure of staying on top of their game is immense.


They are paid well, sleep little and eat less. As they paraded themselves, I wondered why I was there without an escort.


All the tables around had men sitting next to their partners.


Why and how the heck had my wife let me go alone, I don’t know.


I was sitting next to an old couple, who glanced at me from time to time and probably wondered if I had gate-crashed.


Other couples looked curiously at me and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable.


I forced myself to look at the catwalk and soon I was mesmerised by a dozen bony beauties and the dazzle of the diamonds.


When the music faded and the lights got brighter, the models walked to each table for us to get a good look at the displayed resources.


The old gentleman sitting next to me gave a giggle that annoyed his wife.


The second elderly man on my right had his fork frozen half way to his mouth.


I wished the girls would move away quickly to prevent a couple of old gentlemen from having a heart attack.


The younger men had the evening of their lives if the expression on their faces was any indication.


Although I was disappointed my wife was not sitting with me, I was slightly relieved my wallet would not be among the casualties of the evening.


The organisers don’t pay all the expenses and the trappings that come with the first class hotel to just lavishly feed the men and let their eyes feast on delicate finery.


Men have the inclination of not getting anything free when women get together.


They eventually pay for it and they know it. When the show was over, the girls walked out of the ballroom and left us to tackle the food.


They wouldn’t eat the lamb chops and the chocolate fudge with us.


To keep their figure immaculate, they would go for a cold salad.


I don’t mean to be cruel.


I also do not feel sorry for them.


I am sure they enjoy their chosen career like we all do.


Except that models like them are now becoming a huge influence on younger girls.


It is obviously a hard act to follow.


Some mothers, I am afraid, encourage the wafer-thin figures in their daughters.


They say their girls find suitors quickly that way, as if they are in a hurry to get rid of them.


It would also be very helpful to their careers as well.


I would be a hypocrite if I don’t admit that there is some truth in it.


A good proportion of these young girls do end up having both medical and psychological problems.


They can’t all be models, get the job of their dreams or end up marrying ‘Prince Charming.’


If experience is any guide, we all know a very small proportion of them maintain the same weight after marriage.


Some of the men end up feeling cheated — the featherweight beauties they tied the knot with have ballooned out of proportion.


Mothers would feel their job is done but daughters would have to cope with abusing husbands the rest of their lives.


Real life is no fashion show because the catwalk is much longer than the one models walk on in the five-star hotels.


Saleh Al Shaibany


saleh_shaibany@yahoo.com


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