Now, I am a fan of interesting headwear, as well as a fan of capes. I find the latter romantic and the former something very few can carry, but when they can…oh my, how they can (particularly simultaneously)! When I was a teenager and university student, I used to enjoy watching Moammar Qaddafi on the nightly news, largely because of his outfits, many of which involved flamboyant capes and ornate headwear. But, as I grew to understand his politics, I became disgusted. Something about the whole terrorist/maniac, hate-filled, murdering tyrant thing turned me off. His look became, in my eyes, garish and over the top. I thought I would never love ornamental capes and robes and chic headwear (at least on men), ever again.
And I didn’t…until 2002, when I first laid eyes on Hamid Karzai, then interim leader of Afghanistan. I was taken with his charm and bravery, and smitten with his style. And I was not alone. He won praise from the House of Gucci for his green and white chapan — a traditional Uzbek cape — and ceremonial karakul hat. Karzai himself said, back then: “Everyone I meet asks me about my coats…When I addressed the UN Security Council, all the ambassadors wanted one.”
He’s already rescued the ladies (with help from the U.S. military) from having to wear burqas: Can a more free and chic Afghanistan remain only a dream?