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Do You Wear Religious Symbols?

FabSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:33:33 PDT

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Is It in Poor Taste to Wear Religious Symbols as Fashion?

FabSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:33:33 PST

Crosses, rosaries, Buddha, evil eye protectors, etc.

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Spring 2012 Trendspotting: Holy Cross!

Noria Morales — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 09:43:45 PDT

Fashion fanatics, take note: crosses have made their way back on the runways. Pucci, Lanvin, and Moschino all showed a version of the cross as accessory, layered with other necklaces and earrings. It brought us back to our favorite cross-wearing star, Madonna, who made that and wearing Kabbalah bracelets en vogue. What do you think of designers using religious symbols as part of their fashion collections?

The Evolution of the Wedding Dress

Tara Sharp — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:57:18 PDT

If you're a bride this wedding season, you know that as soon as you have the ring on your finger, it's time to start thinking about the dress you'll wear on the big day. But do you know how today's bridal fashion traditions came about? From cultural and religious influences to color symbolism, walk with us through the history of the wedding gown.

France's Burqa Ban Starts Today

Annie Scudder — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:45:20 PDT

Starting today, any woman in France wearing the burqa or niqab Muslim veil in public will face a fine of over $200 and take a course in French citizenship. And anyone found forcing a woman to wear a veil will be subject to a $40,000 fine.

The all-covering veils have been a hot topic in France for years with different interests taking various positions. Nicolas Sarkozy's government says the veil is a symbol of male oppression and goes against France's secular values. Some Muslim religious leaders say they don't oppose or support the burqa, because wearing one is a cultural not a religious decision. Meanwhile, Muslim and human rights groups have called the ban an attempt to stir up racial sentiments.

It's certainly problematic: the ban could further alienate a marginalized group of conservative women, preventing them from integrating while it ironically controls women's clothing choices. If France wants to protect women's autonomy, decreeing what they can and cannot wear seems like a strange way to do it.

France's Muslim minority is five million strong, but only 2,000 women wear all-covering veils. The fiery debate over the new law reminds me of the Arizona law banning race- and sex-selective abortions, a problem that doesn't actually exist. It's emotional, ideological, and distracting from more serious problems.

This Just In: Merkx+Girod Architects Win 2007 Dutch Interior Design Prize

Julia Walsh — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:00:45 PST

Unlike the converted cathedral that I mused over in September, Merkx+Girod Architects' redesign of the former Dominican Church in Maastricht, Holland, is for all eyes to see. Merkx+Girod were approached by the Dutch booksellers Selexyz (think Barnes & Noble), who asked them to convert the thirteenth-century church into a modern bookstore. Their redesign carried the year, making them the winner of the 2007 Dutch Interior Design Prize.

With only 750 square meters of available space, Merkx+Girod were asked to create 1,200 square meters of commercial area. Instead of creating several floors within, which would destroy the buildings unreplicable spacial quality, they built a monumental walk-in, three-story bookcase situated a-symmetrically inside the church. Climbing the "bookflat" rewards the customers with a close-up of ancient murals and stunning views, paying homage to the building's details rather than concealing them.

What's interesting is the new way you can experience an existing structure. Not only have the structure's religious purposes been abandoned, which is something separate to mull over, but the word "church" now connotes an entirely alternative destination. Reading in church, not unusual, is not at all what it once was. Visitors can also experience the ancient architecture from a whole new variety of angles, which symbolizes not just a functional rebirth, but a physical one as well.

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