The Power Institution and the Aesthetic of Iranian Women Dress in Safavid, Zand & Afshar Periods

Iranian women dress is a presentation of Iranian culture which has evolved according to discursive changes in the power fields of different states. The period of Safavid dynasty, is a important period in Iran history to study the effect of power institution on the aesthetic of Iranian women because of religion change to Shia. Following Safavid, Zand and Afshar are important periods too. This paper by applying discourse analysis, is answering to this question: how the power institution has affected the aesthetic of Iranian women? The results show that the women public clothing was deeply influenced by political- religious approach but the power institution has little influenced the aesthetic of dress structure. On another hand, religious interests of dominant discourse enforced policies to distinguish some social groups which led to changes in the type and extent of dress worn by women affiliated to religious minorities. The power institution influenced the aesthetic of Iranian women through cultural- commercial interactions with European countries too.