A Shaggy-Goat Story from Afghanistan

The photograph for this post comes from “The 1968 Exhibit”, which in turn took it from the pages of Life Magazine. This picture leads a fashion article in the magazine’s July 26, 1968 issue. Entitled “A Shaggy-Goat Story from Afghanistan”, this article looks forward to that year’s coming fall fashion season, which promises to be “wild and woolly” and features beyond this shaggy-goat story, “exotic cowgirls and a lady in embroidered pig.” “The 1968 Exhibit” captured the look and feel of this year, not only in its boldest and broadest historical strokes, but also as in this example, the mundane trivia of everyday life. This photograph of six beautiful and exotic women lounging about almost harem style, evokes the time period, but also draws the viewer in. These shaggy-goat coats made quite the fashion splash, a splash that was echoed in the movies, both contemporary and in subsequent years. They must have been a boon to the Afghanis and makes you wonder how things could have turned out differently for that county and its people.