High-tech chador created for women prone to hot flashes

'A long time coming,' inventor says

YREKA, Calif. (RWN) - Mary Turner was tired of sweating beneath her chador when the hot flashes hit.

"I'm devout," she said, "and I'd be out at the store and a flash would hit and I'd just have sweat pouring down my face. People would be looking at me as if to say 'The sister is having a heart attack.'"

There must be a better way, Turner thought. So she started browsing the Internet from the privacy of her home. She stumbled onto a fabric called Arix, which had been originally developed for the Army.

"I was reading the description of the fabric," Turner said, "and one thing after another worked. Lightweight? Check. Breathable? Check? Dyeable? Check.

"I had my husband order us a bolt and I went to my sewing room."

There, she started working with Arix, which is what the standard-issue undergarments for the Army are made out of.

"The fabric has a little bit of a mind of its own under the needle," Turner said. "For something so durable, it's very fickle when it's being sewn."

Through trial and error, Turner came up with something: the world's first high-tech chador, designed specifically for women in menopause.

"I talked to friends of mine and asked where they got their sweats," she said. "The back of the neck, the forehead, the face."

Turner tailored the chadors to cover the face, but structured them so they held a little bit off the forehead and the back of the neck, to allow for some ventilation.

"I'm so much more comfortable now," she said.

And a bit wealthier - the design was purchased by Islamic Couture, an apparel company that specializes in selling to an older, affluent market.

"The money's nice," Turner said, "but not sweating like a pig when I go to the market, that's priceless."


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