Gold-plated baby bottles and pacifiers, 30 million toman ($710) worth of prams, and baby rooms decorated by interior designers; These are among the sismuni, or items for newborns, which have become fashionable among wealthy people in Iranian society.
A citizen journalist from IranWire who has been shopping for baby items has written about items on Instagram pages that sell “luxury” baby items. Buying luxury sismuni takes about half a billion toman ($19,000), it turns out; So what can you do with half a billion toman?
Hanieh has entered the last month of her pregnancy and now almost everything is ready for the birth of Mania.
Hanieh and her mom spent weeks searching for the latest clothes and baby clothes, trawling baby stores and Instagram pages; Finally they finished Mania’s room. The interior designer is coming to visit soon, bringing the curtains ordered from Turkey for the finishing touches.
Preparing a newborn room and getting the latest sismuni has become a problem for many wealthy couples in recent days as they await the birth of their first child. The spaces to be created no longer resemble a cozy and quiet place with the essentials. Now they’re luxurious and glamorous chambers of baby items that last years after birth, and resemble galleries for parents rather than babies.
Hanieh and her husband have dedicated a 15 meter room to Mania and her belongings. Her Sismuni color scheme is white, gold and bright pink, with matching first day hospital gowns, food container, bottle and pacifier, stroller, chair, cuddle toy, bed hanger, towel set, bottle, burp pillow, scarf, detergent and toiletries, bed, wardrobe , drawer, desk, showcase, carpet and doll’s chandelier, and, and, and…
The couple say this sismuni cost them around 500 million toman ($11,800).
A tour of luxury baby stores and baby accessories shows that Hanieh and her husband’s claim is not far-fetched. Here, looking at the stroller, the seller asks: “Do you want Iranian or foreign goods? all kinds of products based on color, characteristics and quality, and above all a guarantee.”
The salesman takes me to the foreign goods department and shows me a stroller with a carrier and a bag of baby accessories and says: “This magenta set is one of the most well-known Italian brands and costs 33 million toman ($781). This other set is Dutch and only includes a stroller with a stretcher, which cost 20 million toman ($473).”
Then we enter the baby clothing department of the store. The clothes are suitable for one to two year olds. A shop assistant starts showing the clothes for the baby’s first week: “These five-piece outfits are made in Turkey and are suitable for the first and second week after birth. Prices start at 350,000 toman ($8) and go up to 1.4 million toman ($33). Coveralls, which can be worn for up to six months, cost between 500,000 ($12) and 700,000 toman ($16.50). The price of clothes aged six months to two years varies, starting at 400,000 toman ($9.40). and reaching 2 million toman ($47).
Bed and wardrobe sets are among the most attractive items in this Sismuni store: beds of different models and bed and wardrobe sets of different colors and models suitable for both boys and girls.
A stroller-like bed with a round sleeping mattress, different from other models, that can be used until the baby is two years old costs 24 million toman ($568).
If you are satisfied with a simpler set and are satisfied with models made in Iran using imported materials, you can buy a set with a baby and youth bed, a wardrobe, a showcase, a drawer and a shelf over the bed from 35 million ($828) get 55 million toman ($1,300).
If the idea of a baby eating behind the chair at six months is appealing, you can buy their dining chair for a million to 10 million tomans (US$236) along with an Italian dish for 250,000 tomans (US$6). .
Negin, another Tehran currently preparing a Sismuni room, says: “If you are looking for a special set, you should go to Instagram…they have fantastic articles. All their goods are luxurious, foreign and special, and are ordered direct from Italy and Turkey.”
A tour of the Instagram page confirms Negin’s statements. An Italian milk bottle with gold caps and jeweled bottles costs about 1.5 million toman ($35) and a pacifier decorated with jewels and gold chain costs about 700,000 toman ($16.50).
The glittering world of Baby Sismuni in Iran doesn’t end here. There are parents who want to be even more special and provide a complete set for a baby who is not yet born a few years before.
Some of these luxury stores offer these parents foreign goods that are sold in dollars. These range from the $1,800 cradle to the $100 and $400 thermometers that can report a baby’s moment-to-moment vital signs.
These luxurious Sismuni rooms are dreams for some parents-to-be. And other parents worry about paying for the birth, even in a public hospital, and providing their baby with milk and basic foods, making the joy of raising a child a nightmare.
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