Politics of Fashion: 'The Bush Shoe' is Flying Off the Shelves

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Photos via NYP: Baydan Shoe Co. president Ramazan Baydan with 'The Bush Shoe'; President Bush in Iraq ducks from the flung shoe

Ever since journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi flung his shoes at President Bush at a press conference in Baghdad December 14, the Baydan Shoe Co.'s "brown, thick-soled shoes" that Zeidi was wearing have been selling like crazy. The NYP reports Baydan president Ramazan Baydan has received 300,000 orders, hired 100 extra people to keep up with the demand, and "renamed their $40 best seller 'The Bush Shoe' and printed advertisements that say, 'Goodbye Bush, Welcome Democracy.'" To give some idea, the company sold 19,000 pairs total in 2007. There have been 120,000 orders in Iraq, with orders also coming in from Syria, Egypt, Iran, UK and the US.

Zeidi's trial begins December 31 and he faces 15 years in prison. Though Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office "said last week Zeidi wrote an apology to him and asked for a pardon," Zeidi's brother, Uday, says Muntadhar conveyed something different to him: "He told me that he has no regret because of what he did and that he would do it again."
· NO BIZ LIKE SHOE BIZ!: THERE'S A RUN ON BUSH-THROW FOOTWEAR [NYP]