Flat Earth: Wedding march: 'Paint It Black'

DOES Morticia Addams have a Lebanese cousin? We thought she was the happy bride pictured in the July issue of al- Hawadeth. The Lebanese magazine, published in London, carried a photo of a newly-wed couple, the groom in his dark suit and perky bowtie, the bride in her white veil, elbow-length white gloves and long black gown.

Black? For summer? With white accessories? Who designed this?

Our Middle East wedding- gown analyst points out that a careful look at the photo reveals distinguishable lines in the dress, just above the bride's bust, and in the sleeves.

The magazine's censors - sorry, fashion critics - apparently found the original low-cut, white gown too revealing. To please their conservative and influential Saudi friends, they decided to add a bit more cloth to it. The white dress, with off-the-shoulder straps, was given a broad black neckline and sleeves.

Ugly, ugly, but what to do? Solution: make the whole gown black. Morticia would have loved it.