BEIRUT: Among the platforms now at the disposal of digitally savvy fashionistas, Instagram is fast emerging as a favorite in Lebanon thanks to incremental improvements in the notoriously stymied telecoms sector. “Before last year, a lot of relatives and friends, when they went to Beirut, they would never open their apps because it was so expensive,” said Dania Hakim, editor of Lebanese Street Style, which boasts over 45,000 followers. “Now it became less expensive, and yes I have noticed that the number of followers shot up quickly.” In terms of global trends, Hakim sees little difference between the Arab world and the United States or Europe, although the Instagram fashion crowd is certainly a self-selecting one. While she declines to post outfits she considers too revealing or inappropriate, such as short shorts, she describes this as a “personal choice” rather than a cultural difference or a marketing strategy for reaching out to more conservative Arab countr