Veils may be, and often are, partly transparent. This adds ambiguity and mystery to the 'message' it offers the viewer; it is a 'fashion statement'. The raising or dropping of veils is a sign of intimacy: the wearer, who was covered, is now in the open. In an extreme example, the idea of a "Dance of the Seven Veils" originates with the 1893 English translation of Oscar Wilde's 1891 French play Salome in the stage direction.