Abaya Outfit Idea

I love this abaya outfit, so have made a set inspired by the look :D

Floral Scarf by Zaenab

Hijab Tutorial

I love this hijab style so I thought I'd share it with you all, the video's about 7 minutes long but I think it's worth the watch. It is by MisforMuslim:

Iftar Out

Hope Ramadan is going good! Here's and outfit idea if you want something to wear to an Iftar out:

Iftar Out by Zaenab

Ramadan Kareem

I hope Ramadan is going well for you all, we're into the second day and only 4.5 hours to go for me till Fatoor! I may be posting slightly less as I'm moving house at the moment and soon to be staring university. I also want to knuckle down and finish reading the Quran before Eid, Insha'Allah (I'm half way through so wish me luck lol) and focus on fasting as opposed to fashion for a while. I hope that you all get what you want from Ramadan and that your efforts are rewarded abundantly. I love all of you, my sisters in Islam.

Zaenab

Hijabi Beginner: 5 Pros Of Hijab

As part of my 'Hijabi Beginner' posts, I decided to make a list of five of what I think are the main reasons a Muslimah should wear the hijab. When you are thinking about wearing it, so many things go around in your head so I hope the list makes it that bit easier to decide.

Before reading it, remember that the word 'hijab' in Arabic means 'barrier' not 'headscarf' or 'modest dress'. A barrier is something built not something that pops up automatically when you cover your hair with some material. So before you even think about covering your hair, make sure the foundations for a proper hijab are already in place in your life by the way you act, talk and dress especially around men.

1. Simply and most importantly because has Allah (SWT) ordered us to wear the hijab and to cover up. If you believe in Allah (SWT), you pray and do good deeds and wish to obey Him (SWT) then sooner or later you will feel the urge to wear hijab. If you don’t feel like this at all, you should focus on other, more fundamental parts of Islam like reading the Quran, prayer and even things like questioning the sort of effect the people you socialise with have on you and the way you act.

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils (head coverings) over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment accept to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.”
[Al Nur: 30]

Note what is mentioned first in the Iya: the lowering of the gaze and acting modestly or the covering of the breasts?

2. Dressing modestly in a world where women (and men!) are sexualized a lot will get you more respect from people who may have otherwise just ‘checked you out’ treating you, consciously or subconsciously, as a commodity.

3. Although a daunting thought and often a deterrent for a women wishing to wear hijab in the Western world, people will automatically know that you are a Muslim. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing though! If you are a walking representation of your religion then show it in a good light by the way you act and deal with people; if you change just one person’s bad opinion of Islam the jobs a good’n!

4. Only the people you want to see your Awrah will see it, when your outfit leaves only little to the imagination get back to the drawing board, love. On a slightly more serious note, if your outfits really do lend an eyeful and you want to dress more Islamically, start by de-cluttering your wardrobe of the most revealing items you have and then focus on covering your breasts, waist, hips and then move onto longer sleeves and covering the thighs. You’ll be several steps closer to hijab :)

5. People judge you by your intellect, opinions and achievements instead of your quickly perishable looks and you’re conforming by attempting to replicate unreasonable beauty stereotypes seen in the media.

I could go on and on but remember, the most important reason is because we are told to do so by our Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves and so knows what is good for us and what isn’t (SWT). I’m not saying that the next time you go out you must be covered from head to toe, that’s ridiculous. Islam came to humans in small chunks at a time so they could take it in and adapt their lives easily and over a long period. This is what a Muslimah wanting to be a Hijabi should do, adapt her lifestyle and clothing to be suited to Islam and Hijab only then should she cover her hair. Hope this helps any budding hijabis! More coming soon Isha'Allah :D

Celebrity Style Steal: Cheryl Cole's Hippie Dress

I saw this photo of Cheryl Cole the other day in a magazine and love her outfit so much that I had to do a post on it. After searching google for far too long I finally found the website (http://www.bluebee.com/) that she bought the dress from but unfortunately they don't sell it anymore, however they do sell a very similar dress (below) for $398.00 here. It is pricey but it's 95% silk and I looove it :D

Regrettably, we don't all have that amount of cash to splash on a single ensemble so I decided to recreate the look using items more within our decidedly limited budget.. Here is a skirt I found from a lovely website (http://www.thelittlebazaar.com/) that has a massive range of gypsy skirts all at fantastic prices, you can find this one here for a pocket-friendly $24.99.

I have paired it with wardrobe basics to complete the look, I gave the waist belt a miss as I don't think that counts as a hijabis wardrobe essential:

I think a hippie hijab style like this would look best with the outfit, but of course you can experiment to find what works:

Hope you like the look ^-^

A Head Scarf (and a Neck Scarf): Love it or Shove it?

We've all come across that hijabi who defies all the style rules in the book and dons both a neck scarf and a headscarf at the same time. In person, I have only seen one girl that managed to pull this look off and I think the reason for that was that she was wearing a high neck coat and the second scarf was only loosely draped across her shoulders.

I personally think that the look is quite nice for hijabi beginners or 'hijabis in training' as I like to call them but for me, it is so much more practical to wear a simple wrap style that covers your neck and chest and doesn't look like you've tried too hard!

Here are some different hijab and scarf looks:

So what do you think of the look, love it or shove it?

Request From A Petite Hijabi

Hijabi Iman has recently bought this new dress but she needs some advise hijabifying it. She says that she isn't very tall and wants to know how to wear it without looking drowned. Here are some outfits I've put together with some general style tips for the petite Muslimahs out there:

This look is a casual day time outfit:

Tip #1: You should leave the cardigan open to elongate and slim your figure as well as keeping your curves covered and make sure it is a longer style cardigan.

Tip #2: When dressing a petite frame either the bottoms and the top or the bottoms and the hijab should the same colour. This will make you appear taller.

Tip #3: Every shape and size should follow this rule: the smaller you are, the smaller the pattern on a garment should be. If you are tall or plus size, go for bigger prints. Petites should avoid fussy prints and keep the outfit vertical and simple.

This outfit is a more semi-formal night look:

Tip #4: The blazer jacket is a must have for the smaller figure, but make sure you go for one that doesn't cinch in your waist (not hijab..). The over sized blazer will solve this problem, if it doesn't leave the jacket open which looks better anyway.

Tip #5: Wedges do what they say on the tin, my only advise would be buy ones that don't clop clop when you walk.

Tip #6: Unfortunately, wide leg jeans aren't great for petites as they drown you but this doesn't mean wear jeggings lol. Go for boyfriend or loose straight leg cuts, I always buy straight legs one size bigger so the jeans don't cling anywhere on my legs. With these jeans, dresses should fall to at least knee length, which your dress does.

This last outfit idea I made is with an abaya. I'm not sure if you wear abayas anywhere but I know that some hijabis where them if they are going to girl friends houses and want to wear dresses, skinny jeans etc when they get there so where an abaya over these outfits and take it off when indoors. Some also where abayas to the mosque and certain other occasions:

Tip #7: Every hijabi should have either a lovely abaya or jilbab in their wardrobe especially petite girls. They are so flattering and modest and work wonders on your height; for best results wear a coloured hijab with a plain black abaya that falls over a pair of wedges, you'll be amazed :D

Tip #8: Small girl=small bag! Don't be a slave to fashion and be tempted to go over sized on bags or jewelry

Tip #9: Never tuck boots into jeans, stick to heels and flats. If you're going to wear boots, wear them with a skirt.

Tip #10: Never be afraid to experiment with outfits, when you buy something new think of what it will go with in your wardrobe - this will save you buying a whole new outfit and will put an end to early morning style panics lol. I was thinking that this particular dress could be worn tucked in (yes, tucked in) to long black, straight skirt and paired with a denim jacket or cardigan but I didn't make this outfit because I don't know if the material of the dress would be light enough to allow it so you could experiment with that yourself.

Hope this has helped Iman! If anyone has any hijab style problems, just email me :D

Hijab Fashion - Modest Dresses From Alexis Mabille

I spotted a designer who has created some wonderful modest gowns for the French fashion shop La Redoute. Here is my favorite, coming at £269:

I've put together some possible accessories to complete the look, I think it should look very prim and polished almost to the edge of being OTT which is why I chose YSL heels, a silk scarf and a clutch that would make pay day seem like years away..:

Check out his clothes at La Redoute here by searching for "Alexis Mabille" in the search box at the top.

A Guide To Going Pins-Free

I'm guessing that the average hijabi will use 2 pins to keep her hijab from flying away in the wind: one straight pin (I haaaate these pins, they never stay put..) and one of the clippy ones that goes by the neck, under the chin. Well, if you get sick of these metal nightmares making tiny holes in your beautiful scarves or just want a comfy alternative that stays put, here are some of your options:

The (infamous) Al-Amira:

OK, so most of you hate the clingy feeling of the Al-Amira hijab and admittedly it doesn't suit all face shapes, but it has it's advantages. Firstly, it's 100% pins free and will not budge for love nor money making it fantastic for travelling (you won't set of the metal detectors at the airport either!) Secondly, I don't think there's a colour under the sun you can't get these in and you can mix and match the under caps too :D and lastly, they won't break the bank.

For anyone who doesn't actually know what an Al-Amira hijab is, it basically comprises 2 pieces: a small elastic under cap and a long, tube-like piece that slips over your head and rests behind the under cap. These are available in most, in not all, online hijab shops with some lovely ones available from the Hijab Store Online.

Overall rating: 7/10

The Mona and Kuwaiti Hijabs:

This option is my favorite as they're so pretty :D unfortunately, unless you don't move your head very much, you will probably need to use a straight pin to secure it in place. The Mona and Kuwaiti hijabs are very similar, in fact you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you hadn't worn them. They differ by the place the scarf is attached to the under cap and Kuwaiti hijabs tend to be more readily available online. You can also get them both at the hijab store online which also explains the difference between the two in more detail.

Overall rating: 8/10

The Turban:

The obvious disadvantage with this style is that it does not provide neck coverage but you could get round this problem, in the winter, with a neck scarf. There is a wide selection of these available cheaply at 2hijab. Another disadvantage would be that it's quite difficult to fit all of your hair in without any peeping out, so in conclusion I would say using this as an under cap would be a wiser choice.

Overall rating: 3/10

The Velcro Hijab..coming soon:

Hallelujah! Finally somebodies decided to make a Velcro hijab :D I have wanted someone to design one for aaaages and was so excited to see that the Hijab Store Online will be stocking some soon, Insha'Allah. It's seems like the long awaited answer to every hijabis pin woes :P however it looks like it will still need a straight pin to keep it in place. I'll keep checking the site and tell you when they put them up but in the mean time, click here then scroll down to the bottom of the page to "Velcro Hijab" where they show you how to put it on.

Overall (guess) rating: 8/10

Hope this helps :D