Hijab Fashion. Muslim women evolve a style that reconciles the tenets of their Muslim faith with the dictates of modern fashion.
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| CULTURAL CROSSROAD | Aysha Hussain, left, who tries to maintain a modern flavor in her daily attire, goes shopping for clothing in Astoria, Queens | ISLAMICFASHION.BIZ |
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| HIJAB FASHIONISTA | Fatima Fazal, left, and Tam Naveed offer different takes on layering | ISLAMICFASHION.BIZ |
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We, Myself and I
Hijab Fashion Advice By Aysha Hussein, 24: Artful Compromise
FOR Aysha Hussain, getting dressed each day is a fraught negotiation. Ms.
Hussain, a 24-year-old magazine writer in New York, is devoted to her pipe-stem
Levi's and determined to incorporate their brash modernity into her wardrobe
while adhering to the tenets of her Muslim faith. "It's still a struggle," Ms.
Hussain, a Pakistani-American, confided. "But I don't think it's impossible."
Ms. Hussain has worked out an artful compromise, concealing her curves under
a mustard-tone cropped jacket and a tank top that is long enough to cover her
hips.
Hijab Fashion Advice By Leena al-Arian: Strategy To Reconcile Faith With the Dictates of Fashion
Some of her Muslim sisters follow a more conservative path. Leena al-Arian, a
graduate student at the University
of Chicago, joined a women's worship group last Saturday night. Her
companions, who sat cross-legged on prayer mats in a cramped apartment in the
Hyde Park neighborhood, were variously garbed in beaded tunics, harem-style
trousers, gauzy veils and colorful pashminas. Ms. Arian herself wore a
loose-fitting turquoise tunic over fluid jeans. She covered her hair, neck and
shoulders with a brightly patterned hijab, the head scarf that is emblematic of
the Islamic call to modesty.
Like many of her contemporaries who come from diverse social and cultural
backgrounds and nations, Ms. Arian has devised a strategy to reconcile her faith
with the dictates of fashion -- a challenge by turns stimulating and frustrating
and, for some of her peers, a constant point of tension.
Hijab Fashion Advice By Dilshad Ali: Walking That Fine Line
Injecting fashion into a traditional Muslim wardrobe is "walking a fine
line," said Dilshad D. Ali, the Islam editor of Beliefnet.com, a Web site for spiritual seekers. A flash point for
controversy is the hijab, which is viewed by some as a politically charged
symbol of radical Islam and of female subjugation that invites reactions from
curiosity to outright hostility.
In purely aesthetic terms, the devout must work to evolve a style that is
attractive but not provocative, demure but not dour -- friendly to Muslims and
non-Muslims alike.
"Some young women follow the letter of the rule," Ms. Ali observed. Others
are more flexible. "Maybe their shirts are tight. Maybe the scarf is not really
covering their chest, and older Muslim women's tongues will wag."
Hijab Fashion Advice By Asra Nomani: A Search for Balance, A Part of Our Identity
The search for balance makes getting dressed "a really intentional, mindful
event in our lives every day," said Asra Nomani, the outspoken author of "Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam"(HarperSanFrancisco, 2005). Clothing is all the more significant, Ms. Nomani
said, because what a Muslim woman chooses to wear "is a critical part of her
identity."
Many younger women seek proactively to shape that identity, adopting the
hijab without pressure from family or friends, or from the Koran, which does not
mandate covering the head.
Hijab Fashion Advice By Ausma Khan: Our Dress Is Our Personal Choice But Shopping Can Be Difficult
"Family pressure is the exception, not the rule," said Ausma Khan, the editor
of Muslim Girl, a new magazine aimed at young women who, when it come to dress, "make their own personal choice."
The decision can be difficult. Today few retailers cater to a growing
American Muslim population that is variously estimated to be in the range of
three to seven million. "Looking for clothes that are covering can be a real
challenge when you go to a typical store," Ms. Khan said.
Only a couple of years ago, Nordstrom conducted a fashion seminar at the
Tysons Corner Center mall in McLean, Virginia, a magnet for affluent Muslim women in
suburban Washington. The store sought to entice them with a profusion of head
scarves, patterned blouses and subdued tailored pieces, but for the most part
missed the nuances, said shoppers who attended the event. They were shown
calf-length skirts and short-sleeve jackets of a type prohibited for the
orthodox, who cover their legs and arms entirely.
"For me the biggest struggle is to find clothes in the department stores,"
said Ms. Arian, who has worn the hijab since she was 13. She scours the Web and
stores like Bebe, Zara, Express and H & M for skirts long enough to meet her
standards. The majority, gathered through the hips, are "not very flattering on
women with curves," she said, chuckling ruefully, "and a lot of Middle Eastern
women have curves."
Maryah Qureshi, a graduate student in Chicago, has a similarly tricky time
navigating conventional stores. "When we do find a sister-friendly item," she
said, "we tend to buy it in every color."
Hijab Fashion Advice By Tam Naveed: Craft Your Own Look
Tam Naveed, a young freelance writer in New York, has devised an urbane
uniform, tweed pants, a long-sleeve shirt and a snugly fastened scarf that
dramatically sets off her features.
Ms. Nomani, the author, improvises her own head covering by wearing a hoodie
or a baseball cap to mosque. "I call it ghetto hijab," she said tartly. For
everyday, she buys shirtdresses at the Gap. "They cover your backside, but
they’re still the Gap. That kind of gives you a visa between the two worlds."
In its fashion pages, Muslim Girl addresses concerns about fashion by
encouraging young readers to mix and match current designs from a variety of
sources, and reinforces the message that religion and fashion need not be
mutually exclusive.
"We are trying to keep our finger on the pulse of what women want," Ms. Khan
said. Fashion pages, shown alongside columns offering romantic advice and
articles on saving the environment, are among the more popular for the
magazine's teenage readers, she said, adding that the magazine's circulation of
50,000 is expected to double next year.
Aspiring style-setters also find inspiration on retail Web sites like Artizara.com, which offers a high-neck
white lace shirtdress and a sleeveless wrap jumper; and thehijabshop.com, with its
elasticized hijabs, which can be slipped over the head.
Some women seek out fashions from a handful of designers who cater to them. "I think people like me are starting to see that Muslim women make up a
significant market and are expressing their entrepreneurial spirit," said Brooke
Samad, a 28-year-old Muslim woman who designs kimono-sleeve wrap coats and
floor-length interpretations of the pencil skirt out of a guest room in her home
in Highland Hills, New Jersey.
"We follow trends, but we do keep to our guidelines," said Ms. Samad, whose
label is called Marabo. "And we're careful with the fabrics to make sure they
aren't too clingy."
Hijab Fashion Advice By Elena Kovyrzina: The Modest Look Is In Vogue
Today fashion itself is more in tune with the values of Islam, revealing
styles having given way to a relatively modest layered look. Elena Kovyrzina,
the creative director of Muslim Girl, pointed to of-the-moment runway designs,
any one of which might be appropriate for the magazine's fashion pages: a
voluminous Ungaro blouse with a high neck and full, flowing sleeves; a billowing
Marni coat discreetly belted at the waist; and a Prada satin turban. Among the
more free-spirited looks Ms. Kovyrzina singled out was a DKNY long-sleeve shirt
and man-tailored trousers, topped with a hair-concealing baseball cap.
There are Muslim women who choose to cover as part of a journey of
self-discovery. In "Infidel" (Free Press, 2007), her memoir of rebellion, Ayaan
Hirsi Ali recalls as a girl wearing a concealing long black robe. "It had a
thrill to it," Ms. Hirsi Ali writes, "a sensuous feeling. It made me feel
powerful: underneath this screen lay a previously unsuspected but potentially
lethal femininity. I was unique."
The Hijab As Political Symbol
But adopting the hijab also invites adversity. A survey by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations last year found that nearly half of Americans believe
that Islam encourages the oppression of women. Referring to that survey, Ms.
Hussain, the New York journalist, observed, "Many of these people think, 'Oh, if
a woman is covered, she must be oppressed.' "
Still, after 9/11, Ms. Hussain made a point of wearing the hijab. "Politically," she said, "it lets people know you're not trying to hide from
them."
Among the young, Ms. Nomani said, "there is a pressure to show your colors."
"Young people aren't empowered enough to change foreign policy," she said, so
they adopt a hybrid of modern and Muslim garb, which is "their way to say, 'I'm
Muslim and I'm proud.' "
Hijab Fashion Advice By Jenan Mohajir: Perils of Standing Out
Such bravado has its perils. Jenan Mohajir, a member of the prayer group near
the University of Chicago, spoke with some bitterness about being waylaid as she
traveled. Ms. Mohajir, who works with the Interfaith Youth Core, which promotes
cooperation among religions, recalled an official at airport security telling
her: "You might as well step aside. You have too many clothes on."
What was she wearing? "Jeans, a tunic, sandals and a scarf."
Ms. Hussain no longer covers her head but has adopted a look meant to play
down misconceptions without compromising her piety. "Living in New York," she
said, "has made me want to experiment more with colors and in general to be more
bold. I don't want to scare people. I want them to say, 'Wow!' "
She has noticed a like-minded tendency among her peers. "In the way that we
present ourselves to the rest of the world, we are definitely lightening
up."
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| HIJAB FASHIONISTA | A magazine layout offers ways to style the hijab | ISLAMICFASHION.BIZ |
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| HIJAB FASHIONISTA | A magazine layout offers ways to style the hijab | ISLAMICFASHION.BIZ |
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Conservative Muslim Women Hide Knack for Fashion Under Their Religious RobesBy JESSE SPOSATO
Hijab Fashion Advice By Umm Juwariyah, 27: Black Jilbab, Red Blahniks
Umm Juwayriyah is draped in all black, her head, arms, and legs completely
covered — only her face is exposed. But peaking out from under her outer
garments, one might just catch a glimpse of glimmer or shine, a vibrant glow:
red satin open-toe platforms with stockings underneath, the shoes as bright and
flashy as a pair in the window of a Manolo Blahnik shop or on the cover of a
glossy fashion magazine.
Beneath the robes of many Muslim women all over the country (and all over
the world), fashion is happening, very often completely hidden from outside
observers.
Mrs. Juwayriyah, a 27-year-old American-born Muslim woman from
Springfield, Massachusetts, describes the style of dress she wears as a bit eccentric,
though it is usually covered by her everyday Islamic attire -- a jilbab (a
traditional Islamic over garment), a hijab (headscarf), and a niqab (face veil)
-- and visible only in the privacy of her home and at all-female
gatherings.
"I like classic vintage styles like pleated shirts, high-waisted pants, and
high heels -- and then there are days where I'm all urban-styled with Baby Phat
sweats, Jordans, and a Kathy Van Zeeland bag."
Mrs. Juwayriyah, a mother of two, a full-time college student, and a
published novelist and poet, says she has had both Muslim and non-Muslim women
compliment her style many times at the grocery store and while taking her
morning walk. She adds, "My Islamic clothing doesn't hinder me from being
fashionable. ... I'll have on an all-black jilbab and a pair of pink pumps from
Bakers to show a bit of my own style."
Last year's Islamic holy month of Ramadan -- when Muslims fast between dawn
and dusk each day -- was a busy time for Mrs. Juwayriyah and her friends, with
many events to attend, among them Ladies' Night Out at Red Lobster to kick off
the start of the holiday. When out on the town and in public places, the women
wore their religious attire, but they also planned a lot of engagements behind
closed doors, where they could shed their coverings freely in order to show off
some style. For instance, they gathered at one another's homes to celebrate Eid
al-Fitr, the breaking of the Ramadan fast, and they frequently organized
women-only get-togethers.
"There are times when I go to events where I have to prepare two separate,
unique outfits: my outer garments and then the clothes underneath it," Mrs.
Juwayriyah says, referring to these all-female parties.
Brooke Samad, a 28-year-old Muslim woman from central New Jersey who runs
the clothing line Marabo -- which specializes in contemporary but conservative
clothes for women of all ages -- says there is a common misconception that Muslim
women don't have a relationship to fashion. "A lot of women cover because they
want to be respected, they don't want to be objectified," Ms. Samad says. "But
there's a big difference between not wanting to be objectified and not wanting
to be ugly!"
Ms. Samad adds: "Just because women cover doesn't mean they don't walk into
Banana Republic and think, 'This is a beautiful dress' -- they might just think
that they can't wear it" out in the open.
Hijab Fashion Advice By Amina Benlaquih, 42: Shopping At the Boutiques
Amina Benlafquih, 42, who describes her style as classic and modest by many
people's standards, considers shopping at the boutiques with her almost-teenage
daughter a nice "girly thing" to do. Ms. Benlafquih covers in Muslim fashion -- an abaya (a long
outer garment similar to the jilbab), a long khimar (headscarf) past her waist,
a face veil, and gloves.
Originally from Rochester, N.Y., but living in Casablanca, Morocco, for the
last few years, Ms. Benlafquih was a convert to Islam at age 27. Of her
mother-daughter shopping experience, she confesses, "We're a bit of an odd
couple in the trendy shopping areas. You don't find many women like me in niqab,
or many girls like my daughter in abaya and hijab."
Hijab Fashion Advice By Mina El-Taieb, 27: Abaya with Punk Rocker Roots
For some, however, dressing the part of a religious or traditional Muslim
woman may not come naturally. At 18, Mina El-Taieb, who was born and raised in
Brooklyn Heights, was whisked away to Yemen, her family's homeland. When Ms.
El-Taieb got off of the plane, she was just wearing a skirt, a jacket, and a
scarf, but a week and a half later, her mother handed her an abaya. Ms. El-Taieb
did not see this coming, and needless to say, was less than pleased, at
first.
Yet Ms. El-Taieb, now 27, eventually figured out a way to make wearing the
abaya her own, which she says was important because of her American roots. "My
whole issue with the abaya was that in Brooklyn I came from being a punk rocker -- dress was all about individuality, and here I am dressed like everybody else,"
she explains.
Like "everybody else," Ms. El-Taieb may have appeared modest on the
outside, but her confidence was coming from somewhere else -- and the casual
observer would never have known. In Yemen and later in Dubai, she would always
wear tight jeans and low-cut tank tops underneath her abaya, "because you still
want to feel sexy," she says. "The way you're dressed under your abaya is the
way you project how you feel, the way you project yourself to other people. If
I'm going out in my PJs under my abaya, I'll just feel sluggish. But if I'm
going out and I'm dressed in my tight jeans, I just act differently with
people."
Ms. El-Taieb laughs to herself as she recounts memories of living in the
Middle East and the "crazy" stories she has brought back home with her, "When I
was living in Dubai, there was a girl who wore a closed abaya with a bikini
under it! She would just be at university walking around with a bikini under her
abaya, and nobody would know. It was great."
Hijab Fashion Advice By Amber El-Taieb: I Feel Very Elegant in Abaya and Heels
Amber El-Taieb, Mina's sister, currently lives in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates, but, like Mina, splits her time between Dubai, Yemen, and Brooklyn.
She says she has fluctuated between different phases, covering her hair with a
hijab, wearing an abaya, and many variations in between.
"When I dress up under my abaya and pair it with heels, I feel very
elegant, even if a person can only see a hint of my outfit underneath," Amber
El-Taieb explains.
As only sisters could, Amber mirrors Mina's thoughts about
pajamas, saying in a separate conversation, "I can wear a pair of PJs with heels
underneath and still give off the vibe of being dressed up, but I will feel like
a person who has walked out of the house with PJs and heels on!"
Hijab Fashion Advice By Menahal Begawala, 25: Matching Clothes to Complete the Look
Menahal Begawala, 25 years old and currently living in Las Vegas, covers
her hair with a hijab, and her face (except for eyes and forehead) with a niqab.
While Ms. Begawala covers rather thoroughly, she says she just likes to look
nice and does not like to mismatch.
She describes an outfit she wore earlier to work recently -- a dark-blue
jilbab, open from the front, over a sleeveless light-blue dress. She usually
wears her jilbab closed, but she had these made in two pieces with the intention
to wear them together because of the contrast.
"I try to always make sure the hijab matches my
outfit as well -- in this case, my hijab was light blue," she says with
obvious pride. Ms. Begawala, who is a second-grade teacher, also
mentions the 50%-off sale that she went to at New York & Company,
where she stocked up on clothes to wear underneath her full-length,
full-sleeved jilbab that is loosely fitted so as not to show the shape
of her body.
In sync with the comments of Ms. Samad -- the clothing-designer at Marabo --
Ms. Begawala says, "If I could afford Nordstrom or Banana Republic, I'd shop
there."
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| HIJAB FASHIONISTA | A Dutch student visits a Muslim fashion exhibition. Clad in skinny jeans, wrap dresses and carefully sculpted headscarves, a generation of young Muslim women is making its mark on Europe's urban street culture, and influencing the mainstream fashion industry. The daughters of migrants to Europe from Turkey or the Maghreb, these girls say they are as conscious of style as of Islamic fashion dress codes -- and want to fuse contemporary chic with elements of their religious and ethnic background | ISLAMICFASHION.BIZ |
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From the pages of Reuters
By Alexandra Steigrad
Fusion Muslim Fashion Chic Hits Europe's Streets
PARIS/ROTTERDAM - Clad in skinny jeans,
wrap dresses and carefully sculpted headscarves, a generation of
young Muslim women is making its mark on Europe's urban street
culture, and influencing mainstream fashion.
The daughters of migrants to Europe from Turkey or the
Maghreb, these girls say they are as conscious of style as of
Islamic dress codes -- and want to fuse contemporary chic with
elements of their religious and ethnic background.
"H&M and all the French stores have taken our fashion," said
Mahika, a 24-year-old from Paris. She sees Muslim influences in
the current trend of wearing dresses over jeans, and layering
sweaters and tops.
Shopping for clothes has become simpler, she said: young
Muslim women are now able to dress entirely from mainstream
outlets if they choose.
Many of her peers agree, although a Hennes & Mauritz
spokeswoman said that Muslim fashion has not specifically inspired their
collections.
"I find it very easy to dress. You find all kinds of things
in town. It is about combinations and it has got easier since
you see the influence of Islamic fashion in general fashion," said
20-year-old Bushra Sayed, a student from Rotterdam.
"I am a Muslim but I am also a person who is interested in
fashion and I want to combine all these things," she adds.
Bushra wears a dark brown scarf wrapped tightly around her
head and neck, a dark blue shirt, a figure-hugging grey tweed
waistcoat and matching knee-length skirt over jeans.
Bushra's look is a world away from the black voluminous
robes and long scarves worn by more traditional Muslim women,
which completely hide the contours of the body.
"For me it is important to cover my body, except the hands,
feet and face. And within that I can wear whatever I want, but
it should not be too tight and short," she said.
"My mother, friends, and relatives are very enthusiastic and
I did not have to fight at all for my own style."
Hijab Fashion in print: A magazine about modern Islamic fashion for women
Bushra is among five women to put together MSLM, a new
glossy fashion magazine in Dutch, French and English, aimed at
style-conscious young Muslims offering tips, for example on new
ways of covering the hair -- with baseball caps, hoods or chunky
knitted scarves.
The title of the English, Dutch and French language magazine
-- which the women call a "zero issue" or one-off for now -- is
a play on the Dutch word for female Muslim, Moslima, and the
clothing sizes medium-small-large-medium.
"An increasing group of young women is exploring the
boundaries of being veiled and seductive... they compensate the
veil with figure-hugging apparel, expressive make-up and higher
heels," Dutch stylist Isis Vandrager told the magazine.
The women have also organised a fashion exhibition in
Rotterdam alongside the magazine, displaying outfits made by
Dutch designers with Islamic dress codes in mind.
One dummy in the exhibition wears a black halter-neck dress,
while its back, arms and legs are concealed by a black-lace cat
suit worn beneath.
"I see Muslim girls dress in very tight-fitting clothes
these days so I thought 'why not make a cat suit?'," smiled
Dutch designer Mada van Gaans.
Also on show are jeans by Italian clothing maker Al Quds,
designed specifically for Muslims, with a baggy cut and multiple
pockets, making it easier to kneel for prayer and store watches,
rings or other jewellery when performing ablutions.
"It's not just Muslims who are buying our jeans now. It's a
good fashion product, first of all. That means the spectrum of
our audience is growing," brand manager Susanna Cavalli said in
a telephone interview from Italy.
Does Muslim fashion have a wider influence?
The women behind MSLM and the show believe European Muslim
street style might even one day influence women in the Middle
East -- but not yet.
"There are Turkish girls here who wear these scarves which
are just so out there and striking -- but they don't wear them
when they go home," said Natasa Heydra, of MSLM.
In fact, the number of young women at the clothing fair of
an annual conference of French Muslims in Paris shows interest
in fashion trends from the Middle East and in traditional dress
is still very high.
"It's both to help women dress according to Islam's rules,
and also to meet a demand," said Asmaa Buhallut on the aim of
the clothing show.
In France, a country which fiercely upholds its secular
identity and which banned the veil in schools, there are not so
many Muslim fashion designers, she added: brands and designers from
abroad use the event to reach the French Muslim public.
The array of bright coloured clothing on display also gives
women a source of inspiration.
"What's trendy are bright, vibrant colours, light fabrics,
and in general, ensembles, mostly pants," said 18-year-old
Nassima, of Tunisian origin.
Stallholder Ouslghozi Jkrom, selling traditional dresses and
inexpensive veils, agreed.
"Popular styles this year have beadwork and the colour is
orange," she said. "Really, anything flashy."
(Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Rachel
Sanderson)
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