Confession Time: I love following Hijab Fashion blogs. The image I’ve hot-linked here is from Hijab Style. Basically what these ladies do is use Polyvore or a similar type of collage program to assemble outfits and accessories like you see here. This could be a highly-addictive new hobby.
Some other fashionistas I follow are Islamic Fashion, We Love Hijab, The Covered Lady, and Hijab Chique.
For my long-time readers, no, I have not lost my marbles on the playground. 🙂 I’m still wearing my Goodwill gear that is rather plain (some might describe as frumpy.) So why this fashion fascination?
Two parts to it, really. The first is the awesome creativity these ladies use in assembling modest outfits. Who knew a knee-length red shirtwaist dress would look good over flare leg jeans? They think outside the Western fashion box to match their standards. [BTW, I REALLY like the whole short dress-over-pants concept. No worries about a gust of mighty prairie wind revealing one’s bare knees!] Part B of Reason One is that these outfits are unabashedly feminine, perhaps over the top for many (though it is only day-dreaming shopping for the most part.) They are proud to be women and modest!
The second reason I was impressed with this hijab fashion trend came from a video clip interviewing some young muslim women in the U.S. They said clothing style was important to them because they were being ambassadors for their religion. That really brought up a deep current in my mind. Am I accomplishing that goal with what I am wearing? Who/What am I representing? Am I reinforcing a Frumpy Modestynik stereotype? Can there be some middle ground between being fashion-obsessed and fashionable-enough so that people will be positively drawn to your message?
Veiled Glory 