What do you guys think? Last year during my campus’s Islamic Awareness Week I was given the opportunity to wear hijab around campus for awhile. People would look at me and then quickly glance away, pretending that I wasn’t there. This week is this year’s Islamic Awareness Week and there’s going to be a “hijab booth” on Thursday where I will again have the opportunity to don hijab. I can’t wait to see the boyfriend’s reation, hehe.
So, a question for those of you who cover in public, whether hijab or otherwise: are you treated any differently? Have you gotten explicitly negative reactions like this girl, or have you gotten the if-I-don’t-look-at-her-she’s-not-really-there treatment like I did? How do you deal with it? Have strangers and/or members of the community eventually come to accept it?
Tznius.com is a site that serves the needs of covering Jewish women. It sells a wide variety of square and rectangular scarves, snoods, and hats, as well as modest clothing. Their selection of modest skirts is particularly nice. Another great thing about the site is that it shows you many different ways to style your scarf.
About three weeks ago, I was asked to do a post on the online clothing store Baraka, and I’m finally getting around to it. According to the philosophy section of the website:
baraka women is designed and made in Australia with love by Kath Fry and Eisha Saleh. The business was launched in 2008 with a fresh innovative approach.
After both having experienced the challenge of finding modest yet stylish clothing for women, the baraka women decided to solve the fashion gap problem themselves.
The result is a label that makes you feel beautiful and confident everyday. baraka women understands that style is your personal signature and creates pieces that are simple and easy to wear, beautiful and comfortable giving you the freedom to add your distinctive personality.
Baraka’s selection of clothing is understated, stylish, and, most importantly, modest. It isn’t religion-specific, but modest women of any religion should be comfortable wearing Baraka’s clothing. They have pants, skirts, dresses, tunics, etc. In the accessories section they even sell headscarves. I love how much of the clothing has colors and/or patterns, but they aren’t too loud or attention-getting. Don’t forget to check out their lookbook!
Baraka’s clothing is perhaps a tad too mature for me at my age (I’m only 20), but five years or so from now I could definitely see myself wearing lots of their things. I intend to be a full-time homemaker, perhaps volunteering or working part-time once my children are old enough, and it will be very important to me to wear clothing that is attractive, comfortable, and modest. I’d say that Baraka’s clothing definitely fulfills all three of my requirements. Below is a selection of my favorite pieces:
I don’t think I’ve done a ’30s outfit yet, so here’s one for you. I think it would be very nice to wear to work or church. (Of course, I should point out that pencil skirts are somewhat form-fitting, so not everyone is comfortable with them.)
Hijab Style has a post with pictures of WWII-inspired outfits by Hermes that make me drool. What can I say, I love the ’40s. Probably the largest chunk of the fiction I write has something to do with that time period.
Rebecca at Modestia just recently finished Modest Bridal Week. She was able to track down lots of beautiful modest dresses. A little while ago Amanda at AmandaBeth Online hosted Maid Marian’s Wardrobe: A Medieval Fashion Event. She has a “best of” post that you can look at. Betty Beguiles has a great post about an online store that sells cute (but expensive!) vintage-inspired hair accessories.
Also, I’ve been asked to write a brief article about the modest clothing site Baraka, so look for that soon!
Here’s a video on modest clothing for Christians. I hope it gives you some ideas for outfits! (Incidentally, the girl who made this video is a real Catholic hijabi – she really is Catholic, and she really does wear the hijab.)
Headcovers Unlimited is a headcovering store geared primarily toward women who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy, but of course you don’t have to fall into that category in order to buy their coverings. They’ve got hats, scarves, and wigs, among other things. I like the look of their scarves – many of them have classic, understated colors and patterns that would be perfect to wear to work.
Because I haven’t been posting much for the past couple of weeks, I have lots of information for you guys. Check soon for updates!
Okay, so I haven’t been posting for a while. There are three very good reasons for this.
First, I’ve had a bit of a cold for the past several days, so I’ve been rather wiped out. Ugh.
Second, it’s not just cold season, it’s midterm season as well. Fun.
And third, I have a boyfriend now! He’s a friend of mine from church. We (particularly he) were nervous about possible reactions to our relationship, because he’s 30 and I’m 20, but everyone so far has been very positive and I feel so blessed to have this man in my life as more than a friend. One of the reasons he was first attracted to me was…wait for it…the way I dress. I’m always very conscientious about wearing clothes that are both modest and feminine, and it made an impression on him. So I guess that just goes to show all those people who think that dressing modestly makes you look frumpy and unattractive!
Hats are a great alternative to veils and scarves. The Vintage Hat Box sells vintage hats circa 1900-1989. The great thing about hats is that they are great fashion articles, so you can wear them outside of church as well. My vintage style is 1930s-1950s, a time when hats were very popular. I really don’t own any hats, but I want to. It’s a pity that hats aren’t very popular anymore; they’re so elegant and so simple to put on, and you can match them with all different kinds of outfits.
I'm a young woman who is very interested in modest clothing. Spending a semester in Egypt made me aware of headcoverings that women wear either as articles of fashion or faith (or both). I'm a writing major and am working on my first novel. You can read my author blog at samantharoyce.wordpress.com.
