How I Fuse Faith Into Fashion

Being a Muslim woman in this day and age is difficult enough what with having to put up with all of the craziness that goes on with being a Muslim in a western country, but it could be said that it is even harder to merge our faith into our fashion choices due to the lack of varieties presented to Muslim women in the modest wear industry. I guess that's why a lot of Muslim women have resorted to the western lifestyle as a source of inspiration for their dress sense and personally I find it quite sad. A lot of Muslim women act like being a Muslim means being in the same old long black dress (abaya) and wearing a plain old piece of fabric just to wrap around the head; it's depressing really. Personally, I think we should take great pride in our identity whether that means being a Muslim, Christian or Buddhist, and that's why I try to dress in a way that not only pleases my Lord, but also makes me happy. I am a strong believer in modesty and that's why I'm personally not a big fan of tight or revealing clothes. Let me note though that I STRONGLY believe in the freedom of association as well as the freedom of choice, hence, I do not have an issue with women who wear what they want to. Essentially, nobody has the right to tell anyone how to dress so whether you're in sweats or a burka, do what makes you feel good and happy.

It can be hard trying to find the balance between modesty and style when looking for outfits to wear for Muslim women especially in this current day and age where fashion holds a high precedence in society. Hence, I have created my own personal guide to modest fashion-wear and how to feel good in it.

The Everyday Casual Wear

Going out on a daily basis means that I simply cannot be bothered to pick out different outfits for each day of the week, so here's what I would usually do:

- Keep a staple plain essential dress that you can wear for the week and one that is just a single block colour (preferably black or white because you can do so much with them)so that you can mix and match with accessories

- Have the accessory door wide open as you play around with whatever matches the dress e.g If I were to keep a long plain black dress for the week, I would play around with my accessories so that on one day, I would wear the dress with a pastel coloured blazer with some matching coloured pair of shoes and some dainty jewellery - don't go overboard!

- When it comes to shoes, have a plain white or black coloured pair of ballerinas or some tennis shoes so that you can actually look good whilst running errands and you're comfortable at the same time. If the weather is pretty neutral, then I would whip out some ankle boots but if it's cold, then I would just stick to my UGGs or any equivalent knee-high boots.

Party/Evening Wear

We all know the struggles of finding modest party wear but don't worry because things aren't as hard as they may sometimes seem.

- Dresses - Finding modest dresses that are long and full-sleeved can be quite difficult give the current era where looking at your best means wearing practically nothing at all (not that I'm criticising - cheers to freedom choice!) but websites like ASOS and boohoo actually have decent outfits for decent prices. I tend to look at the bridesmaid section because the dresses on these sites tend to be longer and there are coordinating accessories that go with the dresses too. At my prom, for example, I purchased a sleeveless long dress from House of Fraser which had some gorgeous detailing and was inspired from the American 1920s Jazz Age, except for me, I saw it as the most modest dress that a flapper girl could ever wear. However, the problem with the dress was that it was sleeveless and the front of the dress revealed too much for my modest liking, hence, I had too choices: 1, wear a flesh-coloured top underneath or 2, buy a coordinating kimono-like jacket to wear on top of the dress and cover the front with my headscarf. In the end, I opted for option number one and I wore a skin-coloured blouse underneath. I wasn't particularly happy with the look, considering the fact that I hadn't toned my biceps (LOL! When do I ever?!) but since prom was after Ramadan (month of fasting)it is fair to say that I had lost enough weight to look half decent in my prom outfit.

-Skirts - Pleated skirts have come back in the limelight, thus giving retro looks the level of respect that they deserve. During Spring, printed skirts tend to appear more and since they're so airy and fluttery, they look gorgeous with spring blooms.Usually, I'd wear an ankle-length printed skirt with a matching coloured loose blouse and a contrasting coloured headscarf. If the skirt has pastel colours, then I'd wear silver or rose gold jewellery, but if the skirt is bold in colour, then I'd wear jewellery that matches the main bold colour.

- Jumpsuits - Truth be told, I am really not a big fan of jumpsuits as they do not flatter my body in the slightest way whatsoever, however, it can be worn modestly. Jumpsuits tend to be quite tight and that's why I personally do not wear them. If though, you are struggling to find something to wear for a ladies night out, then jumpsuits aren't a problem as long as the rear end is nicely covered by either wearing a kimono on top or by purchasing a jumpsuit in a bigger size.

I hope this post was useful, if there's any other category that you would like to know more on, then let me know ;)

Z

x

#fashion #faith