All that went on before

Just a little look at the fun (if a little stressful) preparations for the Maysaa Bloggers Tea Party.  I have been toying with what exactly the event was called, ranging from ‘StyleCovered presents the Maysaa London Bloggers Tea Party With Hana Tajima’ (very informative) to ‘Time for Tea’ (almost entirely uninformative).  I was convinced ‘The Tajima Who Came To Tea’ was a good idea until I realised that ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’ may not be, though it should be, part of everyone’s childhood.  You may have guessed by now that I’m no closer to a name.

It was an amazing day, and an amazing feat of dedication and prep from the ladies of Blush & Brush, Rumah Tanjung Spa, and the Maysaa Pop Up Shop girls, not forgetting my amazing Puteri, and Ikanpaos a.k.a. guy with camera.

And the most thank you-est of thank you’s to the lovely girls who came to the event.  Check out their beautiful blogs.

Adriani

Aimie

Aishah

Ami

Emmy

Eyqa

Farah

Fira

Jezmine

Lyna

Maria Elena

Moon

Nor Fatin a.k.a. HoneyPokaPoka

Nurul (who was missed very muchly)

Shahirah

Shea

Sue Anna Joe

Thank you @hnnkml

It makes me so happy seeing things like this for obvious reasons!  But also this is making a very good point.  I have been featuring a lot of Malaysian girls on my blog, because you ARE just so fly.  But I’m thinking I’d love to feature more lovely girls from around the world, I know you’re out there, I’ve seen you gorgeous people.  So if anyone’s up for it send me photos via hana @ stylecovered dot com and you can be my (and your) inspiration. xx

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Muslimah style: My favourite new outfit using items I never wear

Skirts and Shirts

I have been obsessed with Islamic style boyfriend shirts recently. They are so lightweight and comfy to wear, they’re casual and kind of quirky which is perfect for summer! This look was a mission to layer as lightweight as possible. The first layer was an ankle length jersey dress which I skewed to make it into a kind of maxi dress/ skirt. On the top is a printed, sleeveless tee which I never get to wear. Then just throw on the shirt with a little quirky detail with the buttons and you’re done!

Turn ankle length dresses into maxi skirts with a twist

Mix up your button holes, experimant with creating interesting draping

StyleCovered Styling

Staying cool in hot weather is a priority for hijabi’s and after testing this outfit I can give it a huge thumbs up! I normally really feel the weather but this was a breeze, and there are so many combinations you can do with the same theme.

Hijabi Tips

Keep long shirt sleeved rolled up past the hand

Colours should be kept simple and bold for a smarter look, but for cool casual you can mix it up more

Keep all the layers really light, try to get it so that you’re not wearing double layers over the parts of you that get hot. Even lightweight socks make all the difference

Having the shirt open in the front creates a really nice draught to keep you cool

Jewellery wise I kept it simple with one statement bracelet

Casual Style: keep cool and comfortable on hot days

With a pared down palette designers this season created a bold vision with a futuristic aesthetic. Mixing unusual fabrics with origami style tailoring gave edgy design a clean, sharp look. Established design houses and young new talent explored cutting techniques that turned loved wardrobe staples into fresh new pieces.

Islamic Style: Slick and intricate details managed to create crisp, clean lines

Muslimah relevance

So why is this interesting to hijabis? Well these origami like folds create shell like structures hiding the body shape below. The minimalistic colour range is modest without being boring. All these are things that can be translated to abayas or other outfits, but unless you’re an expert cutter or lucky enough to afford the originals it’s details to incorporate rather than complete designs.

Islamic cuts: It's all about clean lines and monochrome colours for a modern modest look

How to wear it Hijab style

The high-street has come up with some paper-like fabric folding. The simplest of these is the lines of layers (see Gareth Pugh above left) which will work well on anybody. If you’re feeling brave then there are a few garments that have origami folding, but they often come attached to very tight bodices. The best bet is to go for accessories that carry the trend, an easy way to get that futuristic feeling.

Modest shapes at Ricahrd Nicoll

Columns and Colour Blocking

The elegant column silhouette ran through the entire collection, as did the candy colour blocking. I love the manish blazer with the very feminine brooch detail and girly colours. This was simplicity done right so that the beautiful details really stood out. The shapes were a modest mix of softness and sharp tailoring, in this case less really is more.

Long skirts and dresses at Richard Nicoll

Clever Contrast

The contrast between hard lines and soft fabric really helps to disguise the body shape but still remain flattering.

Muslim Fashion Inspiration: Richard Nicoll does elegant drapery

Doing Drape

This off the shoulder drape detail was the first thing that caught my eye when I saw the collection. It hides the body shape so well without looking like that’s what you’re trying to do. With a bit of alteration this could be the key to making the one shoulder dress hijab friendly.

Islamic style meets risque sheer fabrics at Kenzo

So now you’re in a Japanese mood let me introduce you to Kenzo’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection. Pretty florals and floaty, lighter than air, dresses to sum it up. The dresses had layers, illusions of layers, and layers of print so you can pretty much tell I was in love at first sight. Most of the dresses were more than a little see through so not exactly hijab friendly in that respect, but the shapes were utterly Islamic.

Kenzo creates elegant silhouettes with stunning drapery

Drapery

The asymmetric drapery works really well here, but I’ve not yet found a way to make one shoulder dresses work for Muslimahs. But basically this is showing you how a maxi dress can look elegant whilst concealing your shape.

Prints

I’m not usually a fan of prints, let alone floral prints, but I do love these. Somewhere between vintage Japanese and English heritage they are subtle and modest. You need something that’s not going to break your concentration during prayer and I think this mix of print and plain are simple enough not to.

The dress to the left shows perfect asymmetric drapery and it’s completely opaque. Now it’s just a question of having the cash!

Tops

There were also a beautiful selection of short dresses (or as I like to call them tops) on offer on the Kenzo catwalk. The mixing and layering of prints take these simple silhouettes to a new and more interesting design.

See below…

Islamic Style: Loose feminine dresses/tops at Kenzo

A lesson Learned

Hmm, what have we learned here? Well aside from the reminder not to wear see through chiffon I think we can say that dresses with strips of fabric don’t have to look like gypsy skirts and that’s always a good thing. The gypsy style had its moment but this feminine floaty reincarnation is far more subtle and sophisticated. And when it comes to my dream wish list, I’m definitely away with the fairies. Kenzo fairies of course.

Modest style: Loose trousers on the catwalk

There are times in a Muslimah’s life when trousers make life a little easier. Whether you wear them under an Abaya or with a top trousers can be practical, stylish, and modest.

Hijabi style trousers

As part of the MAYSAA collection I’ve been working out how to make trousers work for Muslimahs. The key is in the tailoring, the tricky part is the area over the hips. Most high-street trousers that are loose enough through the leg are tight over the hips and bum, so a long top is the only way not to show your figure.

Hijabi style: Keep a look out, loose trousers often hug the hips

Islamic catwalk inspiration

I’ve taken the best designs from the catwalk and discovered what works best and why.

Muslim Style: Loose tailoring at Louis Vuitton

Islamic fashion: Structured trousers at Missoni

Flat Fronted

Flat fronted means that they have to pleats or gathers at the waist. Flat fronted loose trousers are hard to find. Louis Vuitton and Missoni have both achieved a loose silhouette over the hips by dropping the crotch slightly lower and cutting it similar to a skirt in that it flares slightly out from the waist.

Modest fashion: Pleated front trousers at Max Mara

Pleated Trousers

Loose style: Pleats at Louis Vuitton

Trousers with pleats at the waistband often mean that they will be loose over the hips because of that extra bit of fabric. Luckily this style is very much in vogue at the moment, and is my favourite style.

Gone are the days where pleats spelled old fashioned fuddy duddy styling. Now designers have revamped the silhouette and created a very hijab friendly trend.

Coming soon to Maysaa

For the MAYSAA collection I’ve used this style to create trousers that inshAllah will be everything you need them to be! Look out for them in May at www.maysaa.com and for Autumn/Winter where there will be more styles to choose from.

Hijab Tip: The art of wardrobe arrangement

Lets face it no-one wears more clothes than us which maybe goes some way to explaining why it’s just so darn difficult to pick out an outfit. So here’s a little wardrobe tip to make it a little easier.

Colour blocking

Arrange your clothes by colour rather than item type (i.e. all skirts together). It’s easier to pick out an outfit when what goes together is all in one section.

Muslimah wardrobes: Break up dark tones by putting light and bright colours inbetween

Highlights and accents

If like in my wardrobe you have a lot of neutral tones then pick the main items from there and then use one of two contrasting items from another end of the spectrum.

Choose a colour to suit your mood

Pink and punky at Michael Kors (it even covers the ears!)

So recently I put up a post about hijabis in hats, so now every time I see a hat go down the catwalk it catches my eye. Not that that’s a difficult thing to do when you have sky high, fluffy and neon creations in front of you! Modest they are not, but they are fun and fantastic. Just don’t expect me to wear one any time soon!

Futuristic at Narciso Rodriguez

Future Fantastic

Designer Narciso Rodriguez has certainly taken hats to a whole new level, with these tiny little peepholes you really can’t afford to put your hat on backwards!

But if it’s a bold (or crazy) statement you want to make then you can be sure to stand out.

Less is sometimes more

These are some of the wilder hats I’ve noticed, but if you want to see something a little less Alice in wonderland and a little more chic then read on to discover what this seasons catwalks have to offer.

Thakoon does fur hats

A less neon version of the Michael Kors fluffy hat. Thakoon has gone for Russian style elegance in a wintery grey.

Sleek and Simple

Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs (below) have taken a vintage silhouette and revamped it. The smooth lines and seamless appearance of the wide brimmed Ralph Lauren hat gives an understated sleek style

Marc Jacobs hat taken a bucket hat style and made it cute and quirky, but almost impossible to hijabify. So we’re back to the age old dilemma, hijabis in hats, can we pull it off?

Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren go for a simpler, sleeker look

Best of the bunch hats at Anna Sui

Feathered Friends

My favourite of all the hats, Anna Sui has created great juxtaposition with the glamour of rocks and feathers against the cool casual of the woolly hat. A few less feathers and I might actually wear one, wow, who knew!