Muslim Fashion: Mannish tailoring and lightweight fabrics for perfect summer outfits

Mannish Tailoring

It went from boyfriend jeans, to blazers and now shirts. There’s always been a subtle sophistication with a classic shirt, the boyfriend cut gives it more of an edge. It is one of the most hijab friendly trends around, and easy to get hold of. From catwalk designers to the high-street, you’re guaranteed to find one in your budget.

Hijabi Tips: Plaid or crisp white is the easiest way to pull of this style

Coming back Around

I was in love with this style even before I became Muslim. My first mannish shirt was a United Colours of Benneton white and maroon stripe shirt. It was actually a guys shirt rather than a women’s shirt with mannish tailoring. I can’t remember where it came from (I think it was picked up second hand from a friend) and I can’t remember where it went!

Kiera Knightly does the classic white boyfriend shirt

How to Outfit

I wore it with jeans and a fitted blazer mostly, but as a hijabi I’d probably swap the jeans for really wide leg trousers keeping the blazer or cropped jacket. Headscarf wise I’d probably wear something without a lot of bulk and tuck it under the collar. I’ll try and post up a photo soon, now I just need to find that shirt!!

Wranger's denim shirt gives an urban slant

Selecting a Style

High Street

Topshop have a good selection around the £30 mark

High End

Wrangler’s denim shirt is £84 for a slightly higher budget

Designer

If you really want to go all out then there are some gorgeous designer shirts by 3.1 Philip Lim and Steven Alan.

My favourite so far is by Elizabeth and James. It’s nice and long and a great mix of femininity and a more masculine edge. Shame about the price though!

I guess you could get a regular plaid shirt and dip dye it, something I’ll be trying as soon as I get some free time. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Wish List

Islamic Fashion with a twist: On trend in Elizabeth and James

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

Muslimah style: Abaya over trousers

Smart/ Casual

This abaya I made is actually wrap around at the back, kind of like an apron I guess. But you can do the same with any longish dress. The jacket (also one of my little creations) helps to keep it on the smart side of casual. It’s really interesting that when you use a more contrasting colour for your hijab it becomes much more casual. But when you keep the whole outfit in the same tones it stays sharper and more cohesive.

Islamic style: modest and practical, wrap around abaya over trousers

Abaya Wrap

The last post was all about ultra sharp dressing, but what about if you don’t need to look like you’re going to an interview but still want to look smart? Well, I’ve come up with a few looks that you can adapt to suit you. See what you think…

The outfit to the left is a very useful combination of trousers and abaya. You still get all the movement of trousers and don’t have to worry about showing any leg when you’re running up stairs. To make this work for you just find a long wrap around dress, or wait a few months for the MAYSAA version!

Hijab Top Tips

1. A sharp tailored jacket turns most casual outfits into smart work wear, just be aware of what the outfit underneath looks like if you take your jacket off.

2. Match the outfit to the work. If you’re on you feet all day rushing around then long skirts have a tendency to make you trip up at the most embarrassing moment! Just make sure the length is OK.

3. Always carry safety pins with you. If you need to adjust skirt length then just take an inch of so in from the waistband to make it sit higher on your waist. Cover it over with your top to hide it.

4. If you want to go smart then keep your colour palette to a minimum choose one tone and then work around it. If you want to be more casual then bring in another colour (see the first photo)

And for something simple…

Simple style: Blazer over Abaya

Blazer love

This Outfit couldn’t be simpler, just wear your usual abaya with a tailored jacket or blazer over the top. The one I’m wearing is a gorgeous vintage piece I bought in Venice a long time ago. The abaya was one of the first I ever made. The colour is great sort of a charcoal navy, it goes with everything, wear it with black for Italian chic.

IF YOU HAVE A GREAT WORK LOOK OR TIPS ON LOOKING SMART THEN SEND IN YOUR POSTS AND PICS TO hana@stylecovered.com

Dress by Nordstrom

As you know I’m doing my best to bring you the best posts from the world wide web. This post was lovingly donated to StyleCovered from Zaenab, you’ll find her blog below

Stylish Muslimah

Thanks for sharing this with us! Click on ‘Read More’ to view the rest of her Plus Size Hijabi Guide.

Perfect plus size

The Hijabi Guide

Following a recent comment from one of my readers about the difficulties of wearing hijab when you’re curvier I decided to make a post about it.

I’ve been revising (reading my old fashion mags..) plus size fashion and have been trying to put together some tips and tricks to make covering those womanly curves slightly less stressful.

I hope you find it useful Starting with the negative as always..sorry the writing’s small, it looked bigger when I was making it..

Plus Size Hijabi Style

And some things to try:

Hijab Tips: Perfect Plus Size

A great plus size fashion website with lots of hijabifiable pieces for good prices to – http://www.ullapopken.co.uk/

And finally, a plus size hijab outfit I made. The waistcoat would be best worn open and provides extra coverage as well as style of course Notice I have used an over-sized bag and sunglasses – this is another good trick when accessorising: the bigger the better

Plus size outfitting Muslimah style

Hijabi style hats, satin bonnet worn underneath

In a comment a sister raised the question of hats. I’ve done a bit of research and experimentation and thought I’d let you know what I found!

Before I became Muslim I was a big fan of hats, but since I put on my head scarf at first I was put off hats. It was only after much experimentation that I found a style I liked.

Caps:

There are basically three options when it comes to hats and hijabs, first off are caps:

Hijabi style caps

Caps are very difficult and although I loved them before I became a Muslimah I haven’t found a way of adapting them into a style I like.

Brims:

Next we have brims from trilby’s to sun hats:

Hijabs and brims

Brims can be very tricky. wearing a full hijab underneath is definitely the way to go because you don’t want to be wearing a 3 inch brim when you’re praying, it’s pretty much impossible!

Woolly Hats:

Lastly, and the only style I feel comfortable in is the woolly hat:

Islamic style hats (bonnet worn underneath)

Hijabi style experiment

Hijab Tips:

1. Wear it with a very high collar or (my preference) a scarf, one reason being that it doesn’t show the shape of your neck, the other being that it just looks a whole lot better.

Hijab Experiment: Scarves and hats

2. With some woolly hats you can get away with wearing just a full bonnet underneath but to save any neck showing wear a poloneck and pin in to the bonnet and wear a scarf to ensure you won’t be flashing any extra skin.

3. With all hats make sure you’re either wearing something really loose over your chest or use a scarf to drape around it.

4. Avoid wearing hats unless it’s actually the weather for it otherwise you’ll just be a very hot hijabi

5. Try before you buy, heads come in all shapes and sizes especially when they’re covered with an extra layer of fabric so choose carefully.

6. Only wear a style that feels comfortable or at least make sure you bring a back up hijab in case you decide you don’t like it.

IF YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE HAT STYLE OR PHOTOS TO INSPIRE US THEN SEND THEM IN TO ME AT hana@stylecovered.com

A beautiful dress first owned by my Grandma

Hijab Vintage Style

I love vintage and have been collecting pieces for quite a few years. There’s something very ‘girl in a dressing up box’ about it, and I think for me at least that’s half the appeal. I’m speaking as a girl who spent many happy childhood hours dressing up in old party gowns and jumble sale finds. I like how the clothes have a story and a uniqueness, (plus you’re doing your environmental duty by recycling) and you never need to worry about it going out of season!

Islamic style: Another family hierloom

Is it just me?

A while ago there was a program on the BBC which talked about what it was like to be a Muslim woman in different countries. She did a little Muslim fashion section and I was surprised when she said vintage was a big no-no with Muslim girls. I wouldn’t ever go head to toe in vintage, but mixing high-street and vintage can create amazing original outfits.

Hijab Tips: A blast from the past

If you’re unsure, then start with something small- a jacket or even a bag and see where it takes you. There can be a huge rush and feeling of satisfaction when you find that special something- but be patient because it can take a while!

Check the garment for fading, tears, moth holes and stains particularly under the arms and at the hems and cuffs. Sometimes little faults can add to the charm, but other times they’re just plain gross!

Made for Muslimahs

It is an acquired taste, but then so is a lot of what’s on the high-street. One huge benefit for hijabi’s is that the skirts and sleeves tend to be longer, and the styles are a lot more modest. I think for me I’ll always love the nostalgia of being a little girl in a dressing up box, I guess some things never change!

Now it’s your turn

Get dressing up and visiting charity (thrift) shops and let me know how you get on!

Hijabi Style: Chanel style prints make this look super chic

Hijabi Tip: playing with texture

When I saw this image I was immediately struck by the use of texture and colour. The key to why this works and doesn’t look messy is that they have kept the base colours monochrome. The pink is the accent colour which stands out. The use of broaches in a third colour (but keeping on the purple/pink side of blue) adds a mid level tone between the monochrome and pink. It’s dark and edgy and although I would probably tone it down a bit before wearing it, I love it’s dark drama.

Texture

The use of texture is also very clever, again using opposite ends of the spectrum you have smooth (almost shiny) leather and gemstones against rough, textured wool.

Stronger, Bolder

The Image below (click on ‘read more’) uses all the same techniques as above but without the third colour, the result is much more striking, focusing on blocks of bold colours to make a strong statement.

Hijabs and hats, layering to the extreme with a striking result