Zafirah Hanis

Bolder, Brighter

I stumbled across this gorgeous girl when she left a comment on a post here.  She has her own blog ‘Bits of Beads’ with a lot more pics.  I love how she puts her outfits together in a kind of quirky way.  Never afraid of colour and print she’s inspired me to find a bold print headscarf.  Lovely.

Headscarf and Heels

After the Modest Maxi Dress feature I thought I’d treat you to the rest of his resort collection. There is a great mix of styles and colours. I’m trying to be a bit more adventurous and less trend led with what I wear and there is so much inspiration here.

Look Back

This is not the first time I featured Azrouël, and digging through those Fall 2009 looks I just couldn’t resist sharing them. I kind of got a this season Lanvin vibe from it, but dressed down for sure.

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(images: style.com)

A Post by Viva La Mode

This beautifully crafted shoot is the work of Mila from Viva La Mode. She has an amazing blog, if you like this you’ll love the rest of her work. She’s stunning and lucky enough to have beautiful friends and family to model for her. So creative!

“Yesterday I had photo-shoot with Sabrina, she came earlier at 7 in the morning and the total photos we had until she left at 5 in the afternoon is 1678! Now Sabrina has worn hijab. It makes me want to wear hijab too, insyallah . So, she wanted to have a photo-shoot in hijab.”

“We’d really like to have outfits in all black, and of course black shades. We’re always be a fan for this style. The white line we had and black eyeliner are from face painting! We are also like to find out inspiration from Hana’s blog. She has amazing style and her blog is really inspiring for the hijab style.”

Beauty Up Close

You can see the original blog entry here.

Thank you so much for letting me post this. x

Hijab Style

This is a post for Uzz who is looking for alternatives to heels with jeans. She described her style as “…a little tomboyish but with a feminine twist.” which is perfect for me because it’s what I love! So here are three options to work with.

Kitten Heels and Boyfriend Jeans

Option 1

For loose jeans you’ve got a couple of options, wide leg flares or slouchy boyfriend style denim. I quite like putting together quite a masculine look with really feminine details so the kitten heels work very well indeed.

Flats and denim

Option 2

Ballet pump style flats are a life saver when it comes to being on your feet all day. These moccasin style ones work well with almost any outfit, they’re smart enough for most occasions but if you want a bit more glamour then go for ballet pumps.

Converse and Jeans

Option 3

Possibly my favourite shoes, there’s not much I don’t wear them with. But they do go rather well with slouchy wide-leg jeans, and give an edgy casual look. Maybe I’m biased but out of the three I thought I saved the best till last.

Hope that helped. X

Smart Casual

So I did actually do some work in Paris, this was taken outside the fabric fair. Comfort was definitely an important factor here, I’m pretty sure the reason I’m smiling is at the prospect of actually sitting down on the metro.

Don’t forget to vote for your Look of the Week.

Coat Mania by Emma Sommerton

Hijabi Style Files

Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn, two of the most in demand models of the moment show us one of the most modest editorials I’ve seen this season. Absolutely love it.

Inspire or be Inspired

It’s really interesting when big fashion magazines create conceptual shoots that are very hijab friendly, as a muslimah it gives you a different take on hijab style and modest clothing. It can be really inspirational, or can go to show how modest style has an influence on mainstream fashion.

Style Picks

Definitely another reminder that a polo neck is a wise investment

A classic camel coat can be timeless

Brighten a classic black and beige outfit with a hint of red, or make an impact with a tomato red statement coat

(images: models.com)

Japanese Ballerina

Tutu cute

I love these big netted skirts, maybe it’s my younger years dancing that makes me a little obsessed. I’m yet to find one the right length though. For this outfit, to counter act all the sweetness you need some strong additions (I’m liking the furry hat), something like a vintage biker jacket or oversized slogan tee… you wouldn’t want to give anyone a toothache.

This beautiful abaya style gown with a hint of embellishment is perfect for hijabis

Maternal Instinct

Angelina Jolie with bump dresses with a kind of earthy vibe- the colours are subtle, and the dresses are long. While I wouldn’t necessarily count her among the best dressed I love how she’s flattering her shape without flaunting it. The result is actually that you notice her face and smile before you look at what she’s wearing, and I think that’s a lovely thing. The shapes and details are great for translating into hijabi style, add a headscarf to most of these styles and you have a Muslimah outfit.

Long dresses and and loose silhouettes look beautiful on Angelina

Hijab Fashion

For Muslimah’s inspiration can come from a lot of odd places. I don’t know if it’s just me but I find myself looking at maternity wear and thinking ‘would it be wrong to wear this if I’m not pregnant?’ Maybe it’s because women tend to dress more conservatively when they’re pregnant, the cuts are longer and less revealing, dresses have sleeves and all in all they are a lot looser. Whatever the reason behind covering up during your nine months I’m all for the tendency to err on the side of modesty.

Nicole Richie looking pretty post pregnancy

Nicole Richie

On the other hand, Nicole Richie post pregnancy has also chosen modest loose maxi dresses over a body-con silhouette. This is in spite of being back to her original dress size. She does wear these outfits very well and these summery maxi dresses have become one of her signature styles.

Black Bonnets and Maxi Dresses, they're getting closer to Muslim Fashion

Strong Images

Hijabi Style: That bonnet and sunglasses look again

Another Muslimah stop and stare moment, but not in such an obvious way as D&G. Dsquared2’s Spring Summer ad campaign packs a punch in more ways than one. With Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista’s ‘cat fight on camera’ series the black bonnet is not the first thing you see.

All in the Detail

What I love about this bonnet is the construction and attention to detail. It goes to show you don’t have to stick to convention, and there are many ways of reworking and re-designing the head scarf and its close relative the bonnet.

Muslimah Style: Strong images and detailed design make an impact

Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell square off in this campaign

Inspired by

Hijabi style: bright, bold sari's make statement scarves (image: left-Vogue)

D.I.Y. Fashion

With inspiration fro Vogue, create your own beautiful scarves from sari silk. I’ll give you the how-to and where to buy so you can add a splash of colour and print into your wardrobe, transforming any outfit into something unique!

Vogue Inspired

Recently Vogue has had a bit of a revamp, adding new features and bringing back popular formats. One interesting twist on high end fashion is the ‘More Dash Than Cash’ section which aims to show an affordable approach to designer fashion. Mostly they mix expensive pieces with vintage, high-street, and bits of stylist D.I.Y. magic to create outfits. One thing that caught my eye this month were the cuts of sari fabric sold as separate scarves on Portabello Market at around £3 each. Now I’ve got a whole load of second hand sari silk picked up from various vintage/ethnic shops. They were really cheap- about £10 for a whole length (I think it’s about 5 yrds).

The How-To

At least 2 sides of the fabric will be selvedges which you won’t need to hem, the other 2 can just use any kind of hem you like. If you don’t know how to hem, there’s a great little how-to video by threadbangers on youtube:

Get Creative

You’ll have plenty of fabric left for other projects, or you can make a few extra and give them as beautiful presents! It’s a really simple way to save money and get creative!

Where To

You can do as I did and scout out fabric from any good vintage or ethnic shop (if you smell incense you’re on the right track!) or ebay has a great selection from all over the world.