Spring Summer 2010

Dressing Like A Hijabi

While these layered looks may not be favoured by the main stream I think there is a great deal of inspiration for us hijabis. It’s hard to be covered head to toe and still look casual, and harder still to find trousers that will do the job. So the answer is something we’ve been doing for a while; layer it up with a tunic or mid length dress.

Boy meets Girl

For Cavalli as well as the masc/fem blazer and florals combinations there were some more refined looks to be had. I love the idea of wearing a wrap dress opened up under a long trench or tailored jacket, something I think many of us could rustle up out of our own wardrobes.

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(images: style.com)

10 days after the initial London launch, Jimmy Choo is the most recent designer to team with the high-street giant H&M. Here is the pick of the best on offer for hijabis clothes wise.

The Dress

So maybe not modest as worn on the model, but perfect if you throw on some super wide leg trousers, long sleeved top and a headscarf.

The Tunic Top and Jacket

A great bit of glam to add to an outfit, great with a maxi skirt and cardi, or some wide leg jeans and long jacket. Nice and loose but still feminine and smart. The jacket will lend a great edge to any outfit, retro chic!

The Long Sleeved Fringe Dress

Throw on a headscarf and a maxi skirt or wide leg jeans for a casual party look. The fringe may be a little much, but if you wear it with similar colour trousers it should tone it down some.

Oh and All The Shoes

With sandals and boots there are plenty of styles to choose from, I love the black sandals above!

(images:style.com)

Fall 2009

Subtle Styles

If there’s one thing you can count on it’s that Burberry will make a beautiful coat. From a modern take on the classic trench to oversized blazers they have introduced new textures and creative details. The long lines and relaxed tailoring are great for hijabis and can really make an outfit.

P.S. Sorry there hasn’t been a hijabi sketchbook post for a while, it’s on it’s way!

Fall Runway Styles

Stop the Chill

As the weather starts to bite, out come the coats and up come the hoods. This season they’re draped in wool and jersey, or wrapped pashmina style in heavy fabrics. All of this of course is very beneficial to hijabis. Far from the casual hoodie, these runway picks are dramatic and sleek.

Tall Tales

With the trademark tartan of Vivienne Westwood Red Label I can imagine it feeling like being wrapped up in Grandma’s soft old (albeit very expensive) blanket. I mean that to be a compliment, it would be hard to beat that feeling! Speaking of Grandma- it seems that at Fendi “Little Red Riding Hood’ has grown up and moved to some slick city. And it seems her inspiration even reached the likes of Peter Jensen who added a quirky edge with the sheer blue hooded cloak.

Topshop Unique

A collection with a little bit of everything, from great wearable hooded trench coats to draped jersey snoods. The key to it all was layering, mix and match colours, textures and prints in a very Autumnal palette. The result is well crafted London street style, well what else would you expect from one of the UK’s high-street giants.

(images: style.com)

Don’t forget to vote for your look of the week

This week you can cast your judgement on head coverings

Day

To Evening

Simplicity

She certainly has an amazing stylist who has given her a simple sophisticated look but injected a bit of trend and personality with accessories and jackets. The most notable trait for hijabis and Musimahs is the way she puts a statement jacket with a maxi dress. A useful tool for dressing modestly. Keep a look out later this week for a more in depth look at just what makes her style so easy to hijabify! And if that wasn’t enough you can check out this weeks Hijabi Sketchbook where she provides the inspiration.

Good Actions

Say Salaams and smile to sisters as you pass them on the street, even if you don’t know them!

Hadith of the Day

“Do not belittle any act of kindness, even that of greeting your brother with a cheerful countenance.” Muslim

The Content of Character, Collected by Shaykh Al-Amin Ali Mazuri

Created by Isti

Urban Muslimah

I’ve shown you guys looklet in a previous post, but Itsi has gone to the next level with amazing layering and an edgy urban style. Hijabis can get inspiration from this creative Muslimah, I’ll just let you enjoy the fabulous fashion.

Thank you for sending these photos in! If you want your tips, creations, or personal style to be featured on StyleCovered you can send them in to hana@stylecovered.com

4. Wide leg trousers

Finding trousers that are loose enough to cover the hips can be tricky, but once you’ve found a style that suits they can be very useful for making tops, tunics and even mini dresses hijab friendly. Go for wide leg pleat front trousers or the harem style (word of warning: ones with a really low crotch are almost impossible to pull off so go for ones based on the style). There are quite a few around on the runway, but may be slightly harder to find on the high-street for my full guide click here.

5. Wrap Dress

Another item of clothing I wear over and over again! Because the are wrap around you can make them as loose as you like and become very versatile. Wear them fully tied, tied on one side, fully open, over trousers, skirts even abayas, as a jacket… you get the point there are lots of ways to work it out! These are easily found on the high-street and a lot of people will already own one.

6. Tunic

Tunics seem to be made for hijabis! They are modest in their shape but still very feminine and elegant. A main-stay in resort wear collections grab them in summer while you can. The only winter alternative is a long sleeved shift dress, but summer is the best time to get the prettiest prints and detailing. Because they tend to be very light-weight you can get away with wearing long sleeves underneath, but actually a lot have full length sleeves to begin with- yay! Don’t you just love love love the Matthew Williamson tunics, if anyone bought from his H&M collection send in your pics!

7. Knee length jacket

A muslimah spends a lot of time trying to cover up tops that show too much shape, of trousers that cling to the hips. For those days when you’re just popping out for groceries a long jacket hides a multitude of hijab ‘hot-spots’. Whether it’s a warm winter coat or a paper thin mac they are readily available and can come extremely well designed. And would it be so wrong for us to throw on a trench over our pajamas to throw out the rubbish?

After our top 3 countdown I’ll be throwing together some looks with the headscarf using our big top ten- if you have any ideas of your own send them in to hana@stylecovered.com

runway images: style.com

Maxi shirt dresses are perfect for hijabis, beautiful for summer!

Islamic Layer Love

A shirt dress is a Muslimah’s best fashion friend and here’s why. Whether they are full sleeved, half sleeved or no sleeves at all they are perfect for layering. They tend to be very lightweight so you don’t have all the bulk of other dresses. You can open them up and team them with long sleeved tees, which is a look I love. Great under jackets, over jeans or wide leg trousers there’s not a lot they don’t go with!

The simple dress shirt has been redesigned for 2009

Islamic Fashion: A colourful Maxi Shirt Dress from Hermes

Designers for Summer Shirts

Designers from Hermes, Pollini to Dries Van Noten have reinvented the shirt dress into essentials for the perfect summer outfit. You can see how easily you can adapt these outfits into Muslim friendly fashion. A perfect alternative to an Abaya, for those days you want something a little different.

Layer shorter shirt dresses with wide leg trousers or a maxi skirt

My Favourites

I love the Emanuel Ungaro cross between a kaftan and a shirt dress. If a bit sheer, the mini/maxi length makes it perfect for layering. Limi Feu, daughter of the legendary Yohji Yamamoto is a designer in her own right. She has taken classic tailoring and given it an edgy twist. This oversized dress-shirt outfit is a headscarf away from being hijab. Simple but so beautiful.

Not just for summer, shirt dresses were seen on the Bottega Veneta runway for Fall 09. Keep them coming!

Muslimah Style: This stunning dress is by Bottega Veneta

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.

A much sleeker version of a retro classic, what's not to like?

High flyers

Flight hats are making a couture comeback. Technically this look should work for hijabis, they aren’t as big and shapely as many conventional hats and they aren’t such a huge leap away from the headscarf. I think my hesitation is more a fear of the unknown, and you need strong features to pull it off in leather form. Until I see one that I think I can wear without feeling ‘a little bit wrong’ I think I’ll leave it to the catwalk. Having said that, there is something about it that really rocks.