The Lengths We Go To

As requested by ‘City’ I’ll be putting up a few posts on maxi skirts, one of my favourite trends at the moment.  It can be tricky to style them but when you find a style that suits you you’ll find a friend for life.  Jersey maxi skirts are a great place to start for something more casual, and go for drapey to feel the swish at your feet à la Miss Bilson.  As usual celebrities have picked up on the trend- here are my favourites.

(images: justjared.buzznet.com, whowhatwear.com)

The Statement Jacket

Put it with a long black maxi skirt and headscarf you’ll have one hell of an outfit. I’m desperate to find a leather jacket and I think this has got to be one to aspire to. It’s just heart pumping goodness.

Fall 2009

Now that we’re hitting the minus temperatures I thought it might be nice to warm the depths of our style senses. These beautiful Autumnal tones are the perfect antidote to the December blues.

Sun Rays

I love the sunray pleated maxi skirts and maxi dresses, the whole collection is loose and lovely and perfect for hijab (if maybe slightly more opaque).

Hijab Highlights

Velvet Dungarees, I think I’m in love! Forget the fact that they are truly on trend, they are casual, smart and sumptuous. Definitely the way to go. And the loose shirts are perfect for mixing and matching.

(images: style.com / Chloe)

More from Paris

The Verdict

It was my first time wearing this outfit. I bought the trousers (Zara) a little while ago and wasn’t really sure how they would look. I have to say I now officially love harem pants. They are so easy to wear, especially in the city. I don’t know why but I always feel trousers are more practical when I’m doing a lot of walking. I can’t actually think of any good reason why except for the ‘gust of wind’ factor that any hijabi in a maxi skirt will be aware of!

There will inshAllah be a super comfy pair of harem pants in the MAYSAA collection, I should be getting the factory sample any time now, exciting!

Without the jacket

Harem pants and white tunic both Zara, Jacket by Versace (quite a few years old now), Green scarf from Morocco, Hijab headscarf worn under hat available at MAYSAA soon inshAllah!

Painterly

After a short recess the Hijabi Sketchbook is back, the inspiration image was taken from the More Dash than Cash feature in September 09 British Vogue. I mostly chose it for the hat, which I know is a stupid reason, but I really like the paint splatter. The houndstooth makes a great focus for a maxi skirt (very English heritage), and the styling is great.

More Dash Than Cash Hijab Style

There wasn’t too much to adjust, just making it a long skirt and pulling the shirt sleeve down a few inches. With a polo neck underneath (and headscarf of course). I also put together a video demo of how I created the sketch. Much edited, it now fits into 3 and a half minutes of video! I’ll post it up next week inshAllah, I hope you like it.

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Modest Moment

From what I can tell these long skirts are silk with a silk chiffon overlay. The chiffon is cut on the bias so it won’t fray at the hem, but there aren’t that many seams so I’m guessing it was a very very wide roll of fabric, also meaning a lot of wastage and so one very expensive skirt! I think in the advert they used a net underskirt for more volume, I can’t decide which way I prefer it… both are modest and move beautifully, it’s a tough decision.

Understated and modest, but still with an edgy, punkish charm it's a hijab style in the making

A lasting look

It took me a while to find this in my archives, but I did manage to find some other gems along the way so it was all worth it! I love this look, it has a juxtaposition of styles. With the ballerina pumps and long skirt against the retro t-shirt and deconstructed jacket, it still looks so effortless. If it stuck in my head all this time then it must have something going for it!

Modest fashion: I love the casual, thrown together look. Because neat isn't always nice.

Love Loose

Slouchy oversized tees, long sleeved or under a shirt, are a perfect hijab friendly remedy to the hot weather. As far as keeping cool goes, you can’t get much better. This Japanese magazine was full of ideas and awesome prints. Wear them with really loose trousers or jeans, or if trousers aren’t your thing, wear over a long straight cut skirt or strappy maxi dress. You can even make them party perfect by wearing under a blazer or cropped jacket and a voluminous skirt. I’m thinking of an Alexa Chung outfit I saw a while back. Now if I can just find the correct issue of Vogue I’ll post it up. Shouldn’t be difficult, only 3 years issues to get through… lets start with January 2006 (could be a long night)!

3.Polo neck

The polo-neck is the unsung hero of the Muslimah wardrobe. You don’t realise just how valuable they are until you find they are all in the wash, they don’t have an interchangeable replacement. At the moment I have 2 in black and one in cream, neutral works best because… well it works with almost anything. Lightweight jersey is best for layering, even in summer they aren’t as bad as you might think. I have a few niggles when it comes to wearing them under anything with thin straps, for me anything longer than capped sleeved works fine. I love the look of the Shipley and Halmos outfits, utter understated chic.

2. Hoodie

I think I posted a while back about the benefits of the hoodie. They are so versatile and look great over a headscarf, which is great if you’re a bit nervous about wearing one for the first time. I wore one the day I took my shahada, though I didn’t have the hood up over the scarf, it was one of the few things I was able to wear from my former wardrobe without any adjustments. From the tracksuit zip-front styles all the way to elegant embellishment they are a great way in to Islamic fashion.

Art of the Abstract: Alexandra Groover creates sculptured hoods that are stunning but simplistic

1. Long Skirt

Long skirts are another one of my favourites, but they are surprisingly difficult to get hold of. When you do find them they are either too much like evening wear or too casual. So if you are lucky enough to already have one then take good care of it. A big part of MAYSAA will be long maxi skirts, and I can tell you they are one of the hardest things to design once you take into consideration all the needs of a Muslimah. InshAllah I hope I come up with designs you will love wearing, and ones that are more versatile than what you can find on the high-street. But having said that, there are moments when designers get it juuust right!

Resort wear Japanese style, they do it so well!

Fashion Japan Style

I love looking through Japanese Fashion Magazines, for a Muslimah there are a lot of ideas that can translate well. No surprise then that I’m excited to share with you what I found. This Japanese Magazine was brought back by my Dad and step Mum from their recent trip, well chosen by my ‘Japan fashion correspondent’ Miya (my lovely sister). I was going to wait till I uploaded them all to post them up, but I couldn’t wait to show you!

I love the contrast of the boxy grey blazer and the frilly loose floral tunic, and that long skirt is stunning! I want it!

Magazines- East vs. West

I think there were even more inspirational images in this magazine than there were in the last one I featured, I love how fashion magazines in Japan feature so many outfits. Every page is filled with different combinations, a contrast in style to the Western mags who tend to feature just one, or a few key pieces.

With all these outfits you only need a few tweaks to get them right for a hijabi. A jacket or cardigan over the maxi dress, some wide leg jeans under the floral tunic (with the jacket sleeves rolled down) and some long sleeves with the skirt. Not forgetting the headscarf of course!

I’ll be posting some more Japanese style features soon enough which is good news if like me you love the fresh but quirky style of the Japanese girls! I think when it comes to non Muslim countries no-one else pulls off modest fashion in such an interesting way. But then again I’m probably biased ! I’d love to see the modest style of other countries though, if you have any photos send them in and I’ll do a post about modesty across the globe!