Lily Cole for Vogue Nippon

Just a little something to get me in the mood for a fun summery weekend.  Trying to catch that festival vibe with ditsy florals and loose layering.

DON’T FORGET THE ‘STYLECOVERED’ 15% DISCOUNT CODE FOR MAYSAA ENDS MIDNIGHT THIS SUNDAY (GMT)

(images: Vogue Nippon)

Spring Summer 2010

Maxi dresses, head scarves, and geometric mosaic prints from a Japanese fashion house?  Antonio Marras took us on a Middle Eastern adventure, not surprising as the starting point for the collection was Freya Stark, an English writer and Traveller of the Middle East.  It was a tale of two parts with bright bold colour block looks preceded by beautiful printed maxi dresses and that stunning large check trench.

I love how even in the very Islamic patterns there were still elements of the Japanese aesthetic in the indigo blue and white prints.  An harmonious marriage of cultures that didn’t look in the least bit contrived.  Kenzo is always a go to fashion house for jilbab style maxi dresses and loose fit, so there’s not a lot more Marras could have done to speak to us ladies this Summer.

Cultural Combinations

I guess the Japanese, English, Arab mix isn’t such a strange one after all, well  it is something very close to my heart.  It’s rather lovely to know it can be done so beautifully too!

(images: via style.com)

Mixing Styles

Sorry about my absence I was up in London feeling very guilty about not posting!  I spent yesterday looking through some stunning prints for MAYSAA, so maybe that’s why I’m on a bit of a mixed up prints kick at the moment.  If you ignore the semi-nudeness of the model you can see a beautiful mix of colour and pattern.  I love how it’s been put together, the shot, the loose styling, so beautiful.

This second shot is sans colour, but that helps bring out the textures.  I love that depth and subtle repetition of stripes.  Reminds me that next time I’m in Morocco I should stock up on scarves!

(images: Vogue Paris Feb 2010)

Modest cuts and Stunning detail

This is for all you brides to be looking for inspiration.  Amanda Wakeley designs in such a way that as a hijabi, just a little imagination is all that’s needed to create a perfect look.  The cuts are loose or covered up, but it never takes away from the design.  Such simplicity and delicate intricacy is hard to put together but it seems like second nature in these designs.  See more at her online store.

I am in love…

For more inspiration see the gallery below

(images courtesy of Amanda Wakeley)

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Plain & Print

You know how you discover something you’ve had for ages and fall back in love, well I at the moment when I look into my wardrobe I see only this dress.  These photographs just don’t do it justice.  It belonged to my grandmother, or great aunt, it’s hand made in so many silk panels and just feels beautiful to wear.  I walk feeling unashamedly feminine as silk swishes around my feet.

Style Stories

I wore it earlier in the week whilst falling in love with a leather jacket in Reiss:

Shop Assistant: That’s such a lovely print.

Me: Thanks, I think it was my grandmothers.

I could have said vintage, boho, hand made, but no, I chose the one thing that made me sound like I just rummage through old peoples wardrobes for me clothes (which I do). I wouldn’t mind, but not in front of the jacket, just let me hide my embarrassment far far away from that soft peachy leather.

With a hat to match

My very special ebay buy, this Barts faux fur hat was my lifesaver in Paris where it was très froid.  I think the trick to wearing hats with a head scarf is finding one that covers your ears (like this rather lovely head scarf by maysaa.com).  Started off feeling kind of conspicuous I have to say but that wore off when it started to drop below zero, now we’re best of friends.

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)

Denim Rush

Putting It Together

It’s not as hard as I thought it would be to make a full on denim look work. A plain white tee is the key to breaking it all up, that and a few well chosen accessories. Ah yes you may have spotted my favourite waistcoat, well you can expect a few more- I just can’t resist it’s pull.

A Little Help

I’m thinking about having more of my own outfits and images and less of the more generic designer posts.  I’m thinking I’ll concentrate on the sketches, modest maxi dresses, inspiring magazine editorials and a lot more photos like these (the ones above).  What do you reckon?

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)

The Best Bits

The last time I wore dungarees I was 10 (ish), but when I saw them in the Autumn collections I fell back in love. They had a new, looser, more feminine shape and came in some interesting fabrics. These are my favourites so far from the Autumn ‘09 and Spring Summer ‘10 collections. But which is your favourite?

(images: style.com)