I made it myself!

Last Sunday I was booked in for some hijab styling, and I thought I would share some photos with you. :) I hope you likey!

Hijab Stylist: Gonul Edibe Taban-Colak (me)

Make-Up Artist: Yeliz Tacay

Photos: Hakan Dalar Photography

The lovely bride did not want something too over the top, so I beaded a lace band to match the lace and beading on her bridal gown. The roses were also hand-made by moi. :)

Hijab Stylist: Gonul Edibe Taban-Colak (you guessed it, me again!) :)

Make-Up Artist: Yeliz Tacay

Photos: Courtesy of my beloved iphone :)

Just incase you may ask like some others have; the hairspray was used for the hair on the sides. They tend to slip out, so I use some hair styling products such as hair gel/spray to help keep them in!

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--Amendment--

My wonderful photographer friend Hakan has uploaded some more photos of the bride from the above wedding. There was a particular one which I couldn't do without sharing. It's absolutely gorgeous. The effect he used in the said photo brings out the make-up and hijab style beautifully.

Don't you just love her flowers? They're real.

Posted on 8:01 AM / 1 comments / Read More

Hijab Styles for Special Occasions

I always loved arts and crafts... Years ago I did a 2 year sewing course; I used to sew a lot, but with time it just became easier and cheaper to purchase ready-made-clothes. I also compelted a ribbon emrboidery course, and taught myself brazillian embroidery and jewellery making. Ahhh if only I had the time... :)

Those of you who know me will also know that I also style hijabs for special occasions. I actually started off doing this while I was in Istanbul, Turkey. I had my own translation office, and downstairs there was a bridal salon. We became friends with the owner of the bridal salon, and soon I started to learn intricate beading using crystals and various other gems... I beaded many evening gowns, wedding dresses and veils... This became a hobby and some kind of therapy for me...

A while after getting the hang of it, I started to work "professionally" (I put this in quotation marks, because I was actually working professionally as a translator-interpreter, this was like a casual job) at the bridal salon as a hijab stylist. I did this for a little over a year until it was time to return to Australia... And coming back to Australia has not stopped me from continuing to style hijabs. :) It has now been well over 2 years since I started doing this...

To be honest, I have to say that I really love it as it helps me keep my creative side fresh. However, alike every other job, it does have its cons... but not many... One of the cons is getting up very early in the morning (as early as 5-6 am) if the client is the bride or in the bridal party... But even that is sweet in a sense, because you know that you are a very important part of the wedding preparations.

I have to say that the thing that I dislike most is when clients insist on something that I know and tell them that it would not look good at all. They realise the truth once it's too late, but yeah, it's just too late!

If you ever plan to have your hijab styled for a special occasion, an angagement, or wedding, make sure that the stylist is experienced and a professional. Ask them for examples (photos, videos, etc.) of their work - not photos of styles done by other stylists! If you are the bride, make sure you only work with someone that will offer a trial weeks before your wedding. Most important of all, if you are working with a professional, listen to them, trust them! If you can't trust them, then you shouldn't be working with them.

Now where did this post come from? I've been quite busy with hijab styling appointments the past few weeks, and I have come accross many who have practically forced me to do styles using the wrong fabrics, wrong colours, and wrong styles (wrong for them, their dress, the event, etc.). Then after everything is finished, they say, "I should have listened to you"... And just the other day, I had a bride call me for an appointment. Her wedding was in two days. She already had a hijab stylist, but she wasn't happy and comfortable with the stylist, so she asked me if I would accept her.

Normally, I never ever accept a bridal appointment any later than 3 weeks before the wedding, but I wanted to help her. No bride should be unhappy with her look on her wedding day. But she did not come to her trial appointment, so now I will not accept her. People accept too much from hijab stylists. If you want something superb you too need to help the process.

So anyway, I didn't take any photos of the last 8-10 styles for the simple reason that I did not like the styles... Upon this, I just sat and worked on a style on my mannequin head this evening... I will share this style and a few more below. However, I would like to note that, all the styles that are done from the back can be done in a way to cover the neck and chest. The real life photos are purely the personal choice of the clients, and most are for ladies only events. So, please do not write negative comments (any negative comments will definitely be removed). We should judge ourselves before judging others.

I know that for some, these styles are over the top, but everybody has different taste. Some like to have their hijab more on the plain side for a special occasion, while others prefer to have something special designed to suit the occasion...

This green hijab lined with black lace is the style I worked on this evening. All the others were done within the past year...

A bridesmaid...

A maid of honour...



A sister-in-law...



A soon-to-be bride on her engagement...
(Photo courtesy of Hakan Dalar Photography)



Another maid of honour...



A bride... obviously :)
(Photo Courtesy of Hakan Dalar Photography)



Photo Courtesy of Hakan Dalar Photography
Make-Up by Yeliz Tacay

Posted on 7:17 AM / 0 comments / Read More

The Tesselaar Tulip Festival

I don't know how it goes in other countries or if anything special is done, but here, every year there is a 4 week Tulip Festival to celebrate the coming of spring.

Now why do I write about this you may ask?

Hmm.. Well, apart from loving flowers and the tulip being one of my favourites, I wanted to mention the significance of tulips for Turks (the Ottomans) and our history...

Have any of you noticed the official logo for Turkey?

As you can see, the tulip has been used as the symbol of Turkey...

There is a misconseption that the tulip is from Holland whereas tulips are indegineous to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and central Asia. They were first imported to Europe from Turkey (Ottoman Empire) in the 16th century.

The reason that tulips are associated with Holland rather than Turkey is because the Turks "forgot" about the tulip while the Dutch continued to grow and export them globally for hundreds of year to date.

The tulip craze of the Ottomans coincides with the corruption of the Ottoman Empire. Until that time all the gardens and parks in Turkey (especially Istanbul) were adorned with tulips, roses, carnations and daffodils. So much so that after having seen the streets, houses and mansions of Istanbul amongst all the greenery and flowers, an English woman named Miss Julia Parabe is quoted to say, "If only Shakespeare had seen the Bosporus before writing the garden scene in Romeo and Juliet".

Due to their infatuation with the tulip, the corruption period of the Ottoman Empire was called the "Tulip Period".

The tulip also has significance amongst the sufis. This is due to the letters used in the Turkish name of the tulip (lale - pronounced laa-leh). In its Arabic form, both "lale" (tulip) and "Allah" (God) contain the same letters and in the same order. There are also a couple more things about this, but I wanted to give your eyes a feast with this post rather than a lesson in history. :) Sorry if I bore your brains out at times... It's just that the symbol of the tulip, the story behind it in our history and culture etc etc just intrigues me.

As I was saying... the Tesselaar Tulip Festival in Victoria, Australia. I really really wanted to go last weekend on the 19th-20th of September, 2009 as it was the Turkish Weekend and the Turkish culture was showcased, but I missed out. :( Oh well, I am still going to try and go within the next couple of weeks before it's over.

Hey! If anyone in Melbourne is interested, let me know, we can do a group thing on a nice sunny day?

Anyhow, I couldn't go last week, but thankfully a photographer I know went and shared all the amazing photos he took. By the way, a little advertising for my photographer friend. His name is Hakan Dalar and he's established in Melbourne. His work is amazing, fantastic, wonderful, professional... What more can I say? If you are in Australia, then I would definitely recommend his services. He also works interstate, so he's not bound to Victoria only. :) I have provided the link for his website, but it's not up yet. If you are interested and would like to see examples of his work, you can currently contact him and see a very large portfolio through his Facebook account.

Now that I'm done with the advertising, you can enjoy the photos... ahhh they're absolutely gorgeous mashaallah!

Photos from the Tesellaar Tulip Festival courtesy of Hakan Dalar Photography.

What is your favourite flower?

Posted on 12:14 PM / 0 comments / Read More