NOTE: If you're not a hijabi, do not bite my head off before reading this post (don't judge from the post title).
I was at a henna/hens night just a few weeks ago. There were only 2-3 hijabis amongst the other 50-60 or so non-hijabi women...
I had never noticed the difference before, because most henna/hens nights and weddings I attend have almost equal numbers of hijabis and non-hijabis OR the majority are hijabis...
Anyhow, getting to the point... Almost all the ladies that were present at the said event looked so effortlessly glamorous. I looked at the reason and noticed that it was the way they dressed. They had just slipped on a mini or maxi dress and that was it! Some had accessorized with wide belts. I love belts, so to me, anything (well... almost anything) with a belt is hot!
On the other hand... Hijabis have similar dresses, but it looks so different because they have layers on the top and/or bottom. Most dresses are too short so we layer them with trousers, and most (especially during summer) are sleeveless, so we either wear tight and long sleeved tops under or cardigans on top. Most of the time we have great difficulty finding full sleeved cardis/jackets (I have no idea why most tops are 3/4 sleeved), so we try and find the most suitable fabric, then we try to find a good/economical/available tailor to sew a bolero type jacket for our dress... A dress which may never be worn again or worn rarely if it was purchased for a special event. Oh my.. I'm not even starting with the matching hijab, so don't go there!
Sometimes it's just so difficult! Okay, some of you may say, "just wear the abaya and you have no problems". Well, not everyone wants to wear the abaya, and even if you wear the abaya, you are most likely to take it off during a ladies only event, right? So what happens then?
Anyhow, I'm just ranting, but not about being a hijabi! I'm ranting about the fact that we do not have enough Islamic clothing designers that cater for women who want to dress in accordance with the requirements of their faith (including myself), but also want to keep it modern. I do like traditional clothing at times, but not all the time! Like many, I too live in the west and I believe that the way we dress is also a significant way of conveying The Message. We live in a day and age wear appearance is almost everything, and let's face it: WE ARE WOMEN! LIKE ALL OTHER WOMEN WE LOVE TO SHOP! WE LOVE TO DRESS!
So why is it that almost all Islamic clothing designers are designing clothing that are more traditional?
Personally, I absolutely adore most clothing that are designed to cater for the non-hijabi women. If only the sleeves were longer! If only the length was longer! If only the chest part was a little more covered! If only if it was a little more loose!
How many times have you said this?
Now how gorgeous is this dress worn by Angelina Jolie? I love it. All it needs is sleeves and it's perfect! Oh, and it needs a cheaper price tag of course. I'm not sure how many zeros this has attached to it.:)
Another hotsie dress, and again, all it requires is sleeves. This would look gorgeous with slightly bell sleeves. Why shouldn't we be able to slip something like this on and just wrap on our hijab to leave the house?!
Yes, one of the many super expensive designer dresses that can be worn by a hijabi. Although I believe this one has a huge opening revealing the entire back. :)
So are there really no companies to cater for such hijabi needs?
I'm not sure about what's happening in the other countries, but during my 2 week business/pleasure trip to Turkey I have met many designers, visited many clothing companies catering the muslim hijabi... To sum it up, there was only one company that caters for the muslim woman that prefers to wear hijab, but also likes the western fashion:
Armine!
Honestly, I do not say this to advertise just because I sell Armine clothing... They truly are the only company I have come across to have what most of my customers and I want. Their only flaw: most of their range goes up to size 14 only! They have some very beautiful full length dresses with full sleeves. Most are plain which means they can be accessorized, and some are just gorgeous and require nothing more!
....
Okay, I'm finishing up... I didn't intend this to go on so long (as always!!!), and I mentioned things which I thought I wouldn't.
BUT!!! Hijabi's really do have to try harder most of the time.
