Some more "I made it myself"s :)

I had mentioned visiting the fam in Melbourne a few weeks back, yeah? I can't really remember, but I think I did... I think I also mentioned that I would be styling my friend and her family's hijabs on her brother's wedding day. Yes?

Sadly most of the photos came out blurred. The photos are generally rush jobs on the day, so some of them tend to come out crapola. :( It's always great to know the photographer on the day so you can ask for a copy of some relevant ones that also make one's collection look more professional.

Fortunately though, I have a couple that are okay enough to share. :)

This beauty is the youngest of the groom's three gorgeous sisters. She was in the bridal party. Yes, the bridal party wore black gowns with white sashes. I must say I was suprised at first, but they looked beautiful. The bride, I was told, loves the colour black. The reception colour theme was also black and white.

This gorgeous young lady is the mother of the groom. She is one of those women who have been blessed with both inner and outer beuaty all in one. Mashaallah. Wearing her lilac dress matched with her very light grey and lilac hijab, she looked her part.

Posted on 11:42 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Oh what a wedding!

No, it wasn't really that crash hot. It was just an excuse to spend some time with family and possibly see some friends. That's exactly what happened!

It's amazing... I am starting to shock myself, because lately I seem to know exactly what I will be wearing and I don't exert much energy into the decision process. I don't now how that happened? Probably because I know exactly what is in my wardrobe? You think so? Hmm...

I wanted to keep it simple. It was a mixed event, so no going overboard with anything. A maxi dress... a crop cardi over it... and since the weather is freeeeeziiiiing, my leather jacket over all that. :) Simple!!!

The only thing that had me thinking was my scarf. I reall didn't want to wear plain black, but the dress had floral red/blue/cream print all over it. Red would be too loud... I didn't have the certain type of blue, and I seriously cannot wear plain cream around my face! Makes me look dead. If I had the blue I would have definitely gone with that, but this time round I opted to go with the black.. I sorta had to do it, no other choice. :) It didn't turn out bad, but yeah, I like doing something different from time to time.

So here's my look for the night:

Floral Maxi: City Chic, Pleather Jacket: City Chic, Black Hijab/Scarf: edb Collection

I must add that many of the young women were dressed in such a lovely way, I wish I could have photographed them. I don't feel confident approaching people to ask if I can photograph them for my blog, but I am finding that people whom I would never have guessed are reading my blog. It's such a lovely feeling... so if they know about my blog, then maybe it wont be so difficult to ask for a photo... I just don't know how I would explain the reason LOL

Posted on 8:04 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Hijab Styling - Playing Around with Styles

I had a very early morning yesterday (Sunday). I was booked in for a bridal party's hijab styling.

My God! I'm sure those of you who work on a Sunday will understand my pain. A Sunday! Early morning! Work! Even the thought of it makes me tired. :)))

Anyhow. All the girls were soooo beautiful mashaallah, they didn't really need any work done one them. LOL And the bride! Mashaallah! She has that perfect bride face; small... cute features... Her hijab turned out gorgeous. I loved her dress, and make-up... the whole package! Hmmm I didn't have my camera with me, so a friend who is the bride's relative promised to take photos for me. So we will see, if she managed to do so, you can see too! :)

Well, since I had my styling materials and tools out, I thought I would play around a little. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm not erally a fan of the frills that give the bird nest look. :) If I use it for a bride, I only use it to give volume to the veil, and in a way that it will not show much --- of course the bride's wishes come first, if they insist, I will do it.

When I was playing around on my mannequin today, I wanted to play around with draping and more of the sultan look (inspiration: Ottoman era). Turks these days would call it an 'Arab' look. LOL People these days! :))))

I personally believe draping looks more elegant, but then again everyone has different taste, and the style of the dress is a very important factor when deciding on the headpiece (hijab style). Not all styles look good with every dress.

Hmm, I did too much chitter chatter again :)

I should add though that this is incomplete. If I had it ready, I would use lace pieces that are beaded (same as dress or similar) and sew them around the side and top of head, within the pleats. I could use both types of veils -- the one tier long veil or shorter multiple tier veil. This really depends on the dress. Also, if I were to use beaded lace around the head, I would opt for a plain and short multiple tier veil. If I left it as it is, a long one tier veil with beading/crystals around the border would complete this style.

Oh, this style actually looks really gorgeous and different without the draped piece around the face. I added that, because I wanted to show that it's possible to cover the chest and neck and make it look good at the same time. Just an alternative...

So, anybody likey? Your thoughts?

xoxo

Posted on 9:19 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Weddings Make Me Go Ga Ga

It's weddings and babies... They just make you go ga ga... I don't think it does anything to men. It's probably just us women and our idea of marriage.

It is true, most of us do imagine the fairytale marriage, the happily ever after. Otherwise why would you ever get married?... Other than the fact that it is sunnah (tradition of the Propher (PBUH) for Muslims?...

To us women, marriage is sacred, and the wedding is the door that opens to that fairytale(!?). However, a couple days later, you do realise that there is no such thing as the fairytale, and accept the reality and move on with married life. Sometimes it takes a while to adapt, sometimes one just accepts it without any problems at all... However, are we (married women) ever content with our marriages?

Yes, we may have lovely partners, beautiful children, a family to come home to... but did you ever really get what you imagined you would?

Anyways... I think this is probably why women tend to get emotional at wedding ceremonies. I saw that glitter in almost every woman's eyes on my table and the next (I can't observe everyone you know!)... It's probably because we, without noticing or subconsciously remember the feelings, the thoughts we had on our wedding day...

Hmm... Well, Z got married today. She was absolutely stunning mashaallah. The wedding ceremony was also a beautiful one which included some beautiful speeches by the fathers of the bride and the groom, a lovely sermon by an imaam/teacher... and for a change, reception food was good (thank you Serenity Reception over at Hume Hwy, Somerton). The meat/chicken was cooked well, the rice tasted like rice thank you! The baklava (Turkish sweet) was yummy, and the wedding cake was irressitable even on top of the baklava! :)) May Allah bless their marriage, their family, and bless them with a blissful marriage where they try to understand one another instead of trying to be right. :)

I know, too much text.. no good! :))

However, I have to note, I sat next to K.T. (you know who you are), who excitedly said, "oooh I read your blog". LOL That was cute. I mean, she was cute and it was a delight to meet her in person. She's the second reader I met in person this week. :) So I would like to use this opportunity to say: I sincerely love you all for the sake of Allah. I may not know many of you in person, but you are all truly special, each and every one of you. So the more you comment, the more I will get to know you. :) There are some of you who I have never met at all whether it be in reality, through FB, or through blog comments. So do drop a line one way or another. :)

Back to the wedding... :) All the guests looked amazing mashaallah. The young girls were all dolled up. I couldn't take my eyes off them all night mashaallah. However, I couldn't ask if I could take their photos. I knew 90% would have immediately said no. LOL

So here you have my outfit :)

The dress, as I mentioned in my previous post is the "something old" (even though it isn't lol but you've seen it on the blog), and my lovely frill blazer is the "something new". Oh and I've never worn this plain hijab before either. It was in my cupboard waiting to be worn with something navy... which I still need to do. :)))

The frills on the back of the blazer... I think it's real cute :)

I had to go with this colour.. because even though I initially wanted to wear a nude colour hijab, the colour just does not suit my skin tone. I look sick in it, so I went for this colour instead. I think I did well. What do you think?

Oh and last but not least, can you share what you had thought about marriage/weddings... and after the wedding, was it any different? Did you get what you expected? How did you adapt? I would love to read about it!

Mwah

Posted on 5:37 AM / 0 comments / Read More

Wedding Season

Contrary to other parts of the world, wedding season in Australia is at the end-beginning of the year. Since the summer season (believe me, we are burning in the heat.. but I love summer (irrelevant, I know :) but too bad)) and summer holidays start at the end of the year, weddings take place every Friday-Saturday-Sunday for around 2-3 months. This is one of the main reasons I have not been able to blog regularly for the past 2 months. I am very busy at this time of the year.

If I remember correctly, for the past 5 weeks, almost every Friday-Saturday-Sunday I have been busy styling hijabs for brides, bridesmaids, and maids of honour. I do love and enjoy hijab styling, but due to other work it just becomes overwhelming at times like this. On top of all this there have been a couple of eid festivals where I had a stall... but that's a totally different topic... I will touch on it in a future post... maybe... :)) All I can say is that I have not been getting proper sleep or rest for over 2 months now. I don't know what I would have done if I had a child (or children)??? You mothers out there... especially those of you who work and raise your child(ren)... I admire you!!!

Anyhow, here are a couple of selections from hijabs that I have styled during this period... I have many photos, but I need to edit and organize them... I will share them in future posts inshaallah...

For you... :))

 

Posted on 6:49 AM / 0 comments / Read More

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