My clothing style

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu everyone!

I've been meaning to do this post for a while, but until just recently I didn't know how to post photos on the blog (technology fail on my part, lol). Now that I discovered it, a whole new world of posting has opened up! Since I love talking about clothes so much, I figured that it would be appropriate to inaugurate the use of photos with a collection of my favorite outfits that I wear on a regular basis.

As I've mentioned before, I try to observe hijab and jilbab to the best of my ability. I wear almost exclusively two-piece al-Amira khimars since they're the easiest to put on, and I always make sure that they're covering my chest like the Qur'an instructs (most of my khimars are at least elbow-length). I consider "jilbab" to be any type of overgarment with a layer of clothes underneath. While traditional abayas and jilbabs certainly fit this requirement, I also wear long skirt/shirt combos, long dresses with sweaters, even long trenchcoats. My standard "underclothes" are a long sleeved shirt and knit pants or jeans, although in the summer I'd wear leggings or linen pants.

My clothing style has always been really simple and classic. I remember in elementary school and middle school, my standard outfit was a pair of boot-cut jeans, a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and sneakers. Give me solid colors, stripes, plaid, or maybe subtle floral prints in neutral colors (browns, oranges, greens, and purples are my favorite, but I tend to avoid wearing black because it makes me look drab, and I don't want to give off the image that "Muslim women must only wear black clothes"). My favorite fabrics are cotton, denim, linen, and corduroy; forget the satiny, shiny fabric with gold flecks and rhinestones on it. My favorite non-Islamic clothing stores are Eddie Bauer, Old Navy, Gap, Land's End, and L.L. Bean, all known for carrying classic, conservative styles that don't go out of fashion. Shukr definitely tops the list for my favorite Islamic clothing stores (everything there is my style, and I would buy out the whole store if I could), but it's so expensive that I can only afford to splurge there occasionally. I mostly get my jilbabs and hijabs from the store in my masjid or at a Somali-run store down the street from the masjid.

If anyone is interested, I'd love to see what other bloggers like wearing Insha'Allah (online pictures would be great too if you don't want to post your actual pictures). Enjoy a virtual rummage through my closet! I apologize for the poor picture quality; the lighting in my room is horrible and I have an old camera. And pardon my messy room in the background! (Captions are below the picture)



This is one of the djellabas I bought while I was in Morocco. It's dark blue with light blue and pink stitching, and blue and pink knotted buttons going up the front; there's a hood in the back. I love Moroccan-style djellabas; they're comfortable, loosely cut for a modest fit, they come in every color and pattern under the sun, and they have slits in the sides so you can reach into your pockets in the clothes underneath the djellaba! I'm wearing it with a bright blue two-piece khimar.




Here's a denim skirt with a striped, pocketed top and a black undershirt. I love this outfit because it's so casual-comfy. I'm wearing a black khimar with it to kind of break up the all-blue look.




This is the first jilbab I ever bought, a really plain brown one with pockets from EastEssence.com for only $20. An oldie but a goodie. :) I'm wearing it with my favorite khimar, a two-piece grey one.




I found this skirt at Gap last year and snatched it up like it was going to vanish right before me. I love plaid, I love orange, and I love long skirts, so this was like a dream come true. :) I paired it with a brown sweater, a bright orange top, and a burnt orange two-piece khimar.




Here's my beloved navy blue corduroy jilbab from Shukr with my favorite khimar. I had wanted a corduroy jilbab for a long time, and they're not easy to find, so when I finally saw one at Shukr I gave in and splurged on it. I bought it for Eid al-Adha and when I got it it was way too big/long, and because I was strapped for time I just taped the bottom of it with shoddy wall tape. Yes, the tape is still there. :)




This is another one of my favorites, a purple jilbab with my grey khimar. I was so excited to find it because it's solid-colored, not black, a nice baggy cut, and no decorations, an ideal style for me. This was my jilbab for Eid al-Fitr.




This is another djellaba I bought in Morocco. This one is a much lighter fabric (linen I think?), so more suitable for summer. It's tan with dark brown embroidery and buttons, matched with a dark brown khimar. I can't wait to pull it out for the summer Insha'Allah, but because there's a small slit up the front it definitely needs to be worn with pants.




Here's a shout-out to Umm Ibrahim; I'm wearing the grey manteau and blue maghneh she picked up for me in Iran! Masha'Allah, I absolutely love Persian fashion, so when I found out Umm Ibrahim was taking orders for clothes when she went to Iran over the summer, I freaked out. The maghneh style is very similar to the al-Amira khimars I wear, although it tends to look a bit more put together and more formal. Manteaus are essentially long shirts/jackets that are part of the required hijab for women in Iran. I personally prefer the manteaus from the post-Islamic Revolution time in the 1980s (calf-length, straight cut, neutral colors), but Umm Ibrahim said these were nearly impossible to find nowadays. She picked up this number for me, and Masha'Allah I love it! The fabric is surprisingly light, so it will be great for summer insha'Allah. Manteaus are normally worn buttoned up, but unfortunately it's a little tight on me, so I need to keep it open. I paired it with a white undershirt and a light, summerweight black skirt.






Given my love of Persian clothes, I have looked far and wide for a chador-style garment. I finally found one in a little store near my parent's house. It's really an overhead abaya from Saudi Arabia, but for now it's as close to a chador as I'm going to get (although I'm trying to order a chador-e-melli, a sleeved chador, from Umm Ibrahim Insha'Allah!) Normally I don't like wearing all-black, but because you can wear a colorful khimar/jilbab underneath it makes it look less drab. I've only worn this once, on Laylat al-Qadr, because as beautiful as it is I find it too impractical for everyday wear (no sleeves, it drags on the ground a bit, and the part that rests on the head slips around). Insha'Allah if I obtain a chador-e-melli I'll be more inclined to wear it more often.

Yay clothes, Alhamdulillah!