Hijab on!

Hijab on!

Following the international hijab day, I’ve been really thinking about the hijab and how it is interpreted around the world, and I have noticed it a lot more everywhere, but not in the usually expected places.

The first thing to clarify, is that a hijab is nothing else but a scarf worn around the head. It seems people tend to think it has to be specifically one size or one shape. You can wear any sort of scarf.

Well this is funny, just as I was typing the sentence above, my neighbour came in to ask my husband for help with a blown fuse. I am still wearing my scarf from prayer and so he said

‘ oh I like your… what do you call it? ‘

 I replied ‘Headcarf’

‘Headscarf really? It’s not got another name…?’

‘Yeah, headscarf, hijab, however you want to call it’

Talk about good timing, right?

So anyway, headscarves have increasingly been associated with extremism, oppression and intolerance. So I wanted to make a point with a few pictures.

 

What is your first though when seeing this young lady? Terrorist?

And how about this beautiful soul? A women oppressed by her husband?

 

Humm.. And this woman, surely she is one of those who doesn’t how beautiful it is to be a woman, covering herself like that.

And these three, what are they? Covered in bin bags ?

I mean poor poor women, not educated, not allowed to speak or to even work?

How about this one? Stuck at home all day cooking and cleaning right?

And her?

And her?

I think you are can see my point now.

Covering your head is only ever seen as a sign of oppression and extremism when related to Islam, when women from around the world, throughout history and with different fashions have covered their heads and been giving any grief for it.

There needs to be more tolerance towards those choosing modesty as a fashion. The media must take on that now, enough of showing us skimpy pictures only, most women in the UK don’t want to wear skimpy clothes.

Stop trying to incite young ones to wear underwear in the street, seriously, you have to cater for all tastes if you are part of the media.

Well, I have to go and pray now, but I do hope to see a shift in fashion soon, last year maxi dresses were in fashion, which was great, but let’s hope that ladies who don’t like showing off too much skin can still be represented in fashion and media.  

Back to blogging

Assalam Walaikum sisters!

Things have seems to go back to a normal rythm, two months after our wedding and so I am 100% ready to take on the blogging again.

Follow me on Twitter @RevertDiaries for daily quotes, fashion inspiration and crafty ideas!

I am also on Pose, the fashion app that allows you to upload pictures of outfits and of inspiring fashion. Follow me there under therevertdiaries.

I look forward to lots of articles and inspiring times!!

I would be interested in hearing your stories of how this Christmas season went for you as a revert to Islam, especially if this was your first one as a Muslim, inshallah.

May Allah bless you all sisters!!

x

The Fashion Edit: 12-09-12

Salam sisters!!

This fashion edit is a short one, I put together an outfit which I wanted to share as I really loved it and made from all clothing articles I owned prior to reverting!


I like mixing trends and clashing textures, so for this one I mixed lace with leopard print. To keep it quite soft, I stayed in neutral colours.

The top is lace, and though this one is from China, you can buy lace tops in every shop at the moment. Primark have some really nice ones.

The cardigan is from my mum actually, but again, this you can find in a lot of stores. What I like about it is that it covers the arms but reveals what you are wearing underneath, so it works great with T-shirts and tops with details on them.

The leopard print scarves are everywhere at the moment too, I saw some cool scarves today in Rocket and in TK Max.

The pictures do not show this very well but I am wearing beige palazzo trousers with the outfit. The belt is actually from the trousers, but I chose to wear it on the hips to shape the silhouette slightly. This is a question of shape and of taste.
 Sisters who wish not to show any form of shape would do well with this top otherwise, as it tight on the shoulders but wide everywhere else, making it less likely to make you look drowned.



I really liked how I tied the scarf as well... but not sure if I could do it again if I tried. It was really light and perfect for the lingering summer heat we are having this september.

Let me know what you think of it !!

xx

Salams!

The Fashion Edit: Accessorising your hijab

Assalam Walaikum sisters!

Today I wanted to upload a little idea I had a few months back. I have a lot of necklaces, when I say a lot, I mean a lot! But with wearing the headscarf, not that many are being seen or used anymore, so I've started wearing them on my headscarf!

Here's how to accessorise your hijab with a necklace: 

You will need :
Some curby grips and crocodile grips
A plain head scarf
A short necklace.

I used the headscarf as an under-scarf as well as a hijab so Alhambdulillah, it wasn't too warm under there either.
First you grip your first layer (under-scarf) on to your hair. Then position the necklace so it fall on the forehead where it was disturb your vision. Make sure it won't disturb/distract you in prayer either. Grip it in place with the crocodile grip, grabbing some of the scarf with it. Then carry one wrapping the pashmina/scarf around your head as you would usually. Tadah!

I'll try with different scarves and different necklaces, inshallah, and let you see the styles we can achieve!
For Eid, I wore a pale pink scarf with a silvery necklace as ornament, it looked really nice.

Until then sisters!!

Beat the Chill!

Salam sisters! Hello Friends!

The chilly weather is slowly going to creep up on us this month and many of us will be swapping over our summer wardrobes for our winter ones!

Each year, I end up giving a lot of clothes to charity when I do my swap over: clothes that are too big, too small (I wish) or which I never wear anymore. 

This year I want to put together a project that will involve all of you out there in an INTERFAITH project!

Let me give you a bit of background on this project: 3 years ago, in early december, A and I decided to reach out to the homeless by going around central London handing out christmas cards and a small gift. The idea behind that was to bring a sense of home and belonging to the unfortunate ones who do not have an address and therefore will not be receiving cards or gifts for the holidays. 

What we learned was that there just wasn't enough socks, gloves and scarves that we could give them. 

I really want to do something similar this year, the halal way of course, but involving our other communities, not just the Muslims!

So here it is girls : THE PLAN (Inshallah)

- Change your wardrobe over to winter/autumn mode. 

-Put aside anything you think you could do without, even socks, blankets or hats.

 (these must be in good quality- good enough to give as a present to a friend) 

The warmer the better!

- Spread the word to your friends, muslims, christians, jews, atheists any one is welcome to join!

- Come along to the swap shop ( SUNDAY 25th NOVEMBER) and have some girly fun, swap some clothes with other sisters. Address will be provided when you confirm your attendance to therevertdiaries @ yahoo.co.uk

- Anything you haven't swapped will then go to the homeless in London. Stay back and help with the wrapping. 

Teas, biscuits and cakes will be provided. 

- Join the team going out to central to hand out the parcels on SATURDAY 1st DECEMBER. Details on the day will come closer to the date but one team can hand out teas, another can hand out packets, and another can hand out sandwiches. 

-We will be followed/ accompanied by brothers for safety. I will get my then husband to lead a team of brother to collect donations too, so do involve your sons, husbands and brothers into this project. 

Come on girlies! Come on sisters! London has a heart, lets prove it!

Fashion tip: staying cool in the heat

Buying clothes as a new muslimah can be quite daunting, we have so many extra things to think about!
One tip a good friend shared with me was to buy tops a size bigger than your actual size. That way you will find yourself in a looser and less fitting top. And you don't have to compromise on style.
Another difficulty, specifically in summer, is how to keep cool.
We must stay covered and modest but how can we do that when the temperatures rise, like they have this weekend?
Well they are many tricks to solve that. One of them is linen trousers. They are light to wear but cover up nicely without drowning you. You can find them in any high street shop- primark and h&m do very good ones in many colours! Teamed with a pretty tunique, you could put together a cool hippy-ish styled outfit. But the great thing about linens is that they are very versatile, so if you are more the smart looking type, team it with a shirt dress and a belt, et voila! I ll try and post some examples soon.

And then they are maxi skirts! I love maxi skirts. I have bought 3 this summer and do the trick! Plus they are still spot on trend wise! Get them floaty to create more impact and let the air flow better. By tucking if your floaty shirts and tops inside the waistline, you will ensure the look doesn't become too 'frumpy' Tk max, primark and h&m again are your winners on this for highstreet retail, otherwise asos do some really nice ones like this red one here!
Pictures coming up shortly inshallah
Xxx

Salams sisters!!

The fashion edit 12-08-12

This is my first outfit for The Fashion Edit, so I hope you enjoy it.

Last night, my friends and I got together for a girly catch up. One of them is moving out of the country and therefore selling all of her clothes, so she brought along a suitcase full of clothes. 

She let us pick whatever we wanted from it and we gave her the money we thought it was worth. What I really appreciated was that she really listened to me saying I was in the process of changing my wardrobe to fit my Islamic beliefs. She suggested things to wear with all 4 items I had picked.

I was a little apprehensive about talking about this with my friends. If you knew them, you would know why. All more stylish than each other, I was afraid of being judged and criticized. Instead of that I found 10 attentive ears who helped me come up with The Fashion Edit idea.  

Alhamdulillah, I am so grateful to have friends who are proving to be so open and understanding.

So every now and then, you will see some special edits come up, which will be called after my friend, and the modest and islamically correct outfits you will see will have been made exclusively from items in their own non-muslim, funky  wardrobe.

SAFARI LOOK:

This edit includes a skirt that I got from the sale last night. It is originally from H&M, and actually a boob-tube dress.

Here the dress (£10) is worn as a skirt, with the top bit tucked inside to add length to the skirt. It is warn with a long sleeve Tshirt from Primark (£7), in a bright colour to bring out a bit of the colour from the skirt.

Thick black leggings are worn to cover the legs. These are from Primark (£3).

I accessorized the outfit with a golden bangle in the shape of a panther (£10 from a market in France), a waist belt from Primark (£5) and some plain flat ballet pumps (£10).  The hijab is matched to the green of the skirt and held together with a vintage butterfly brooch (£7) brought in a charity shop.

This outfit would fit any petite sister or pear shaped sister. For the sister with a heavier top, wear the top out of the skirt and leave the belt on the hips. 

For some, this outfit may not seem Islamic enough because of the animal print of the skirt or the fact that the skirt isn’t of full length. This really just depends on the person in my opinion and the level of practice of the sister. 

Let me know what you think of this outfit and feel free to submit ideas or comment on how to improve it.

Until the next article, Assalam Walaikum sisters!!

Xx

The Fashion Edits : Weekly inspiration for the fashionista sister who wants to keep her modesty while looking stylish.

A lot of sisters, especially reverts, find it difficult to transit from their previous dress sense to an islamically correct one.

You often feel like you have to adopt a new personality, let alone a new faith and new life style. A lot of Islamic clothing is adapted or inspired from that of Muslim countries but do not seem to reflect our British/European identity.

So, Inshallah, I’m going to use my wardrobe, my fashion sense and industry experience and my fashion expert friends (muslim or not), to upload ideas of outfits and hijabs to fit all tastes and fashions.

I will endeavour to keep the ideas varied to fit all type of styles and all type of sisters Inshallah.

Please feel free to comment, add suggestions and ideas as I go along.

Asalam walaikum sisters, and I hope you enjoy this.