Food For Thought

How To Do Smart

This post is to give you some inspiration on how to go smart, modestly. Weather you are a professional woman or need a one off well-dressed look, I hope you will pick up some tips here. Generally, I think the best and most timeless smart look is the suit be it skirt or trouser but I'll also be showing you some worthy alternatives.

What NOT to do:

1/ Slits in a skirt or any outfit that makes your body look like it's only been blacked out. I don't like telling you what not to do so that's it.. ^-^

2/ Oh, one last thing - if in doubt go for black, trust me you'd sooner be safe than sorry, especially when you're expected to be looking bright, fresh and smart.. you don't want to be looking even remotely fashionably challenged.

3/ P.S. Absolutely no asymmetrical or 'zig-zag' hem lines. Yuck!

What To Do:

Enough of the eye sores, next some nice skirt suits :D

The two suits above are from modern muslimah. They're really smart and stylish, I love the second one, it looks so good with a Turkish style hijab (far more professional looking than a shayla style). The great thing about suits is you don't have to wear the top and bottom together all the time and you can mix and match with different tops and blouses. The runway is great for inspiration.

Trouser suits:

Luckily, smart trousers are generally loose fitted. If you go for the wide leg trouser suit you usually just need to make sure that your bottom is properly covered :) You can achieve this with a loose pair of trousers or a longer jacket.

The first two suits are from onestopplusrewards

I like these but I must admit the first suit is slightly dull so if you go for a colour like this, wear a statement bag to balance it out.

Unfortunately the above shop is dedicated only to the larger woman but I love these suits from elegance

They have a really nice selection of suits I would love to own but they come with a heavy price tag too! :(

Alternatives..

If you don't like the suit altogether, there are other ways to dress smart of course. The most obvious being simply a skirt or wide legs and blouse..endless possibilities

And the second (my fave idea) a long dress with a smart jacket over the top. This pic is just to give you and idea of the look but you can go for different colours and styles to suit you:

And finally my idea of a 'suit alternative' outfit:

The Smart Hijabi by Zaenab

Um, the shoes are there more for show to be honest..I would wear flats :D

Celebrity Style Steal..Hala Shiha

Egyptian actress Hala Shiha is my next style steal, I'm not entirely sure if she still wears the hijab but I'm not to fussed about it either. I couldn't find many photos of her hijab style but here's what I managed to dig out:

First off, she's gone pretty casual in this picture, I like the look I just hope there's nothing evenly remotly related to denim on the bottom half :S It looks like she's gone for a belt above the hips- a far better alternative to wearing a waist belt if you really must wear one at all.

Hmm, personally I think this is so tightly wrapped it looks more like a bandage..but on the plus side you can wear dangley earrings with this style and still cover your ears. I think it would look better with a patterned scarf if you want to wrap it so tightly.

This tuquoise hijab is so cute ^-^

And my fave pic, I love the colours and if that's a dress it certainly looks stunning:

My steal, is of her demin jacket look..ahh who doesn't love a maxi dress?

(Little?) Red Dress by Zaenab

I'm not sure about her style simply because the photos don't show the whole outfits..hope you liked it anyway :D

Outfit Ideas

I love that red dress, I usually hate long sleeved tops worn underneath a short sleeved dress but I think this looks nice because the sleeves are 3/4 length. Great hijab too!

Hijab And Swimsuit: Love it or Shove it?

I was all for the idea when I heard about it but now I think I'd rather find an all female pool and wear a 'normal' costume or give the whole thing a miss and I love swimming! It's not that I think they are immodest at all but they just look a bit to much to swim in comfortably.. although I haven't actually tried on one of these halal swimming costume so my opinion is hardly valid :I

Starting with Primo Modo and its selection:

OK, so they don't look too bad but the price (cheapest $85) is really unreasonable for what it is but I have to say my fave is the pink one up top :D

Next up the 'Burqini' which I'm sure most of you will have heard of from Ahiida. This site offers a selection of fits ranging from 'active fit' all the way to 'modest fit'

Modest Fit:

Slim Fit:
Active Fit:Well I'm still not sure about the whole thing to be honest, I think I'll shove it for now even though I can see why it would be useful to Muslimahs and it is a great invention ^-^ But what about you?

Nabila's Pick Of The Week

Nabila's gone for check look today paired with some wide leg jeans and a contrasting belt for maximum effect. I really like the look:

Here's my version, I added a boyfriend cardigan and a grey scarf instead because this is how I would wear it:

Wide Legs by Zaenab

If you're tall, flats are great but if you're more petite go for something with a bit of heel. If want even more coverage, the highstreet usually has a selection of shirt dresses in check, or internet shops certainly will. Forever21 has one here and ASOS has a very pretty (and rather pricey) one here. Hope you like the pick!

Embellish Your Hijab With A Broach...Or Two..

..and some beads for good measure. I like this, the simple hijab makes the broaches look even nicer:

What a lush pic! I love the little plait thing she's put across the hijab and the bangles are so pretty, not entirely sure about the 'necklace' though, although it's hardly a necklace..

So, I'd say the key to getting this look right and not overdoing it, is to start with a blank canvas i.e. a solid coloured hijab. Get experimenting!

Moroccan Style

The part of the world I'm looking at today is Morocco, I've been there before but I was far too young to remember the weather let alone the fashion tastes. I've done me research and here are my fave pics:

Street Style:

Cute pic showing a range of styles including the famous Moroccan dress. I have a couple of really beautiful ones from Arabia but they're about 3 inches too short now..

These women are modeling an array of lovely colours and patterns..so I thought they'd look a little more pleased..

Not too hot on the masking tape look but apart from that I wouldn't mind a good old rummage through these off street shops:

And also this slightly more uptown fashion store:

Aww, all in pink with a matching baby lol..

These pals certainly have differing tastes, I like the one with the trousers best:

Glam Style:

Beautiful Moroccan dresses next, I love them all and really wouldn't mind owning any of them although, if I had to choose, it would be the last one because I love that cream and red:

A rather wonderful take on Moroccan fashion next, I adore those gorgeous beaded necklaces. Stunning!

A Moroccan cross between a hijabi and non-hijab gives you this cute little number..

Ah, we've seen this before:

It's interesting, really, that Miss Morocco wears hijab but Miss Saudi Arabia doesn't..but that's a different story. Moving on, Princess Lala of Morocco in a lovely traditional dress..

Well that's it, I do like the unique style of Morocco..but I still think Americas got it :( ah well, more 'country' styles coming soon!