The Gamboo3a: Love it or Shove it?

I shan't be diplomatic about this.. I hate them. I literally can't stand those tacky flower clips that hijabis seem to have gone crazy over.

Besides making it look like you have a really abnormal body fat distribution, the thing which I really don't get about the gamboo3a is that it is fairly pointless whichever way you choose to look at it. I mean I presume that women are wearing them in order to tell people - men in particular - that they have masses of luscious hair underneath their scarves. But nobody in their right mind thinks it's hair and men don't find it attractive. They find it weird, like everybody else.

I have never seen a girl make a gamboo3a look good, and I have seen many hijabis use them. It just makes them look 1. really disproportionate and 2. like they are begging for attention, because I for one notice the abnormally huge bun before anything else.

I am not going to get into a religious "Camel hump" debate about this, I personally wouldn't sit hear calling it haram, because by saying that you are basically stating that it is a punishable act. I really don't know about that.  

Perhaps I am totally wrong and behind the times and maybe I have completely lost touch with what it means to be stylish and the gamboo3a is actually a fashion breakthrough. And maybe electric cars will actually catch on and Saudi Arabia will make it to the cup final. Maybe.

Hijab in Style

This beautifully crafted shoot is the work of Mila from Viva La Mode. She has an amazing blog, if you like this you’ll love the rest of her work. She’s stunning and lucky enough to have beautiful friends and family to model for her. So creative!

“Yesterday I had photo-shoot with Sabrina, she came earlier at 7 in the morning and the total photos we had until she left at 5 in the afternoon is 1678! Now Sabrina has worn hijab. It makes me want to wear hijab too, insyallah . So, she wanted to have a photo-shoot in hijab.”

“We’d really like to have outfits in all black, and of course black shades. We’re always be a fan for this style. The white line we had and black eyeliner are from face painting! We are also like to find out inspiration from Hana’s blog. She has amazing style and her blog is really inspiring for the hijab style.”

Beauty Up Close

Islamic style at work

Muslimah style: Abaya over trousers

Smart/ Casual

This abaya I made is actually wrap around at the back, kind of like an apron I guess. But you can do the same with any longish dress. The jacket (also one of my little creations) helps to keep it on the smart side of casual. It’s really interesting that when you use a more contrasting colour for your hijab it becomes much more casual. But when you keep the whole outfit in the same tones it stays sharper and more cohesive.

Islamic style: modest and practical, wrap around abaya over trousers

Abaya Wrap

The last post was all about ultra sharp dressing, but what about if you don’t need to look like you’re going to an interview but still want to look smart? Well, I’ve come up with a few looks that you can adapt to suit you. See what you think…

The outfit to the left is a very useful combination of trousers and abaya. You still get all the movement of trousers and don’t have to worry about showing any leg when you’re running up stairs. To make this work for you just find a long wrap around dress, or wait a few months for the MAYSAA version!

Hijab Top Tips

1. A sharp tailored jacket turns most casual outfits into smart work wear, just be aware of what the outfit underneath looks like if you take your jacket off.

2. Match the outfit to the work. If you’re on you feet all day rushing around then long skirts have a tendency to make you trip up at the most embarrassing moment! Just make sure the length is OK.

3. Always carry safety pins with you. If you need to adjust skirt length then just take an inch of so in from the waistband to make it sit higher on your waist. Cover it over with your top to hide it.

4. If you want to go smart then keep your colour palette to a minimum choose one tone and then work around it. If you want to be more casual then bring in another colour (see the first photo)

And for something simple…

Simple style: Blazer over Abaya

Blazer love

This Outfit couldn’t be simpler, just wear your usual abaya with a tailored jacket or blazer over the top. The one I’m wearing is a gorgeous vintage piece I bought in Venice a long time ago. The abaya was one of the first I ever made. The colour is great sort of a charcoal navy, it goes with everything, wear it with black for Italian chic.