As mentioned, the cut is one of a wide kimono, with very wide sleeves that you attach with buttons around your wrists, accompanied by a mandarin-style collar. The abaya is in a very light material and open in the front, with buttons down to the upper legs. In terms of colors, the abaya is completely black with a broad white stripe covering the top of the sleeves, the shoulder, and the collar. The back, however, is really the masterpiece. Across the sleeves, you have the front white stripe as well as a grey one, before the abaya turns black. It is also here the big, orchid (?) Asian embroidery is located.

I really love this piece, as it is very different from most other things out there. The only issues I have with it is that one of the buttons came off the first time I put it on. This still did not affect the wearability of the piece too much. Also, because of time constraints due to my travels, I had the abaya sent to me without being tailored to my measurements. This is not recommended, as a size 60 abaya is huge on me. Fortunately, the company always tailors to fit, so you should not face the same issue. All in all, it is a bold, beautiful piece that I’d highly recommend.

All the beautiful pictures are taken by my very talented friend, Anushey Pervez. Find her on Instagram here.

In any case, the prettiness was too overwhelming to resist, and I ended up choosing a silk and lace number from their signature collection (their self-designed ones) and a maxi leopard scarf from their picks to balance it out. I sort of regret I didn’t get more of their own design cause I ended up being positively surprised. Check out their website and Facebook page and see below for descriptions of the two scarves.

I had originally intended to give this cute scarf in stone colored silk chiffon and black lace away after finishing up my review as it is not a maxi size and otherwise too delicate for my regular style. Well, look at the pictures. Obviously I changed my mind. Whereas I thought the cold beige tone would not compliment my skin, it really did, and I do not have much to complain about in terms of volume either. This scarf is pure class, and probably one of the nicer you can come across. Check out more of their signature wraps here.

Then we have the Pretty in Pink leopard maxi scarf, which as the name suggests has pink in the shape of hearts printed over the base animal pattern. It is a regular material huge wrap, and it looks really good.

Bas keddah. The way nicer-than-usual photos are the work of my very talented friend, Anushey Pervez. Find her on Instagram here.

Sometimes, just sometimes, it is a good idea to iron that scarf!

Scarf: Indiska (Norway), vest with chiffon layer: Pitaya, light denim shirt: Ebay, tunic top: Pitaya, tribal print jeans: Forever21, bag: Guess, pumps: Aldo, accessories: ASOS

The favorite. What’s not to love about this multicolored lightweight hijab with Arabic calligraphy? I’ve already worn the El Seed-designed The Centuries scarf on stage as a turban while performing in the Hijabi Monologues, and it is bound to be worn again and again.

The fly one. I love the print of this El Seed-designed orange pashmina shawl. Since The Walls is a little narrow to do my regular scarf style with, I prefer to wear it as a turban or around my neck as seen in the picture (I think it looks cooler that way).

The conscious one. Although the Little Ripples scarf is my least favorite when it comes to the print (the organization’s logo), the size is better in my opinion (i.e. wider) than the other two. The best thing about this sturdy but soft light purple on deep purple pashmina hijab is that every scarf sold means one donated to Darfuri refugee teachers.

The weather was quite acceptable, but has since then cooled quite a bit and so I could wear medium light clothes without being too cold. Loose, baggy, and comfy outfits were king as I enjoyed a couple of lazy days to the max. Things shall definitely sharpen up in time for New York.

Raiding the local Forever21 (and H&M) is a must when one is stuck in smaller cities in the Midwest without European chains such as Zara, but why is it always burning hot inside? Guess which pieces I ended up with?

(What I’m wearing: Head scarf: Mohajababes, neck scarf: Gina Tricot (Norway), leather jacket: Pitaya, tribal fringe top: River Island, pleated jersey maxi skirt: Unique Hijabs, bag: Forever21, spiked peep toe heels: River Island, accessories: Icing, ASOS, River Island, Ebay)

(What I’m wearing: Hijab: Unique Hijabs, neon kimono: H&M, washed out graphic tank: H&M, acid wash dungarees worn as jeans: River Island, bag: Forever21, holographic flats: Forever21, accessories: Icing)

By the way, this is the second time I wear these maxi scarves (see the purple one in this post), and I absolutely love them for their ultra light texture, huge size, and the fact that they come in several different solid colors. All my solid scarves prior to these ones were pashminas – quite the torture on hot summer days in Qatar and Egypt for example. Check them out cause they feel and look great (do not judge my scarf here – I had been driving on the freeway with my windows open for 3 hours prior to these pictures).

Scarf: Mohajababes, plaid shirt: Boohoo, acid wash dungarees: River Island, bag: Guess, sandals: Forever21, accessories: Urban Outfitters, H&M

Then, for those of you who do not follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, here’s where The Hijablog has been featured since the El Pais article.

First up, the blog was featured in the first edition of the new French magazine Stylist. Since it was an actual publication, you can view the PDF below. The article is well-meaning indeed, but not without errors. Spot them if you know French! I also thought the pictures chosen – some of my more “posey” ones taken by my photographer friends – look awkward juxtaposed with those of the fresh-faced other blogger (not to mention the Tradition Reinterpreted “caption” as opposed the Western Influence one – I was going to do a whole Orientalist analysis on the presentation as a whole but after sleeping on it I thought I’d let it be).

In addition, Folha de S.Paulo, the leading Brazilian newspaper, wrote this article on Muslim Fashion (Portuguese), and this article on social media, placing my blog alongside celebrities of the tabloids such as Heidi Klum and Miley Cyrus, appeared in the Indian edition of Mail Online.

Modest fashion blogging is indeed en vogue.

Below are some pictures from our much awaited second meeting in Chicago earlier this year (we actually tried to meet up last summer before one of my trips abroad, but it ended up being a big failure, taxi fares to nowhere, problematic phones, and confused airport staff thinking they were seeing double included). All in all this was an awesome day of shopping, dining, and discussing human rights and Muslim matters – the perfect balance of glitter and substance.

What I’m wearing: scarf: Ebay, faux fur scarf: H&M, leather jacket: Pitaya, fringed lace kimono: Bikbok (Norway), sequin peplum top: New Look, batik skirt: River Island, purse: Forever21, accessories: ASOS, H&M

Now all this happiness requires fun outfits. Hence, I committed some moderate level clashing of floral and animal prints. I’m also slowly overcoming my jersey scarf phobia by wearing a maxi one for the second time in my life (from Unique Hijabs). Despite the lack of poofiness there’s a lot of texture going on and so my hijab is still not completely flat. Oh, and did I mention how easy it is to make this kind of scarf stay put in asymmetrical styles like the one seen below?

On a different note, this week is the last before some serious traveling takes place, so you’ll find me catching up with a lot of reviews and the like before I hit the road (or rather, the skies). I’ll bounce by New York and DC before heading to Europe, and later in the summer I’ll be in the Middle East. That should hopefully make for some interesting posts moving forward. Keep visiting and remember to smile at/for all the beautiful things in life.

Scarf: Unique Hijabs, leopard kimono: Urban Outfitters, floral boyfriend shirt: Gina Tricot (Norway), pastel pants: New Look, sequin clutch: Ebay, flatforms: H&M, accessories: River Island, Asos, Icing, Urban Outfitters

Most these scarves are maxi size providing great coverage if desired; the middle and right row vertically are in the “traditional” light maxi scarf material, while the top left is a pashmina scarf and the bottom left is a jersey one (also maxi size).

Above to the left is the black Aztec Hijab, with bold, big patterns and shapes, running in a green, white, yellow, red, and black color scheme, while to the right is a more springy-summery tribal print hijab in pastel colors, the coral native print (this one is among my favorites cause it compliments my pale face so well).

Next up we have the grey tribal hijab, perfect with medium colored denim material (the print is busy though, so you want to keep the rest of the outfit fairly plain), and the fun, multicolored neon leopard scarf – I love this as well cause the combination of colors make me happy, although the base tone is not the best for my skin.. Pfff. Who cares about that anyway, when it looks this cool?

There’s the coral maxi jersey hijab, as well. Now being new to jersey scarves and a lover of humongous headscarves, I was mildly skeptical at first. It didn’t take me long to love it, however. There are just so many more things you can do with this scarf in terms of folding – because it is rather heavy, it tends to stay the way you pin it and so it allows for much more creativity. Lastly, we have the only pashmina shawl in the bunch, in a classy floral pattern. All in all, Hijab-ista’s products are great, and they’re always a pleasure to work with. Check them out!