Reader's Contribution
My name is Neira, I am 29 and live in the UK and at the moment I am a full-time mum to a beautiful boy. Originally I come from Bosnia, and I've also lived in Sweden for a number of years. I have started wearing the hijab about 4 years ago and never looked back.
My StyleMy style does not resemble the typical Bosnian style, probably because I do not live there and don't really get the chance to visit very often. My husband is of African descent and having lived in Sweden and the UK for the past 15 years also has had its impact. I just found a style I think suits me and don't really try to fit into a certain box.
The clothes I wear are mainly from high street shops, some are from Islamic shops like Shukr, but I find that they are more expensive. I try very hard to adapt the "mainstream" clothing and hijabify it and match the colours and layers, etc. Most of the time it is tunics/day dresses with jeans, and in summertime I love maxi dresses and wear those with cardigans, although these are not very practical.
I almost always wear an underscarf/bonnet that contrasts at least a little bit with the hijab and do a lot of matchy-matchy. Being very very pale and with colourless eyebrows and lashes I feel that I need at least a little bit of make-up, and I do love make-up. I rarely wear jewellery anymore, partly because I have a small child and also I find myself pulling the hijab over the ears all the time so it is just not worth the hassle.
My inspiration just sort of happens! I see pieces of clothes I like and try to work around the one item, be it a tunic, dress, hijab or a skirt. I also get inspired by beautiful sisters that I see around me, on the Internet and particularly by the tips from Jana and others featured on this blog :)
Top TipMy one tip is I have quite a lot of underscarves which I cut to be like a headband (cut off the back part that goes around) as otherwise they slip back. I then started cutting up t-shirts to get the exact colour underscarf I wanted and if they are long sleeved, I use the top part of the t-shirt with the sleeves as a bolero to wear on hot days under a tunic that might not have long sleeves, and the bottom part of the t-shirt makes up the bonnet. So look for cotton stretchy t-shirts that don't cost much and are available anywhere, like in Primark who have a lot of cheap t-shirts in many different colours.
What did you think of Neira's style? If you want to be featured on Hijab Style, send in your photos and top tips to hijabstyle @ hotmail . co . uk Readers will be able to vote for their favourite entry, and the winner will receive a FREE hijab of their choice from The Hijab Shop.
