Reader's Contribution
My name is Shariyfa. I am a 23-year-old Early Child Development student living in South Carolina in the US.
My StyleI have been wearing hijab since I was 8 and would say that it gets better every year! I own more hijabs than all of my other clothes combined. My style is versatile and ranges from the very hip and urban to more eastern and flowy for special occasions. I buy anything on sale and coordinate it with my existing wardrobe. I also enjoy sewing and I make a lot of my own clothes and purses. I will often make a plain top and dress it up with accessories like necklaces. I am a handbag and purse freak and change them almost every day to match every outfit. I love lightweight pieces of interchangeable neutral or black clothing like long sleeved tops; this is always useful in a pinch if I am running late for class or my son spills something on me! I also travel a lot and simple pieces hold up on long flights and layovers. I have never experienced any difficulty with modesty and clothing; I guess I am lucky that I can sew because it comes in handy when lengthening sleeves or taking down hemlines.
Top TipsDon't be afraid of colour! I wear lots of colours and are comfortable with all of them. I try to match my colors whenever possible but I am also known for wearing monochromatic outfits. I love pinks and blues and sometimes wear an entire outfit in different shades of the same color.
Don't be afraid to make your own clothes. I took a basic sewing course at a local school and then began buying simple paper patterns for easy-to-sew clothes like pullover tops and drawstring pants. Now I can alter any garment that's too short or add sleeves to tops.
Layer, layer, layer. Sometimes hijabis are afraid to layer because they think it looks like you're wearing too many clothes. However, wearing the hijab puts us in our own fashion bracket where there are many more options! I layer long sleeves over a sleeveless top and then sometimes wear a funky vest over it all topped off with dangly chains. Be adventurous and spontaneous!
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