A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses-Day 5

I just added text because my keyboard is fried! Layla was sick yesterday and threw up on it! Lovely, I know.
Thank God, she is feeling much better today.
So, I only have one more skirt that you guys haven't seen.
When I don't know what to wear or it's hot, I'll usually use a sarong like this one to cover up. I have 3 of them, but this is my favorite by far.
Enjoy!

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses-Day 4

Brown Skirt with a green shirt and multi-striped scarf.

I put the sweater over later because the green shirt is kind of tight.

Layla in her yellow dress that Grandma Linda sent her.

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses- Day 3

Today you get 3 variations.
Loose scarf.



















Hijab




















No hijab

A Week of Wearing Skirts and Dresses- Day 2

Here is basically what I wore to ESL classes today. I didn't have the hijab on all day, but it was meant to be part of the outfit. Wearing a long shayla and teaching preschoolers doesn't work so well. If I was practical, a purple Al-Amira hijab would have worked better.

I got the skirt at an Indian imports store last year. Its a wrap skirt, so one size fits (almost) all. I have a purple long-sleeved tee and tank top that you can see the bottoms of, and a black hoodie over top.

Its been pretty chilly here, so I haven't had to deal with the dilemma of modest summer clothes quite yet.

Young Women Discuss Hijab

This video was made for the Minnesota Historical Society in 2004. You will see a lot of the girls aren't wearing what is technically proper hijab, but more the cultural versions that are popular among Somalils.
I think it gives good insight into the variety of factors that influence a girl's decision to cover, as well as to what extent she covers.

Some of the terminology they use is Somali too.

Indho-shareer=niqaab
shuuko=long slip-over khimar or sometimes an open abaya

East Essence Abaya

I was desparately in need of a decent abaya after giving all of mine away last year. I saw this recent post by NoortheNinjabi about her obsession with abaya shopping, so I decided to trust her opinion. I placed an order for this abaya from East Essence.

Here is my actual abaya that I received yesterday. I love it!  I placed the order on Oct 4th and received confirmation that my order had been completed on Thursday the 15th. I got the package from DHL the following day. I think that they custom make each order before shipping, and this is why it takes a few days. I still think its really fast considering that the items come from India.

As for the sizing and quality, I am really impressed with both. I ordered the longest standard length, which is a 57. My only complaint is that the sleeves could be a tad longer, but I have ridiculously long skinny arms. I think they use standard size charts, so if you know your measurements it will be a really accurate fit. Pre-made garments usually fit me really well because I am about 5'6"/7 (170cm) and thin with a small chest and hips. If you look at their size chart before ordering you can decide whether you want a looser fit based on the size as well as if you need a custom length.

I wore it out today (in the rain too) and was really happy with the fabric. It is pretty light, but not stiff like some lower cost abayas that I have owned. It was comparable to some that I had bought at Somali shops for around $40, but I think this one has nicer detail stitching. It also has buttons at the top where the top layer closes. They don't allow it to be opened all the way for nursing, but it could be easily altered on the underneath layer. I think the snaps are there so that if the fabric is pulled it will unsnap rather than rip at the seam.

It also came with a hijab to match the tan layer of the abaya. It has the same black thread stitching going around 2 sides. I think it was also a good deal for $7. I plan on ordering from them again in the future for sure. I would even love to open a little place and sell them, but I don't think we have the collateral for something like that at the moment.

Let me know if anyone else decides to order from them and how your experience goes!

DIY Khaleeji Flower Clip

So today I had a brilliant idea. After seeing other bloggers post about the flower clips that are available in the UAE and elsewhere, I started to want one.
My hair doesn't hold scarves on really well because its pretty slick. Plus, I like the way a hijab looks with a little more lift in back.

I thought about going to a craft store to get some flowers, but then I remembered that they had flowers and clips at the $1 store right by my house. The flowers were pretty easy to take apart and each one had a hole with a little piece of plastic running through the middle. I don't have a hot glue gun, so I planned to use the gorilla glue you see in the first picture.However, I didn't do that and ended up first stringing the flowers together 3 by 3 on some wire twist-ties, then used yarn to tie them onto the clip. You can't see the yarn or the twist-ties on the finished product.

Here is how the clip looked in my hair after I took the hijab off.

And here is my pashmina with a little lift:

And there is Layla in her pyjamas in the background :)

I think I'll wear it tomorrow when I volunteer for the ESL class.

Tzniut - Jewish Modesty: then and now, A video

I found this to be really insightful. It shows how the concept of modesty as it was kept in Judaism was very similar to what we see preserved in Islam. It was only in the last century that the Jews' traditional dress was changed to more closely resemble that of the Europeans. The author of the material also discusses some of the reasons for modesty and the true meaning of the Hebrew word Tzniut. It translated more accurately as subduedness, which is why modesty should be part of our submission to our creator.

Enjoy!

Yesterday's Finds!

As you may know, my mom and brother are in town. We have been busy all around the city, checking out shops, taking walks, and just generally enjoying ourselves. The weather got a really nice too. Its much cooler and overcast, so we won't get overheated while walking.

Yesterday we went to Powell's books, checked out downtown for a bit, then went over to the Hawthorne Dist. I picked up these things:


The Quran translation is Al Quran, A Contemporary Translation by Ahmed Ali.

I looked at it in the store and was pretty impressed. It includes the Arabic text (in very small print), has useful footnotes, and seems to be contemporary without going against traditional interpretation. I was actually looking for the Asad translation, but maybe this was meant to be.
The English is very readable, but seems to be truer to the original.

I picked up the scarf at a place that sold clothes from Tibet and nepal. It is a rougher cotton that seems to stay put and also breathes well.

Just look at how cute Layla is wearing it:


The other book is a children's story in English and Somali. I probably bought it more for myself than for Layla. She seems to get annoyed when I read it to her in Somali.

My mom and brother both really like it here. Now I just need to convince them to move when my dad retires.

Pseudo-Hijab

Here is my own take on the Spanish-hijab (aka tie-hijab with no neck coverage) style.

The steps are basically as follows.

1. Place an oblong shayla scarf basically centered on your head.

2. Tie at the back in a single knot.

3. Take one of the sides and cross it back over your head.

4. Tie that end to the other longer one that is at your opposite shoulder.

For this style it is all tied and not pinned anywhere. I wore it downtown for a couple hours and it did get loose after awhile so I had to untie the second knot and tighten the first. You could probably avoid that by using a pin to secure the first knot.

Mini Hijabi

Layla grabbed a scarf from my drawer and said "hat" "on" and tried wrapping it onto herself. I helped her and this was the result. I think she looks pretty cute in a hijab. Here's one of me wearing the same scarf from a couple months ago.