Drawn Together by Modesty

I feel so good now that my closet is cleaned out!

I had the good fortune to cross paths with the book titled It’s So You! Fitting Fashion to Your Life. Of course I was doubtful that there would be anything in the book that would benefit me—me who covers everything but my face and hands. If I hear the lovely advice, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it,” one more time, I’ll…I’ll…blog about it.

Well, good news. Mary Sheehan Warren did not suggest even one time to flaunt it. Her fashion advice is based on a beautiful premise which she puts like this:

“Each relationship (professional, casual, friendly, familial, and intimate) provides its own level of give and take. So, in the most superficial of these you are barely affected because you give very little away. (You don’t love what you don’t know.) For the most part, you are unmarked and unchanged.

A sexual relationship affects you in a far more pervasive way because you give your most intimate self. So if you are still wired the way you began, you are given in a wholly emotional way in response to that kind of give and take. (Sex and the Single Girl never really got into this stuff.)

How in the world is this related to your style? Dressing for success for your whole life means dressing with the confident knowledge of your true value. If we cannot take our sexuality for granted, our style shouldn’t either. Our style is about who we are and the kinds of relationships we have. If we shouldn’t give ourselves sexually to just anyone, our style must facilitate this. This quality, that is, the refinement that protects our sexuality from the eyes and minds of just anybody, is called modesty.

Try not to conjure up the image of a character from Little House on the Prairie! Modesty isn’t retro. It isn’t weird or even self-denying. It is a positive paradigm for fashion choices; not a strain of fashion removed from the mainstream.

It blends. It’s real and works for real women and promotes our material well-being as well as (and even more importantly) our dignity. It can be fashion-forward and will work in anyone’s personal style — even the trendiest.”

Well that was a pleasant surprise. I felt invigorated and kept reading the book with a sigh of relief.

That’s how I got my closet cleaned out. This book takes you through the hands-on process of figuring out the clothes that work best for your body shape (not size—that’s irrelevant), fashion personality, and skin tone. You don’t just read—you empty your closet, take your measurements, and hold up pink and orange to your face—among other things.

How very interesting that pink brings out the glow in my skin, and orange suits one of my friends the best. I would have thought that our skin tones were the same because our hair and skin look similar, but not so. She looks beautiful next to bright orange, and I look sick next to it!

Granted, I cannot take advantage of everything the author had to say. For example, I do not wear makeup every day like she advises. I’m trying to wean myself off makeup. But at least now I know that if I wear a headscarf in “light cool” colors, my skin will glow all on its own. And I won’t be wearing all of the lengths of skirts that are supposed to suit me (I only wear very long), but from amongst the skirts that are long enough for me, I can choose skirts in the cuts and prints that are supposed to suit me AND that fit my religious guidelines.

Interview with Hamza Zakaria, owner of IslamOrient.com which launched in March 2006 and is based in London

Brother Hamza comes from a very unique family of converts to Islam. “My family all reverted to Islam one by one, from my older brother, to me, then my two sisters and mum, grandfather, and then finally my father. Alhumdulillah!!!”

Being a tailor by trade and being a Chinese convert to Islam, Brother Hamza is uniquely situated to bring Islamic clothing with Oriental-inspired designs to the market. He is especially motivated to help some of the younger generation of Muslims to come back to wearing Islamic clothing.

It pleases him as well to be involved with one of the best occupations (tailoring) that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) mentions.

Brother Hamza hopes to complement what’s already in the market for modern Islamic clothing by offering larger sizes and styles suitable for both the younger generation and the older generation. For women, he offers clothing in color so they can accessorize the black Islamic clothing that’s so prevalent in the market.

Q: Who are some of the customers you weren’t expecting?

“We’ve had many customers we weren’t expecting—like some non-Muslims who loved and bought our Islamic clothing. They loved our clothing range; they say our designs are beautiful, yet kept simple and modern.”

“Also, what we are most happy with is that sisters who have never worn Islamic clothing before (because they never found any Islamic clothing that they feel or have the confidence to wear regarding the style, sizing, and material used) bought and started wearing Islamic clothing for the first time. Alhamdulillah, when they came across our clothing range, they loved our elegant and sophisticated designs and our use of modern fabric, such as linen. They loved the many colors we have available and our available sizing.”

Q: What’s one of your best-selling products?

“One of the best selling products is our popular Chinese Islamic clothing which we try to keep modern but with a Chinese elegance.”

Q: What exciting products do you have in the works?

“We are designing more unique designs for our clothing range, and also we will be launching Islamic t-shirts for the brothers with an Oriental theme.”

I didn’t go looking for another “eye-opening counter” on purpose, but, nonetheless, I did see another one that boggles the mind. It counts plastic bags consumed this year, it’s moving faster than the death counter, and it’s right on the home page of reusablebags.com. Please! Buy some reusable bags or bottles while you’re there!

I did, and I’ll disclose my order if it helps lend credibility to my plea:

1 x Reusable Produce Bag Set (kit) = $44.95
1 x ACME Bags™ - Recycled PET EarthTote Grocery Set, Paper Bag Brown () = $49.95

I wanted two stainless steel reusable bottles too, but they were out of stock. I want these because I’ve got a friend who’s directly involved with research that shows how chemicals leak out of plastic containers and into our food. She’s the one who first alerted me to the plastic problem. She and I both replaced our plastic food storage containers with glass ones. If you’re interested in the plastic problem, you can read about it at reusablebags.com.