1) Just pop on over to Mikarose and take a look at the 2008 collection of trendy, modest dresses.

2) Go to my contact page and send me a message saying which dress you like the best and why. Don’t be skimpy with your words, and say something interesting but true

3) After the entry deadline, I’ll submit my favorite 50 entries to random.org to randomly choose a winner.

4) If you win, I’ll send you an e-mail informing you, so make sure you enter a real e-mail address when you enter the contest.

I’ll post my top 5 favorite responses on my blog with or without your name attached depending on your wishes. If you have a web site and would like a link with your name, or instead of your name, I’ll do that too.

Rules:

1. The offer is not redeemable for cash instead.

2. The offer is good only on dresses that are in stock at the time of ordering.

3. The coupon code expires December 31, 2009.

4. If Mikarose does not carry your size (0/2 through 16/18), they are not obligated to provide your size or to pay cash instead. If this happens, you may use the coupon code anyway, pass it on to a friend, or pass up the prize in which case I’d select another winner.

5. Mikarose will ship the dress to a U.S.A. address only.

6. One entry per person.

7. Last day to reply is Friday, July 11, 2008.

8. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter.

9. Void where prohibited.

I can’t wait to read what you have to say!

I ended up buying some linen items from HIWI Fashion, but their web site is down now. I cannot even find a cached page of theirs in Google. That is so disappointing! They had a unique style of clothing that couldn’t be identified as belonging to any specific country or region, and I was happy to see them on the market.

I also have my eye on these options:

• Crescent Moon Boutique: white linen abaya
• IslamOrient.com: linen abaya in many light colors
• Firdaus Designs: linen/rayon blend jilbab

This one isn’t linen, but it may be cooling as well:

• Maryam’s Boutique: a white abaya with a cotton blend lining and a georgette outer layer

This post reminds me of a Messianic store that’s been on my waiting list for awhile. (I’ve been meaning to make a new category called ‘Messianic’ because I now know of three stores for Messianic practitioners.) The store is Zipporah Reshel Designs, and she carries a host of 100% linen clothing items.

Now if only we could only get that linen to stay crisp and smooth!

You can find a housedress for as low as $3.99 USD in their clearance section.

I could only find two stores selling them.

1) Devora Fashions

2) Cozy Collections

Sara has a story that many of us have—we need something and cannot find it. In her case, she was looking for modest swimwear that was feminine, fashionable, and functional, and she couldn’t find it. Hundreds of us, if not thousands of us, have had this need, but Sara took the extra step that most of us don’t—she decided to make a business of it and help others who want to be modest and active, too.

She tells us, “We have a vision for our water line. We would love to see HydroChic become a normal alternative in women’s waterwear and see this more modest line take its rightful place on the shelf alongside the tankini and bikini. In this way, we hope to offer women another real option for water activities!”

Question: What is one of your best-selling products?

“Our sporty ¾-sleeve rashguard has been a super hit!”

Question: What has surprised you about the business you are in?

“I am surprised at how rewarding it has been. We didn’t expect such an overwhelming response as we have received.”

Congratulations and best wishes to HydroChic!

The length of the Roaman’s Long Ruffle Shirt below makes it resemble a Shukr shirt.

Long Ruffle Shirt at Roaman’s

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Bursa Tunic at Shukr

There actually DO EXIST some longer length sweatshirts, sweat jackets, and long-sleeved tees that are made specifically for women. They are at SJYC Wear. Their sizes reach the low plus-sized range.

Way to go SJYC Wear. I’d love to see some more styles and colors of your long gym shirts!

In case you don’t know the disadvantages of wearing men’s sizes of gym tops just to get the extra length, let me tell you all about them—the neck holes are way too big, the shoulder seams hang way off your shoulder, the sleeves are way too long, there is way too much fabric width-wise in the body, and they only come in neutral colors, so it’s nice to see some longer length gym shirts cut for women.

I’d like to see a store selling breathable, light-weight, but not see-through, longer length gym shirts cut for women without having to buy them in a set with matching pants. The matching sets are useless to me because the pants are never long enough for me. All my long gym pants are from either JCPenney or Long Tall Sally. I just need long, inexpensive, long-sleeved shirts to wear with them.

Other Options

So what do we do when we cannot find what we’re looking for? We cobble together outfits from mainstream stores of course. In addition to going the men’s clothing route, one could go the beach cover-up route. Beach cover-ups, the useful kind at least, not the pointless kind, are cut longer and are made from cotton and cotton blends, so they should double as longer length gym tops well too. One disadvantage of them is that they are often low-cut in the neckline making layering a necessity, which isn’t cooling when working out. Or they cover the chest but are sleeveless also making layering a necessity. But at least we’ve met the main objective of being covered enough to go work out in public

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Great Tops, Take a Look!

Terry Hooded Tunic from Eddie Bauer®
Sweatshirt Tunic at metrostyle®
Plus Size Hooded Cover-Up at Woman Within®
Plus Size Long Cotton Tee at Woman Within®
Plus Size French Terry Drawstring Jacket at Woman Within®
Plus Size French Terry T-Shirt Dress at Woman Within®

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Dr. Leonard’s

Knit Cover-Ups - Sleeveless Sizes: SM, MED or LG

Knit Cover-Ups - Sleeveless Sizes: XL, 2X or 3X

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Blair

Palm Tree Print Cover-Up

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If you need or want cover-ups made with sun protective fabric, those are available too. I’ve got all the stores that carry them listed on my web site at http://www.modestclothes.com/sun/sun-protective-swimwear.html#coverup

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Wow! Wouldn’t some of these gorgeous dresses from Chadwick’s 2008 Spring Collection look good as tunics for modest dressers!? I wish this Empire-Waist Jersey Dress was designed more suitably for layering because I like this fabric the best.

I’ve got some coupon codes for you in case you want to go shopping.

Get a FREE designer tote with any order. Offer expires April 30, 2008. Promo code: CHBAG

Take an EXTRA 40% off any one item when you buy 2 or more items. Offer expires April 30, 2008. Promo code: CH4APR

Take $20 off your order of $60 or more. Offer expires April 30, 2008. Promo code: CH6APR

Answer:

Pants

Plus-sized women looking for super modest sportswear are probably going to have to do what I do—put together outfits from mainstream stores. I have to get my sportswear in regular stores that special in tall sizes because I’m tall.

All my gym pants are from JCPenney®. They have plus-sized gym pants too.

I suggest the French Terry pants because they give a little. The woven pants don’t give at all and can be uncomfortable when sitting or crunching up. I haven’t tried the mesh pants there—they look promising.

Shirts

For tops, I wear what lots of Muslimahs wear—men’s sizes of long-sleeved t-shirts. Of course they are not the perfect cut because the neck hole is so darn big and the shoulder seams hang way down your arm, but they are longer in the torso than women’s sizes and large sizes are readily stocked. They are easy to find in brick-and-mortar stores, too.

Avenue® (sizes to 5x) has a pretty French terry long-sleeved (and ¾-sleeved) tunic, but the neckline presents a problem because it’s so deep. Two layers is not fun when you’re exercising! Is it time to bring back the dickey? (Are you giggling? I’m serious There’s a neat invention called a dickey that could solve this problem. It would cover the chest while not adding another layer.)

Avenue has some great-looking pullover hoodies and hooded jackets too.

After looking through all the mainstream stores listed on my site that specialize in plus-sized clothing, I was shocked to see that hardly any stock sportswear. How odd! Help me out here. Leave some comments for others who will find this page. There has to be something else out there in this great big world.