I am in no way shape or form a blogger, model or writer. However, I am known amongst my family and friends to be obsessed with fashion design, and styling. I started my first retail job at Banana Republic at 14 (crazy I know!) and became obsessed with styling, which led me to be a personal stylist for many years. Now I have my own clothing line coming out soon called, “Sophia Hassan.”
Constantly traveling, I am always on the go and I try to keep my wardrobe pieces as modest as I can. Purchasing prudent and discreet pieces from the States is actually easier than a lot of people think!
Rule Number One: Find pieces to cover the tush! (I usually use this one a lot for myself)
During my recent trip to New York City, I had to shop a little, as I didn’t know how humid this city could get in spring. So I hit up the local Zara, and bought what was supposed to be, a long sleeve gorgeous dress, and just wore it as a shirt. For many hijabis this is literally your go-to modest look. When in need for anything long, meaning long enough to cover your bottom… always go for a mini dress! And if you are extremely tall like I am buy a knee/ankle length dress and wear leggings underneath.
Rule Number Two: Find a hijaab that brings out your “feminine features” in your face as my cousin from Palestine would say in Arabic…
During my stay in Jerusalem, I did a lot, and I mean A LOT of souq (market) shopping for hijabs! The Souqs in the old city had the prettiest ones I had ever seen, and for once they weren’t 100% polyester! My cousin and I made sure to stock up on all the neutral colors, and light prints for our olive complexion 😉
Rule Number Three: Find jeans that are not too baggy, and not too tight!
I know, super hard to do, but I always find that when I try on jeans that are way too loose, the only way to really style them is to wear them with heels. But when you’re 6 ft tall and all you want to do is explore the city of Istanbul or any city really… hit up Seven for all Mankind, Joes, or Citizens! I kid you not; I don’t purchase any other brands. Sevens are usually my go-to jeans, and they last literally forever. The jeans I have on in the picture are loose straight legged. They are perfect for shirts that aren’t too long and too short. Did I mention the comfort of them? Super roomy, and comfortable! Also affordable!
Rule Number Four: When you are wearing dark colors, always go light with the hijaab!
Again with hijaab, but hello… I am a hijaabi :p
When I had purchased my J. Crew pixie pant leggings, I knew they were way too risqué to be worn with a short shirt, so I topped it with a long maroon shirt I had purchased in the Souqs of Istanbul, and it was a deep maroon color. The problem was, it was short sleeved and only looked good with a black cardigan on top. I changed my hijab about 4 times, before finally realizing that I just looked too Goth. I had never really paired pink/nude hijab with deep maroon and black, but when I did.. I was glad! It brought out the features in my face, and didn’t make my outfit look all black (nothing wrong with all black, but it was spring and I needed some color in my life).
Rule Number Five: Long cardigans save your life, and don’t you ever forget that
I travel a lot, which also means for myself, that I tend to purchase pieces wherever I go because I travel light when it comes to tops. I never have any luck finding a long shirt that is modest enough for me. But do note that everyone has their own level of modesty.
Although I still like to wear quarter sleeves, I always try to keep my shirts long, jeans loose, and hijab long enough to cover my chest.
However for the times you see cute shirts that are too short, or short sleeved, don’t ever not buy it! I know so many girls who skip out on the opportunity to wear a cute top, because they forget the option of layering. The white flowy top I’m wearing in the picture was from a little boutique in Bethlehem, Palestine. Not only was it transparent, it was also too short for my liking. Luckily though, it was white and I just so happened to have a long cardigan with me on the trip that I had purchased from Forever21! Now, I must tell you that I rarely shop at Forever21, my sisters do, but you will never see me in there! When my sister came home with a black long sleeved cardigan my jaw dropped… this is rare for Hijabis. I went, and picked up a black and grey one, and now I wear them with all my cute tops that are too short to wear alone.
Article by Sophia Hassan
