Bringing you the latest tips from the Islamic fashion blogosphere, we’d like to introduce you to Hijabi, and her fabulous blog, http://hijabiii.com/. We love her style, and we’re sure you will too.

SHUKR: Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hijabi: I’m Shamma, a twenty-two-year-old hijabi fashion blogger from a tiny chain of islands in the Indian ocean known as the Maldives. I’ve been wearing the hijab since I was ten-years-old.

SHUKR: How did you first get involved in blogging?

Hijabi: At first I used to try out different hijab styles and post photos of it on my Facebook profile. Everyone seemed to like these styles a lot and a lot of people from my family and friends encouraged me to start a blog of my own where I can post hijab style tutorials, style tips, etc.

SHUKR: What do you find most challenging about blogging, or writing in general?

Hijabi: What I find most challenging is to stick to a particular topic or type of dress when blogging about fashion. That is, when I write about abayas I find it difficult to only write about abayas, I usually try to broaden the topic and include, abaya-like looks like maxi dresses, skirts, etc.

SHUKR: How would you describe your personal style?

Hijabi: I’d describe my personal style as an average abaya look jazzed up a bit with a colourful hijab or different hijab styles. I do not like to accessorize much but I tend to use accessories whenever I feel like my outfit needs it. I like to play it safe and wear black/brown/grey abayas but I occasionally wear other colours (light and dark) as well.

SHUKR: Do you have any style tips you’d like to share with our readers?

Hijabi: The most thing about any outfit is that you look modest. The next most important thing is how well you can combine modesty and style without going over the top, though it works for some people. Being yourself in your clothing selection is very important. Fashion is a self statement of what you’d choose to wear and not what other people want you to wear. To dress while keeping this in mind, finish off your outfit and a comfortable coat of confidence together with a cape of self ease and you are all dressed up and ready to go anywhere!

SHUKR: Do you have a favorite SHUKR garment?

Hijabi: I simply love all SHUKR’S clothes especially their unique dresses and their comfortable tunic tops and skirt combinations!

SHUKR: Finally, what do you have ‘shukr’ (gratitude) for?

Hijabi: I have ‘shukr’ for a lot of things. First and foremost I have shukr towards Allah (swt) for making me a Muslim, for guiding me, for a good life, a supportive family and the best friends and for wonderful people I have met from around the world once I started to blog. May Allah (swt) bless us all.

Check out this sneak peak from our Head Designer Tabassum Siddiqui’s sketchbook!

I spent the last week of November in the Middle East visiting the SHUKR factory, HQ and stores in Damascus and Amman. It has been a while since I had been back to Damascus and it was interesting to see how things have changed and also how some things are still the same. A whole week spent looking at new fabrics, searching for trims, fittings, meeting the different teams at our SHUKR stores and HQ, meeting our amazing SHUKR customers, and an intensive 2-day meeting at the SHUKR HQ in Amman. The exhaustion of that week kicked in once our plane touched down in Madrid. Since I practically don’t drink tea anymore, I totally forgot how much tea people drink in the Middle East. After spending a week there and kindly accepting almost every cup of tea offered to me, apparently I was on a “chai” high the entire week and my body didn’t even realize how tired it was.

Anyways, I really should have posted these pics sooner, but as soon as I got back home it was back to work again on new collections, trying to process that super short jam-packed trip, and of course unpacking. One highlight that week was the “Meet and Greet” event that we held at the SHUKR store in Damascus. I LOVED meeting all of the customers and of course the great shop girls who do such a wonderful job of modeling SHUKR clothes and helping customers out with their style queries. I wish I could speak more Arabic so that I could communicate to them how happy I was to meet them, but fortunately smiles go a long way. I hardly ever get to see our customers and this was such a great opportunity to pick their brains about what they like and don’t like and just chatting with them to get to know who they are. Apart from meeting our customers, it was also pretty cool to meet a lot of our staff at the SHUKR HQ in Amman and to be able to put some faces with names.

~ Tabassum, Head Designer

Most men think laying means throwing a scarf on a galabiyya and that’s end of that story. But there’s a way to look smarter, sophisticated and stylish, if you do layering right. It is a great way to combine your SHUKR pieces and wear something comfortable and flexible, while showcasing your sense of style.

Before we can start layering, there some minor guidelines we need to follow:

Lighter Clothes First

Start layering off right with your lighter clothes first – t-shirts underneath tops so you can build an outfit. From there you can start moving up to add thicker layers.

Choose Your Layer

This is your chance to be creative when it comes to adding layers. Thicker pieces on top of your heavier pieces. But remember, if you are going to add another layer, make sure you are comfortable. With that in mind, if you can’t wrap your arms around in prayer or make prostration, then your layering combination is most likely too thick and therefore, far from stylish.

Show Some Color

Don’t be afraid to try some new colors in your outfit. However, be balanced, you don’t want to wear 4 layers of all black or conflicting bright colors.

3 Winning Combinations

Now that we’re a little more comfortable with the guidelines, let’s put them into practice.

Combination #1

Combination #2

¾ Length Sleeve Shirt (above, US)

Naseem Jacket (above, US)

Hunayn Corduroy Trousers (above, US)

Combination #3

Cotton Pleated Hat (above, US)

Azhar Jubba (above, US)

Yahya Galabiyya (above, US)

~ Basim, Marketing Manager