Tuesday 17 February 2015

Making the transition to modest clothing

I made my first ever dress when I was 13 years old. I remember going to a sewing shop and picking out the pattern and the fabric. Then, I sat down with my Mum and she taught me how to read a pattern and use the sewing machine. I loved it! There is something so satisfying about sewing your own clothes. It's wonderful to feel that achievement as well as having a unique item of clothing that noone else has and is just how you want it.

I remember sitting in IT lessons at school and looking at the vogue website (probably shouldn't admit to that) searching for clothes that inspired me. I guess I have always loved fashion. Although I liked to keep my eye on the latest trends, I also liked to be creative and unique. I even took up fashion for a few months at college where I became more skilled at using a sewing machine and needlework. I adjusted my own bellydance costume and then made a new one from scratch. I just love sequins and sparkles!

Then, at the age of 19 I became muslim and things changed. I could no longer go to high street shops and buy what I wanted. Everything seemed too low cut, too tight, not long enough. The list goes on. It was a difficult time for me transitioning from western fashion to modest fashion. I had to chuck out most of my clothes and start again. I went out and bought some maxi skirts and long-sleeved tops and I wore them but I didn't like them. I felt frumpy and I felt old but I stuck with it for that is what my faith prescribes - modesty.

Over the next few years I started to learn how to dress more in a way that I liked. I learnt of different styles of modest clothing. One of the key moments came when I went to Turkey for the first time. I looked around and saw modest clothing I actually liked! I fell in love with the Turkish women's style and this influenced the way I dressed. It is this style of clothing that inspired me to create my new modest clothing business Delal Designs. I would love to make this type of stylish, modest clothing available to everyone in the UK.

More recently I discovered that muslimah fashion was actually a thing! There were muslimahs out there who were creating modest styles and taking photos and writing about them, There are fashion magazines and fashion shows that concentrate on modest, hijabi fashion! This is what I had been looking for. I finally got some ideas for ways of dressing that were both stylish and modest. It can be done!

I do still think one of the best ways to dress the way you want is to make your own clothes, you just need to learn the skills, which are easy enough. The problem I found was, like high street shopping, modern sewing patterns are also not as modest as I'd like. You do have the advantage when making your own clothes, to be able to adjust patterns any way you'd like. However, you do have to learn how to do this or be brave enough to experiment.

I started to search for more modest sewing patterns and then I came across vintage patterns. I realised that some fashion eras have both modest and very stylish clothing that does not look at all out of place in 2015. The thing with fashion is that things can come back into fashion every so often, they become fashionable again. It's quite interesting to look back and realise what people are wearing today is actually the same as they were wearing 40 years ago but with a few tweaks.

I have started to build up a collection of vintage sewing patterns which I will be sharing with you soon. Has anyone else found it difficult transitioning to more modest clothing? Did anything help you along the way?


4 comments:

  1. Oh wow what a lovely post to read. I am not particularly crafty and gave up textiles back in school but one of my best friends has just started a dress making course and she's loving it! xxx

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it :) you should try dress making. it's so much fun! or maybe you could just ask your best friend to make you something if you find a pattern you like :)

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  2. Assalaam wualaykum sister,soo glad I got to your blog,I've been wanting to make my own clothes since forever and you just motivated me more, I'm also a Muslim revert and can relate to so much of your stories, ☺about starting over, giving away your clothes, I was 19 when I said the Shahada ,I read your revert story and I'm busy with one myself that's been in my draft for long, lol

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    1. w.salam. So happy you like my blog sis :) would love to read your story once you've written it :)

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