Champagne Shine

After mentioning in the last Islamic Design House review that I loved their Sophia Collection more than the piece I was sent, I was gifted a piece of choice from the said line. I chose the black & gold design ($122) for it's elegant simplicity (with a side of pizzazz).

This design is so much more in line with my personal style. It's a more mature, formal style that I adore.

The top half is ladden with champagne hued sequins; the rest of the abaya being clad in plain black. There are ties hidden on the inside which allows you to wear the abaya as loose or as tight as you want around the waist. I have it pulled in on mine to give more shape, as I tend to do.

It goes perfectly with my Steve Madden heels that I never really had anything to match with. They're pretty much the same colour as each other - both as shiny as well.

Obviously this can easily be worn as a night/going out ensemble but I feel due to the sequins being a dull shine that it can also pass, if dressed down a bit, as a casual ladylike day time piece as well as it isn't too glitzy.

The quality is perfect, as is the design. The only issue is that their longest size is still a tad too short for me but I love it so much that I make do with it and wear it anyway. It stops at my ankles (usually I prefer it to go down all the way) but besides that I'm all for this abaya because it is feminine and modern (thankfully the way most current big name abaya designers are designing).

It'd be great for Eid for those who like to get dressed up without being too flashy and decked out head to toe in bling. If you are interested in buying anything from their site, remember to use the code MISSHIJABI when ordering to get 10% off your purchase.

Details

Abaya ~ Islamic Design Store

Heels ~ Steve Madden

Jewellery ~ Egypt

Giveaway - One for the Mummies!

I wanted to share two things with you (the mothers out there) today. The first is a set of new Islamic books for children that I received from Mohsina, a Zambian author who writes books perfect for toddlers and young children in the Muslim Home. 

I was sent three books, all of which can be purchased from here. The one I was most impressed with was the very colourful and simply written Simple Stories of the Prophets which teaches children in a very simplistic way about the lives of the Prophets - sort of like a first introduction if you like.

Each double page includes a short story and bright illustrations to catch your little reader's attention. These would be great your own kids or to purchase as gifts for others during the upcoming Ramadan/Eid. 

Buy from here or email the author herself (mos.nosarka@gmail.com) to find out more about these cute little books.  

Now for the second thing I wanted to share with you, or more specifically one of you lucky ladies out there! MissAbaya.com want to give one MissHijabi.com reader (our websites sound like sisters, lol) an abaya exclusively made in Saudi for themselves and one for a special little girl in your life. 

These duo pink abayas are the cutest ensemble for a little matchy-matchy dressing for two from this Malaysian based company.

The winner will get the Little Miss Muffin abaya that has sizes catered for 4-9 year old girls, while also receiving the adult version of this piece; Miss Strawberry. Such a cute pair, right? 

To enter you must complete all of the following steps:

1. Like MissHijabi.com on Facebook
2. Like MissAbaya.com on Facebook
3. Leave your Facebook name in the comments below 

After a week or so, I will search through the names randomly to pick a winner and announce it via Facebook. Good luck to all the fellow Mummies! Winner is Shelby Korin.

Golden Safari

You know how you have that one dress that is too glam to wear for your usual events? Well, this is mine. In order to rectify this situation, one of you guys out there needs to have a party and invite me to it. Or allow me to gatecrash. Either of the two will do.

In the meantime I will just have to sparkle at home in this beauty until the right event comes along. Ramadan and Eid are just around the corner...

NA Exclusive Abayas once again sent me this baby. It's very much in the same elegant style of the black sequined abaya that sent me that I reviewed here, the only difference being the black embellishments have been replaced with an African themed tiger stripe pattern of bronzed gold and black (they also sell a cheetah print version in the same colours). 

Same as before; their designs are well made, fit like a custom-made dream, etc. You get it with these guys by now. I've reviewed for them three times before (this is the fourth) and each time I have never been disappointed with the design or quality. 

What I particularly love about this design is the cut. It gives you a little shape without being immodest and tight thanks to the clever draping and folds in the fabric. Such a smart silhouette.

This gorgeous design normally sells for $149 but if you mention MissHijabi.com when ordering from NA Exclusive Abayas you will get a 10% discount! See, I come in handy. (ᵔᴥᵔ)

What do you think about the abaya? Where would you wear it to?

So Circumcision Sucks.

Today I took my son to get circumcised - a rite all Muslim males experience for the most part. I was nervous leaving him behind in a room with the doctor, knowing he was going to be cut open and screaming but they have a policy of not letting the parents in during the procedure. I can understand why, but at the same time it makes you feel shit as a mother not being next to your child when they need you the most. Walking out of that room, kissing him on the head as he smiled at me with those pretty blue eyes and knowing what was coming next was the worst feeling. I felt like I was abandoning him.

Getting him home and having to unsuccessfully comfort him while he screamed and screamed every time he moved his little legs was beyond horrible. At one point I started crying because I didn't know what to do for him. I felt utterly useless and began questioning the whole point of having it done. Yes, it is a religious tradition but does it have to be such a painful one? Even now the guilt hasn't left me.

The pain the poor little babies have to go through... it's such a cruel thing to do to such an innocent child. A little more research into the matter thanks to a little late night iPhone Wikipedia reading brought to me the fact that a lot of people get it done when their children are older. Older as in ten years old. I was pretty stunned at that. It's bad enough for an infant to go through, but a grown child? Ouch. I've even heard of adults getting it done. Bit late in the game, but whatevs. 

Ancient Egypt was one such place where adult circumcision was the norm. As was letting your arms grow to six feet long.

On a side note; I love the guys on the left. Just exactly how restraining do you think that hold is? 

The real worry for me is waiting for this painful ordeal to be over for him. I'm told in a week's time he should be back to normal, but a week is a long time for such a little person to handle. I'm just praying the healing is quick and uneventful, insha'Allah.

I keep stressing and worrying that the wound is going to split open; that it is going to get infected and fall off. A tad dramatic, I know, but this is the first time any of my children have been in pain like this and it is (naturally) not sitting very well with me. 

If you have sons, would you mind sharing your experiences with me about this? How long did it take to heal? Were there any hiccups? Did you feel incredibly guilty about it like I do now? Can you never cut a cucumber again?

A Moroccan Affair

Last night my hubby and I went on a date. I was so excited. My sister minded my toddler while we took the rare opportunity to eat in peace. It has been two years since I have sat down with him and actually enjoyed a meal and didn't have to shove the food down my throat in three gulps while restraining my daughter from climbing on the ceiling or walking to someone else's table, grabbing their chips and throwing it at them while laughing. 

To be honest, going out to eat with her in public is pretty dreadful. It is stressful and embarrassing. Even now while I am typing this she is walking across my stomach, pulling out my hair with one hand and tapping me on the head with her dinner spoon with the other as if my cranium is her personal drum kit.

Just got choked. 

We went to Kaza Blanca Grill, a local place in Fremantle that serves up some good Moroccan food.  So good in fact that I actually ate salad there. I never eat salad because a plate of tiny mixed vegetables is about as exciting as watching a pair of flies mate on your kitchen bench (it happened today) but their tabbouleh was incredibly fresh and tasty. I never knew garden offerings could be so delicious, especially when sitting on crunchy bread, smothered in hummus. 

So we got that for an entree along with some warak enab (which they strangley call "Dolmar". I didn't think that was an Arab name for wrapped vine leaves). For mains, I ordered a kefta tagine. Hubs got the mixed grill. Being the good wife that I am, I helped him eat it.  

I wore an Amirah Fashions abaya; one that I seem to wear the most out of all my abayas because to date it is my only plain black one (I pulled the decorative buttons off it since the review to have it match more of my scarves). 

My crochet vest went on top, followed by one very silky tie-dyed scarf from colour queen herself; Dian Pelangi. Evidently I was going for a relaxed bohemian-hippy style to match the restaurant's chilled atmosphere and took along my comfy dark caramel bag that I picked up in Malaysia.

Accessories up close. I love the texture to this silk Indonesian scarf.

Details

Abaya ~ Amirah Fashions

Bag ~ Bonita Malaysia

Scarf ~ Dian Pelangi

Necklace ~ Old

Vest ~ Jay Jays

Ring ~ Lovisa

Cuff ~ Old

Baby Shower Black

So I was supposed to go to a friend's baby shower this weekend but the universe basically kicked me in the face and destroyed any chance of that happening. I got all dressed up in this outfit below, got my nails done, hair styled, basic makeup on - the works - only to get in the car and have the GPS conk out on me after five minutes (couldn't find a bloody signal), leaving me driving aimlessly down an unknown highway; lost, extremely late and confused. I gave up. 

Pissed off, I went back home and instead took some pics for this review. No need to waste a good  outfit, I suppose.

One of my favourite abaya companies, NA Exclusive Abayas, (that I have reviewed for before and before) sent me this black sequined baby. It comes in a pretty much limitless colour combination but I went for the classic all black on black with silver blinged out flowers cinching me in on each side of my waist to get some shape going on. 

Obviously a night-time piece, it goes perfectly with a pop of colour added in thanks to my giant pink tiered ring and pink/chocolate mixed nails that I hurriedly did before leaving in the car. I tried to keep it to a minimum considering how much of a show stopper this abaya is. It's definitely not good to go overboard with the accessories. 

This is such a princess style piece. I genuinely love all of the abayas they have sent me. A few of my good friends have also bought a few abayas each for themselves as well after seeing my reviews and checking out the abayas I had at my house. I will always recommend this company to anyone looking to buy a good abaya at a good price. 

On a side note, I have another abaya of theirs to review this week so make sure you check back to get a look at a different design of theirs. 

Details:

Abaya ~ NA Exclusive

Ring ~ Diva

Nails ~ Sportsgirl in Milkshake & Pink 

Review - Bel Vestito Kaftan

After what seemed like an eternity choosing this kaftan, then settling on a fabric colour (there were so many options design-wise and colour-wise that I found it incredibly hard to narrow it down to merely one option) I received it in the post last week or so and finally got around to reviewing it. It is honestly such a battle to find time when both kids are asleep simultaneously, thus granting me a rare opportunity to get through my very long list of reviews piling up at home. I know I seem to say this every time, but finding that small amount of me/alone time is increasingly difficult. If you have more than one kid then you will know what I mean. 

This particular kaftan was custom made and sent to me by Facebook based company Bel Vestito who specialise in abaya and kaftan replicas. They were so patient and helpful with me, especially considering how I kept umming and ahhing with my annoying indecisiveness when deciding which design to choose. In the end, I was guided into settling on this greeny turquoise beauty...

The handmade beading/crystal embellishments are quite elaborate, as are the four roped ball/bead combo tassels that hang down at the front and rear of the gown. They create a very unique feature to the kaftan that I haven't seen used elsewhere. A few crystals had come off the design during shipment, but I was given a small bag of spare crystals to use as replacements when needed. Thankful for that! I wish more companies included spare buttons/crystals, etc because they really are quite handy to have tucked away.

The gorgeous design is multi-layered, featuring a long sleeved silky slip to wear under the gown which hides under the many layers of turquoise chiffon. The material is thin but good quality but does snag easily (as most kaftan material does) so keep sharp jewellery away (not that you would need to wear any with this. It is so heavily decorated that any jewellery would be overwhelming).

Above - left pic displays the front, while the right pic displays the back of this beautiful garment.

The decorations are quite blinged out (which I love - I am definitely not afraid of the fancy) so obviously this is a dress made for weddings, parties, etc. I don't know of anyone getting married soon, but if I did I would probably end up wearing this with some saparkly gold or nude hued heels. 

The kaftan also came with a matching scarf that you can see featured in a recent review I did here a couple weeks ago for Abaya Addict. The colour is pretty much perfect for me if I do say so myself. I'm so glad I ended up choosing this one. 

Check out Bel Vestito on Facebook for their multitude of other designs. You can also follow them on Instagram like I do @belvestito.

What do you think of this princess style design? Would you wear an elaborate piece like this?

Review - Capsters Sports Hijab

Dear Lord, I have a big head. Usually I can squish it down somewhat with a long scarf but this fitted hijab just brings out the beast in my cranium. Whatevs. The thing works. That's the main thing. 

Big head it is...

So when Capsters emailed me about reviewing one of their sports specific hijabs I immediately said yes as I do with a good 99% of companies that come my way, but then I had to stop myself. Shit. I don't even do sports. I barely even move unless walking to the fridge counts. And that bothered me a bit because I like to consider myself as a genuine person and coming on here promoting a sports hijab when I am a couch potato seemed like the fakest, most ingenious thing I could offer up to you (my readers) or to myself.

Dilemma indeed. So instead of declining their offer on the basis of being self-deceitful I decided to use it as motivation to get off my couch and out into the big scary world of fitness. I'm pretty sure my body went into confusion as I slipped on the walking shoes. I might have even heard my feet frantically sigh "WTF are these?" as they raised a worried eyebrow to me. It's been that long. 

I threw the kids in the pram (not literally - that would constitute child abuse) and headed for the park where I walked the circuit of the reserve twice - a grand total of 3.2km. I felt so proud of myself and even continued the change by making a huge fruit smoothie from scratch when I got home. 

The next day I approached my treadmill. I turned it on. I ran. Not for long though. I got so bored. I'm running and going nowhere I thought to myself as I stared at a wall. I opted for the park circuit instead and have been going back every few days, eating better and so on... basically just introducing a little more health into my life.

Enter the hijab. I choose the Runner because it suited the activity I was doing more so than any other. They have hijabs dedicated to the surfer, swimmer, aerobiciser (word?), team player, etc. I am more of a walker than a runner at this moment but it did the job nicely. The material is very light, stretchy and enables your sweaty head to keep cool when exercising. A lot of careful thought has obviously gone into the design and structure of these hijabs. They are not a flimsy quick-fix sports hijab like the poorly made ones I have seen in the past. This has to be the best quality sports hijab line on the market. I only wish they would extend their services into sportswear and make full outfits for exercising in since they seem to have the hijab design down to a tee. 

I played around with it a bit and used the scarf Abaya Addict sent me recently to create an undercap/scarf look to fit the Capster piece more into my style. For this reason I chose the all black version (it comes in five different colour combos).

You do have to wear a high necked shirt of some sort because the hijab isn't very long at all mainly due to, I suppose, the fact that this isn't a fashion scarf; it is purely designed for athleticism and therefore needs to be short and fitted for safety reasons. You don't want someone accidentally choking you with your own scarf on the soccer field. That reminds me, I used to play soccer in high school. The whole time I played I only ever once scored a goal... for the other team. I was that hopeless and embarrassing. Worse still was having to keep running on the field listening to the people on the sidelines laugh, beep their parked car horns and jeer. Hence my long term couch potatoism. The couch never judged me. 

Details

Sports hijab ~ Capsters

Scarf ~ Abaya Addict

Sunglasses ~ Bvlgari
Ring ~ San Stefano, Egypt

Review - Islamic Design House Abaya

Islamic Design House, a UK based company, sent me one of their abayas to review from their casual collection. Unfortunately they didn't have anything in my length and I'm not a fan of my ankles awkwardly hanging out of any kind of dress so I instead had my friend, who is a little bit shorter, choose a piece of her liking and had her model the abaya for me. 

Let me just say, taking pics of someone else is by far so much easier and quicker than photographing myself with a tripod. This is probably the quickest review I have done because I didn't have to muck around doing both jobs. Such a breeze!

The colour scheme is very gentle on the eye and suits the Western palette a lot more than the traditional all black abaya does, so I applaud them for that. It's a good easy option for those who want to get into wearing abayas in the West but maybe are not quite ready to don the full black abaya as yet.

Structurally, the abaya is extremely well made and stitched although the fabric is not my friend. I ironed this piece about an hour before taking these pics, even added a little starch due to the nature of the fabric, but it did crease and line up a little with instant wear and movement. The top section, which is made from a different material, stayed  ironed and was no trouble at all. A softer, slinkier fabric for the bottom section would've been more ideal but it is very light weight and breezy to wear, so you can see why they choose this material - very handy for the warmer months. 

If you like that kind of structured design then Islamic Design House abayas are right up your alley. Design-wise this abaya wasn't exactly representative of my tastes so I had to make it more feminine by adding a floral hijab, a long girly necklace and pretty clutch to dress it up more to my liking.

I know a lot of women love a more casual, every day type abaya to wear on a regular basis so this would tick a lot of boxes for some of you. Personally, I prefer their very graceful Sophia Collection. Check that one out for some really stunning abayas!

You can now get 10% off at Islamic Design House simply by mentioning the code MISSHIJABI.

Details

Abaya ~ Islamic Design House

Necklace ~ Dunno

Clutch ~ Palestyle

Hijab ~ Egypt

Review and Giveaway - Abaya Addict

It feels slightly weird stepping out of the traditional black abaya after so long, but I have to say it is a welcome change. I feel more modern, a bit fresher and almost as if I'm recaputuring some (just a tiny bit) of my youth that I lost along the path to having two kids (it wears out your body AND your mind!).

Abaya Addict sent me their Hi-Low striped dress to review (and scarf which shall be shown at a later date) and despite my reserved original thoughts of "my arse in horizontal stripes?!" I went ahead with my choice because the cut of the gown was intriguing and unlike anything I currently own in my closet. 

I love the sleeves because they actually go past my wrists - all my tall people out there know what I mean when I whinge about long sleeves never quite being long enough. On a sidenote - I don't know what is going on... either my camera or my computer can't handle all the stripes because it has kinda turned some longer pics of the striped dress into grids. The dress isn't like that in real life, just a heads up.

I wanted to break up the stripes a bit so I wore a crocheted vest over the top (nearly wrote "crotch vest" there - awkward) and a heavily beaded necklace to tie in the green skirt. I know a lot of people would wear skinny jeans with a design like this but I thought a nice flowy skirt would be more akin to my personal style. That and these legs ain't ready for skin tight trousers any time in the next forever.

I wore this outfit to my baby shower last week; pics of which I shall share later but lets just say it involved a lot of cake. As good as it was (it was pretty damn great) I left feeling like eating a million oranges, dipped in avacado and held together with lettuce. Since then I have been on a bit of a much needed health kick in order to look after myself better. Here's hoping I stick to it and keep it up because I have been needing to kick myself into gear for a few years now.

Details

Dress/Top ~ Abaya Addict

Scarf ~ Bel Vestito

Necklace ~ Colette Hayman

Rings ~ Random

Skirt ~ Target

Flats ~ No! Shoes

Nails ~ Revlon in Posh

Giveaway Time!

If you loved the striped Hi-Low dress as much as I do (and I do!) and want one for yourself then complete the easy steps below as Abaya Addict is giving one away to a MissHIjabi.com reader.

1. Like BOTH MissHijabi.com and Abaya Addict on Facebook
2. Enter your Facebook name in the comments below when you have liked both pages.

The giveaway is open for two weeks - check the regular updates on Facebook as the winner will be announced there. Good luck chickies! Winner is Katya Collinson.