The Muslim veil: Modesty has its own style

Hijabs du jour and hijab don'ts: Whether the Muslim veil takes the gentle Pakistani drape or the face-hugging Saudi wrap, it is a style statement.

By Carol Huang Staff Writer / December 12, 2009

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

For many Muslims the question isn’t “Should I veil?”

Skip to next paragraph

It’s “How should I veil today to match my outfit?”

As the trend of wearing hijab spreads, so, too, havehijab fashions. Women from New Jersey to Jakarta are trying new ways of wearing wraps taught on YouTube or showcased on runways. They’re wearing silk print scarves and scarves from The Gap, sheer scarves with sequins and hot-pink frilly scarves, scarves awash with the Fendi logo.

Whatever the look, hijabistas share one style principle: This is not their mother’s head scarf – conservative, plain, a little too formless.

“It looks kind of like a tent,” JoKima Hamidullah says of her mother’s veil. “Like a burqa,” but shorter.

The New Jersey housewife, who offers hijab du jours and hijab don’ts on her Islamic fashion blog, one of hundreds filling the Internet, gets her ideas from mainstream trends.

Read the rest here.