Wednesday, May 2, 2012

"Muslim headscarf meets fashion" magazine

The linked short article hear triumphs the Ala Magazine in Turkey, which proclaims that "Veiled Is Beautiful" in its photos and advertisements geared toward women who choose full modest dress, including head coverings, long skirts and sleeves.  Glamour for modesty seems a contradiction, since the very definitions clash. But it may do something for the education of those who believe that to dress in a non-flesh revealing way must mean the same thing as dressing in a sack.

A short quote from the article:

photo from the article in iafrica
The fashion world now sees a growing demand from conservative Turkish women who are keen to assert themselves.
"There are now much prettier things than before," said Merve Buyuk, a 22-year-old trainee at Ala. "Designers have now understood that we exist. They've started making clothes that are not necessarily black or brown. ... I'm pretty happy with this change."
Ala is hoping to influence conservative women's fashion and cash in on it with advertising revenue.
"With this magazine, we are changing trends. We say that women in headscarves can follow trends. There are more and more products on the market they can access," Aslan said.
More at the link:

iafrica.com | lifestyle | fashion | international fashion | Muslim headscarf meets fashion

3 comments:

justsaying said...

I am so tired of the attitude that glamour and modesty contradicts eachother. People only think this because it´s the norm to define glamour as a sexually provokative style nowadays.

To be able to live a life as a veiled woman is certainly not a given thing for most of us.. The possibility to have a modest clothingstyle to that degree is indeed a privilege. Atleast to me, as a beliver, it´s the hight of glamour to be able to veil and live a peaceful life surrounded by people who are fine with it.

If you really want to wear the veil and you have the economic and social support needed then show that you are thankful! Wear the veil in a mysteriously beautiful, dignyfied way. That goes hand in hand with modesty and celebrating it. It´s only if you wear the headscarf with sexually provokative clothes that it becomes a contradiction. I know that many would consider that "glamourous". But to me sexy clothes should be left for the bedroom-time only and exclusive. Otherwise it looks desperate and trashy. You should offcourse think about where to draw the line between what makes you look dignyfied and sexually attractive. Pray about knowing it, if you´re unsure.

Michelle Maddocks said...

Thank you for the thoughtful comments concerning glamour and modesty. I have heard many times in the past the fact that wearing a lot of clothes, or focusing on clothes to cover up the body, is a form of "immodesty" - not that it is a focus on what is sexually immodest, but that that which brings attention to itself is a contradiction of what the original English term "modest" comes from. To be modest is to be humble, or, the opposite of showy and proud. And so a woman who is showy of her sexuality or her wealth (or a man, of course) can be seen as an immodest person. As being proud is the opposite of being humble, so also then it is the opposite of pure modesty, whether referring to sexuality (which all women have) or wealth and possessions (which could be various forms of wealthiness, from money to children to even a wealth of knowledge). Showing off what you have, whether what you were born with or what you have earned, is simply not modest, in such a sense, and doesn't have as much to do with sexuality as it does attitude.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I totally agree modesty is about attitude. When I have been wearing the veil and at the same time acting immodest I have felt disconnected to it. The behaviour always has to be in line with it for the wearer to be able to love wearing it, I think.

I agree that for example showing off expensive branded clothes is not modest. The stores that sells branded veils and the ones wearing them acts contradictive to me. But since I have loads of love and thankfulness for the veil I like to veil in a artful, expressful way and thereby reflect my inner state. It is not because I want to show off my beauty or skills, but the ravishing beauty/symbolism of the veil itself. I don´t think it must look plain/ down to earth to be modest. For me it´s a spiritual thing. Like when I look at old iconic paintings of Mary with a long, vibrant blue, draping veil or saints with shining white veils, it looks to me like some kind of beautiful sign and a reminder that we are spiritual beings, not our bodies. A veil that looks spiritual also makes me think of heaven for some sake. It´s hard for me to explain.. And I really love for others to realise the mystery and beauty in what the veil expresses aswell. The true meaning has been so forgotten and people sadly enough see it as a sign of opression when actually it´s liberating for the soul. (That´s how I strongly feel since starting wearing it.)

About pride, I´ve herad people argue that propriety is a sort of pride. As in refusing to do a sin/ do a "dirty work" even if it would help others. This was not only about stopping veiling for the sake of better lifes here and now (and forgetting about spiritual development, because that´s not here and now?)But even loads of people justyfying killing innocent people for the greater good in this life. (This was when I was at a philosophy class.)