I'm back from the party! It was fun, nice to see my extended family. I very rarely ever see them. Especially great to see my cousin who would probably be one of my best friends if I lived closer. But fortunately she and I will live quite close to each other real soon YAY!I wore what I call a "Mad Men" dress to the reception. It is a t length (calf length) full skirt dress with short sleeves and a boat neck. I got it on ebay for a great price and its from the early 1960s. I love it. And I realized something that night.
It was so nice not to be concerned that my lower leg was showing. On top of that I realized I really didn't care if my lower leg was showing. I didn't feel like I was being immodest or inappropriate. I just felt pretty and comfortable. I'm not saying I'm going to start running around in mini skirts, but I think my opinion on what I need to wear is changing. Its becoming more of a high bred of hijab and American modesty which suits me just fine. I also cut quite a bit of hair off and now have chin length hair which means I wear my hair down all the time. This too does not make me feel immodest at all. I'm actually starting to wonder why there was a point in my life I made such a big deal over my hair being down in the first place. But I guess its just like another blogger friend said: You get the compulsion to cover, and then you get the compulsion to do something else. Doesn't make one better than the other but sometimes God tells us to do something for a period of time and once we gain the knowledge He saute for us we can somewhat return to what we were. I learned a lot from completely covering but I think God is telling me its time to find my happy medium :).
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Well done! I went through the same thing - initially when I discovered covering it was all about covering my hair, long sleeves (minimum of elbow length and covered up legs. I think when we discover something new we think in order to embrace it, we have to discard all our previous habits? Maybe it is a backlash to western society?
ReplyDeleteIt takes a while to discover what we believe modesty means and establish our values and ideas. Right now I am happy to wear a short sleeve (although I prefer a little length) and just-below knee length bottoms (or shorter length with tights/jeans underneath.)
I look to classic wsetern style too - i love the classic dresses and skirts! I also like to experiment with western-style headcoverings and scarves. I still love to wrap up at times - espcially now it's winter (for us.) And that's ok! I don't have to stick to a rigid dress-code :)
I'm glad you felt comfortable - that's the very important and your outfit sounded adorable! :)
Miss Chatterbox: You and I sound like we have very similar styles. You'd really like the late 50s early 60s style dresses. They come a couple inches below the knee with full skirts and high necklines. Most have half sleeves. Very comfortable. I'm already hunting for a second one :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!
ReplyDeleteI really like that dress, you know, but then I've discovered I seem to like that era's style, over all, thanks to you. :)
Are you copying me? I just got my hair cut too! It's in a nice little bob, *off the back of my neck*! *I can't stand my hair on my neck in the summer...* Heh. And, I wore short sleeves for the first time in two years the other day and didn't feel the urge to find a sweater to cover up with! I still prefer at least past my elbow sleeves, but the world didn't implode or anything, and I didn't feel as though I were being immodest. :)
Amber: I think we are copying each other LOL I prefer my sleeves to come to my elbow if possible but yeah the world didn't implode, everything is normal.
ReplyDeleteAlthough when I wore short sleeves to work today one of my co workers was rather surprised lol
BTW the seller I got it from is theforthfloorvintage. She has a lot of nice stuff for good prices.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty dress and cheery post! Glad you had a nice time at the party! :)
ReplyDelete"It was so nice not to be concerned that my lower leg was showing. On top of that I realized I really didn't care if my lower leg was showing."
ReplyDeleteHaha! This is SOOOOOOO cute :) You are so cute!
I love the dress! It is just something I could live in all my life :D
What a great post! I feel exactly the same as you! When my lower legs or arms are showing I don't feel like I'm being immodest at all, let alone when my hair is showing. There is no one definition of modesty, which is why it's annoying that so many Muslims are trying to impose an Arab understanding of modesty on everyone. Even within the Arab world there are huge differences, e.g. between Saudi and Lebanon.
ReplyDeleteI am right with you. As a Muslim, I believe in modesty, but unlike the general Muslim opinion (which those Muslims would argue is not an opinion but a fact), I don't think it's needed to cover the hair and full arms and legs. I think it's all relative. I wear things here that I wouldn't in Egypt and I wear things in Egypt that I wouldn't in Saudi Arabia. I think the verse that tells us to lengthen our garments are in relation to the norm.
ReplyDeleteSusanne: Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteAchelois: Its sooooo comfortable. Im already on the hunt for another one. ebay my friend, ebay.
CLA: Yeah I agree some put a bit too much emphasis on dress code. But to each their own.
Candice: I agree with you as well. If I went to Egypt or Dubai I would dress differently, probably even wear a scarf. Because that is normal there. I want to respect them and their culture's beliefs.
Modesty is indeed relative...but I'm not so sure hijab is. I'll post on that soon.
Oh my gosh, I love that dress so much Masha'Allah!!! '50s and '60s styles are just so fun and feminine. That's the kind of dress I would want to twirl in. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso about the clothing: although I believe that ALLAH asks me to wear hijab and jilbab, and it's what I feel most comfortable in, I really think that clothing is way too overrated. Whatever happened to not judging a book by its cover? The physical hijab is only one small piece out of the vast ocean that is Islam. By reducing an entire religion down to clothes, I believe we are actually being disrespectful to ALLAH, Who is so much more than all this. ALLAHu 'Alim.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say hijab is relative either. It's impossible for it to be relative, really. Hijab is a pretty strict set of rules that are Islamic, but I don't necessarily believe that hijab is the minimum requirement for a Muslim. Seeing as hijab the word, is not the Islamic term for modesty and is only a term used for a general dress and behavior code for Muslim women, it has to answer to its own rules. I would never wear my modest swimsuit and call it hijab! I wouldn't wear my regular jeans and t-shirt and call it hijab! But I also don't believe what I wear is unislamic. I could be *more* modest, but I am at least *relatively* modest in comparison to others in my environment.
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