Thursday, September 6, 2012

Striptember: Subtle Stripes Twofer, And World Hijab Day

Hi, all! So, a couple days ago I said I would be doing something a little different for the 5th. It turned out the 4th of September was actually World Hijab Day, but because I am a bit of a dodo, I thought it was yesterday. Oops! But even after realizing my mistake, I figured I would wear a headscarf to show my support nonetheless. World Hijab Day is important because it shows solidarity for Muslim women in places like France who must fight against laws that seek to bar them from wearing hijab as an expression of their faith. As someone who is very much in favor of people being able to wear what they want, and observe their religions (or lack thereof) how they choose to with no governmental interference, I'm very much in support of this.
World Hijab Day also gives women who have never worn hijab the chance to share the experience of Muslim women in wearing the hijab every day. From pins to slippage to funny looks and comments, it is a choice of attire that sets you apart from the mainstream-and I think that we in subcultures that express ourselves through clothing choice can certainly relate to all the attendant costs and benefits that come with it!
Because I am not Muslim myself I didn't feel comfortable donning full hijab (as it is a personal choice strongly linked with expression of Muslim faith) but I thought that a headscarf similar to those that more conservative Orthodox Christians wear would be an acceptable substitute. And of course, being the anal-retentive color matching person that I am, I had to coordinate it to my outfit!

Green dragon print scarf-Arc
Black cami-Ross
Black lace blouse-Arc
Multi-colored gypsy wrap skirt-Hippie store
Black cloth Mary Janes-Ross
See! The skirt has stripes in it. I AM SO CLEVER. I wish I could remember the store where I got it, but honestly all I remember was that they had bongs in the front for sale, and because I was in 10th grade and very naive, I thought they were just pretty blown glass and asked my mom if she could get me one. She almost died laughing.
And on-topic, wearing the scarf definitely gave me just a tiny bit of perspective into the difficulties of wearing hijab. It was very heavy and kept sliding off my hair, despite being put in place with hairpins. I was fiddling with and resetting it all day! I am in awe of the many women I see on my campus every day wearing hijab who look flawless and completely put together. If anyone's interested in reading more about hijab, my friend Larissa has an amazing blog called The Adventures of A Hijabi Waitress where she discusses it in a far more eloquent and informed manner than I could. And on a shallow note, her hijab coordinates are amazing. :) 
 And now for today's outfit, which was just subtle and stripey and not really religious or political at all. BUT FUN, I hope!
Black lace shrug-Love Culture
Black cami-Wal-Mart
Black pinstriped underbust corset-Punk69
Red miniskirt-Arc
Black leggings-Cosmic
Black ballet flats-Recycle Boutique
This was a fun outfit. The skirt actually has stripes too, though you can't see them in the picture that well because they're tone-on-tone. It's a cute skirt but I don't wear it that often on account of EXTREME SHORTNESS. But the leggings solved that problem-yay for butt coverage! One more day of subtle stripes, then it's on to...well, not necessarily BETTER, but definitely BRIGHTER things. ARE YOU EXCITED OR WHAT? 

2 comments:

  1. Hijabs tend to stay on one's head very well, when they're put on correctly. (They have to, for the women's sake.) I'm orthodox Presbyterian and I don't wear any kind religious headgear, but a few of my friends are Muslims and once I asked them to show me how they tied their hijabs. (On a side note, recently I asked a Turkish-American National co-worker and friend if and when she wore hijab, and she wears hers during worship. I thought it was interesting how a lot of people don't realize it's a personal choice, varying among individuals. It's not every woman all the time.)

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  2. ERMAHGERD I GOT A SHOUT-OUT! :D

    I love you, too, baybee. <3 <3 <3 Awesome post, you look GORGEOUS as usual, and I'm getting you those photos of mah ~*stylinz*~ soon. :D

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