dirty snow & silk

This winter is so overly aged now, I think it is even tired of its own wrinkly face. The snow is finally melting, in all its dirty glory. However, in the meanwhile, I have ferociously entered an area of apparel that is made to protect oneself from the extremest elements, should one be abandoned at the summit of the Himalayas. I purchased two main lifesaver articles of outerwear: Sorel boots (mine are Sorel 1964) and a thick, hand-knit, half wool scarf. I looked everywhere online for a long, over-sized, fringless, and chunky wool scarf to no avail. Then, a wonderful lady on Etsy knitted it for me. It is beyond cozy and lovely. As for the boots, I saw a pair like them on a girl in New York and thought to myself, "those are so ugly, they're cute, I want them". They are a heavy duty boot company from Canada and (of course, those snow-hoarders). I now purposely walk through snow pile-ups like a boss.

I have too much amour for this wool, silk, and mohair Zara coat with lapels and belt, which is now out of stock, but can be found on Ebay.

Last week was Philly Fashion Week. There were different runway shows and event all week for all genres of fashion. I have a somewhat odd infatuation for menswear (Hey, my future man, please be quite ready to not entirely choose your own wardrobe, shukran) but my friend and I decided that a ladies Muslimah fashion show was probably more relevant, and it would be nice to support my sisters in their small businesses of promoting modest clothing, hijabs, and formal accessories for weddings, Eids, etc. Therefore, we happily attended the International Modesty Runway Show. There is so much talent among my sisters. I am fairly certain I could not sew entire collections of dresses so superbly. My friend bought a very pretty black dress from Nyala of www.nylii.com. She sells modest, modern, American pieces. We really enjoyed ourselves. I am so excited to attend the International Muslimah Fashion show in Hershey on March 20-23!

                                               

Our favorite part of the event was just to see the diversity of our Ummah. There were so many beautiful Muslim sisters from all backgrounds, let us always support each other, protect each other, serve our fellow human beings together, and actually become a unified Ummah. Ameen.

-A

vintage wool, lace, & fog

Here is another winter look. I have, alhamodillah, started my first real career position as a Maternity/Newborn RN and have had to dress business casual for the first week of orientation at the hospital. Beginning at the end of this week, I will be in wine-colored scrubs forever. Becoming a doctor instead almost seems appealing, so that I could dress normally and just wear a white coat on top. Almost. But I think I'll pass on being a part of a predominantly socially awkward group of colleagues (love you, my people) and the fifty years of education. Kudos to you Sheerin, MashAllah.
I loved the weather today. Can you tell good weather really makes my life? The hospital I work at is downtown next to a major river, so because of the random rise in temperature, it became romantically foggy. Who doesn't love a scene of water bridges and fog with warm breezes in the middle of winter? That's right, only polar bears.
I have recently become significantly interested in fabrics and materials. It began when I became a patient care associate at a dementia unit during school. Somehow, I worked night-shift every weekend without fail for six months until I switched to an as-needed status. That experience taught me that I am not cut out for night-shift, that it is possible to fall asleep while walking, that trying to carry confused, frightened, and resisting human beings to the bathroom in the middle of the night is dangerous and back-breaking, and that after hundreds of hours of doing their laundry, the elderly population have a very solid and high quality of clothing.  This interest has transferred to my preferred Hijab fabrics, as well. Lace net hijabs look surprisingly elegant and have a vintage feel to it. I love the contrast of it with wool or tweed. Silk and silk-like Hijabs look nice with cotton blends, and chiffon-y Hijabs are the way to go for a more professional look (and they never have tassels at the end, thus, a cleaner finish).
This outfit includes an oversize vintage pullover sweater (so comfortable and also so very lovely, if I do say so myself), mint green bubble necklace from Rue 21, black lace Hijab from some Arab country, light pink chinos from H&M, satin electric blue flats from Express, and mixed bangles mostly from Primark in London, holla' at cheap and wonderful Primani. Please come to the USA and complete my life, thank you.

-A

winter fashion ideas: coat styles we like

We are generally fans of longer coats in the traditional colors, like the tans and black. But recently, bright green and dusty pink are looking pretty fine. 

We've been in love with dusty pink for a little while now. We find this to be simple and feminine. Click here to see this coat.

Faux fur has recently been capturing my attention. My mother always liked fur (and animal prints), and I never could share that sentiment, but I suppose it has caught up to me now. This would most likely not be my daily coat, but I would wear this to dinner with my friends along with a loose gray blouse and black leather straight pants with some neck-breaking heels. Holla' at leg workouts. 

I loved this coat when I saw it on "The Mindy Project". If it ever comes down to my budget, you best believe it'll be in my closet.

Another green coat we love.

This coat can be found at the Nordstrom website. Click here.

Also, loving leather trims at the moment. I just bought a vintage DKNY tweed coat with leather trimming. Usually, I am cautious about leather, Sheerin pulls it off better than myself. A few leather accents work for anyone, though. Here is an example:

$50 from boohoo

This is more of a modern look that I do not normally prefer. However, I would certainly wear this, if someone felt the need to purchase it for me, that is. Pair it with lime green chinos and hot pink nails.

Calvin Klein: $140.70

I have always loved buttons and the military look for coats. This coat from Zara  is edgy and feminine, perfect for  whatever look you want to achieve. Still a bit pricey for my liking, but find it here.

I'm usually not a fan of the boxy, shapeless style of winter coats but I actually love this one.
The metal studs on the sleeves are so fun! This would look great with high waisted pants and a bright belt or skinny trousers, a loose, fun-colored blouse and a pair of heels. Can you tell that I've had to think about business attire recently? Anything to add fun to gradschool life.

- A & S

winter fashion ideas: patterned wool socks!

Currently, what I love is the look of wool. Fortunately, it is winter so wool can spend some time with the public in all of its sophisticated glory.

A friend of mine from Tajikistan was able to meet me in London during a visit with my family and with her shyly beautiful personality she brought a pair of hand-knit wool socks made by her grandmother, whom I now desperately want to employ/adopt. I find these socks to be just lovely. Perhaps, only I could mention beauty and socks in the same sentence (and even more than once, at that), but they just look and feel so exactly Russian and Persian village mixed evenly together that they are charming enough. These instantly warm your feet, make you smile every time you look down, and look so winter-spirited peaking over an ankle boot and some skinny jeans/thick cable tights. They are of a stiff and solid wool. I can't guarantee the same results, but Ebay has some similar items.

Here are mine:

-Anila