Fashion is a form of self-expression. It's all about experimenting with looks and, in many cases, attracting attention.
The Islamic headscarf, or hijab, is exactly the opposite. It's about modesty and attracting as little attention as possible.
However, a growing number of Muslim women are successfully blending the two.
They get inspiration from the catwalk, the high street and fashion magazines, and they give it a hijab-friendly twist - making sure that everything except the face and hands are covered.
They are known as Hijabistas.
Jana Kossiabati is editor of the blog Hijab Style, which gets as many as 2,300 visits a day from across the world, including Africa, Middle East and the United States.
"I started two-and-a-half years ago," says Jana, who is British of Lebanese origin.
"I'd seen so many fashion blogs and so many Muslim blogs but hadn't seen anything specifically dedicated to the way Muslim women dress.
"I started my own site to bring together elements of what Muslim women are looking for and to make mainstream fashion wearable and relevant to them."
Experimentation
Hana Tajima Simpson is a fashion designer who converted to Islam five years ago.
In the beginning, she found it very hard to find her own style while following hijab rules.
"I lost a lot of my personality through wearing the hijab at first. I wanted to stick to one mould and look a certain way," says Hana, who comes from a British and Japanese background.
"There was a certain idea I had in my head about how a Muslim woman should look which is the black Abaya (baggy dress and scarf), but I realised that this is not true and that I could experiment with my looks, while being modest.
"It took a lot of trial and error to a find a style and a look I'm happy with."
Hana regularly blogs about her designs at Style Covered. While all her clothes are suitable for women who wear the hijab, she says she doesn't design with a specific group of people in mind.
"Frankly I design for myself.
"I think about what I'd like to wear and design it. I have many non-Muslim customers as well, so my designs are not targeted at Muslims alone."
Post time: Dec-08-2021