Your Guide to Modest Summer Fashion: For Muslimahs

Spring only needs to herald the arrival of summer for people to hasten with the packing away of winter layers and bring out lighter and breezier fabrics in a far cheerier color palette to make the most of this season when it comes to fashion. However, one cannot deny that the at-times overpowering heat and humidity definitely has the propensity to throw a damper on any plans involving carefully worked sartorial choices.

For Muslim women who are accustomed to modest dressing and covering themselves, making fashion choices in line with religious requirements and suitable for battling the heat might present a challenge at first, but a little creativity is enough to streamline multiple diverse options to adopt your own fashion sense that is Shariah compliant, heat repelling and makes you feel your best.

Modesty and fashion are definitely not mutually exclusive, in fact the two blend beautifully together to enhance a person’s individuality and confidence.

How to Stay Cool While Staying Modest During Summer

To have a dollar for every time a modestly dressed Muslim women is asked, Aren’t you hot in that?... As summer reaches its peak, the quest to find modest ways of dressing to keep cool continues with even more fervor amongst the Muslimahs in the heat-ridden countries. We have attempted to make the task easier for you through listing some helpful tips for staying cool through the season.

-Wear Loose Garments

Loose garments are a priority choice in summer, since they are breezy, airy and above all modest, so all the requirements of the season are in sync. The looser the fit of the clothes, the cooler the person will feel. The same goes for pants where culottes, wide leg and baggy style pants never go out of style.

-Choosing Breathable Materials

Choosing the right fabric is even more important than the fitting. There are different fabrics befitting different temperatures. Thick fabrics such as wool, fleece and polyester are made for cooler weather, not hot and humid summers. Keeping away from denim and sticking to lightweight fabrics like cotton, satin, and linen is definitely a wise choice to make in the hot summer months.

Lightweight fabrics are breathable which means that air can readily flow through the fabric, making the wearer feel cool and comfortable. Certain synthetic fabrics today can also serve the same purpose as long as they provide the benefit of moisture wicking and breathability. These properties are usually found in workout clothes.

-Adopt Lighter Colors

Coming back to the science lessons of elementary school, it is a scientific fact that dark colors absorb more solar energy than light colors do, turning that energy to heat. Naturally, the darker the fabric is, the hotter it will get. This is why it is important to bring some changes to your wardrobe color palette following the season change. For summers, the lighter the color, the better it will reflect the sun instead of absorbing its energy and turning it to heat. Embrace pastels and whites for the summer season.

-Avoid Layering

While layering might be all the rage in winter season and with good reason, it is wiser to keep it to a minimum and simple in summers so that you have fewer items of clothing weighing you down in the sweltering heat. The fewer the items, the less to fuss with.

-Keep Your Hair Up

Managing hair under the hijab can be a bit tricky for head-covering ladies when unbound hair can cause one to feel extra hot in the summer season. Bring out hairbands and trusty claw clips so that airflow to the neck is easier to keep the body temperature in control.

DEENIN’s fashion accessories are truly a gift in the summers for those preferring to keep the hijabs in place in a way that they are comfortably cool in like the DEENIN Strong Magnetic Hijab Magnets, which are a must have to secure your hijab without worrying about any snagging.

-Wear sandals

From a fashion perspective, footwear is an equally important part of one’s attire as clothing if not more. Keeping in line with the modest yet cooling theme for the summer attire, open toe sandals are an excellent choice for the season to help the feet and the body stay cool. According to Jim Cooter, Professor of sports and Science at the University of Otago:

‘Feet are at the end of our limbs and don’t have much muscle (which produces heat) which means that they cool down much more than other regions of the body.’

Keeping those toes out in the open can help the body stay cool.

-Carrying a Parasol

Every person’s fashion sense should be unique to her person. For the young ladies who delight in reviving the trends of yesteryears, carrying an umbrella to ward off the harsh sunlight can make a fashion statement while staying true to religious beliefs and not for the purpose of flaunting. Such an umbrella was referred to as a parasol in Britian and the European countries, coming from the Latin word ‘para-’, to shield or protect, and ‘sol’ which means ‘sun.’ The parasol is generally smaller than the umbrella in size and considered a ladies accessory meant to protect skin from the sun, a practice that had its roots in Chinese cultures before it came to Europe.

Summer Fashion Trends for Modest Clothing

While it is undeniable that summer fashion trends generally lean towards revealing styles, dressing modestly does not in any way mean sacrificing creativity or style. Some ideas for incorporating modern trends and modesty have been listed to help you create your own fashion sense befitting your personality.

-Flowy Kaftan

Whether worn as an Abaya or a dress, the kaftan is never out of style. When made from a soft and summer friendly fabric, the kaftan is light and airy and can be styled with embellishments and accessories according to the time and place of the occasion.

-Loose Breathable Pants

While the constricting silhouettes of the tighter pants style has the propensity to go in and out of style, loose trousers and palazzo pants are a modest girl’s best friends in the summer with their airy feel and breathability. Sticking to universal all-weather trends is easily the most comfortable choice for most people especially in this case where the trousers can be experimented with, with different styles, like with co-ord sets, and varieties of colors, patterns and prints that conform to your fashion sense.

-The 90’s Minimalist Silhouette

The preppy yet minimalist style of Baggy tops and relaxed trousers might have marked the fashion trends of the 90s, but designers have made strong predictions of those aesthetics making a comeback this summer.

This is fortunate for the contemporary Muslimahs as the minimalist style was grounded in practicality and comfort. Abayas and maxi dresses can be styled thusly with a demure and monochrome color palette to channel the minimalist inside you.

Chunky Sandals

There’s always that ‘one tweak’ that raises the bar on any outfit, and for summers, this is where chunky sandals come in. Ideal for both indoor and outdoor wear and readily available in different colors at different stores, this particular type of footwear is an easy yet super trendy choice to opt for as the final touch to an outfit. According to modest fashion and lifestyle blogger Jeylani:

‘Comfortable yet stylish sandals can complete a modest summer ensemble, allowing me to confidently navigate any occasion while staying true to my modest fashion choices.’

Flower Power

Any discussion of summer fashion is surely incomplete without the inclusion of any floral element. While a true modest attire should be without any attractive ostentation, a subtle and demure addition of floral representation can amp the entire look a complete notch without compromising on one’s modesty. These flowers can be pinned upon or printed on the fabric, added as floral cutwork, embroidered on the fabric or even added as a 3D floral appliqué.

Bibliography

Abdul-Karim, Z. (2023, October 29). How to Dress Modestly for Summer Without Feeling or looking over dressed. Cover Me Chic. https://covermechic.com/how-to-dress-modestly-for-summer-without-feeling-or-looking-over-dressed/
Augustin, T. (2023, June 15). 7 modest dressing fashion tips for summer, according to Fashion Girlies. Byrdie. https://www.byrdie.com/modest-summer-fashion-tips-7511661
Hamilton, M. (2020, August 11). History of the Parasol. Folkwear. https://www.folkwear.com/blogs/news/historyoftheparasol
Layton, D. (2024, May 16). Beat the heat: Five tips to stay cool and stylish this summer. The Daily Universe. https://universe.byu.edu/2024/05/15/beat-the-heat-five-tips-for-staying-cool-and-stylish-this-summer/
Mashaleh, R. (2024, February 2). Spring & Summer trends: Modest Fashion Edition. MODASTY. https://modasty.com/blogs/blog-modest-fashion-trends-tips-inspiration/spring-summer-trends-modest-fashion-edition
ModestPath.com. (2023, June 26). Navigating Summer in Style: The ultimate guide to modest summer fashion trends. https://modestpath.com/blogs/blog/navigating-summer-in-style-the-ultimate-guide-to-modest-summer-fashion-trends