Islamic Design House, a UK based company, sent me one of their abayas to review from their casual collection. Unfortunately they didn't have anything in my length and I'm not a fan of my ankles awkwardly hanging out of any kind of dress so I instead had my friend, who is a little bit shorter, choose a piece of her liking and had her model the abaya for me.
Let me just say, taking pics of someone else is by far so much easier and quicker than photographing myself with a tripod. This is probably the quickest review I have done because I didn't have to muck around doing both jobs. Such a breeze!
The colour scheme is very gentle on the eye and suits the Western palette a lot more than the traditional all black abaya does, so I applaud them for that. It's a good easy option for those who want to get into wearing abayas in the West but maybe are not quite ready to don the full black abaya as yet.
Structurally, the abaya is extremely well made and stitched although the fabric is not my friend. I ironed this piece about an hour before taking these pics, even added a little starch due to the nature of the fabric, but it did crease and line up a little with instant wear and movement. The top section, which is made from a different material, stayed ironed and was no trouble at all. A softer, slinkier fabric for the bottom section would've been more ideal but it is very light weight and breezy to wear, so you can see why they choose this material - very handy for the warmer months.
If you like that kind of structured design then Islamic Design House abayas are right up your alley. Design-wise this abaya wasn't exactly representative of my tastes so I had to make it more feminine by adding a floral hijab, a long girly necklace and pretty clutch to dress it up more to my liking.
I know a lot of women love a more casual, every day type abaya to wear on a regular basis so this would tick a lot of boxes for some of you. Personally, I prefer their very graceful Sophia Collection. Check that one out for some really stunning abayas!
I know a lot of women love a more casual, every day type abaya to wear on a regular basis so this would tick a lot of boxes for some of you. Personally, I prefer their very graceful Sophia Collection. Check that one out for some really stunning abayas!
You can now get 10% off at Islamic Design House simply by mentioning the code MISSHIJABI.
Details
Abaya ~ Islamic Design House
Necklace ~ Dunno
Clutch ~ Palestyle
Hijab ~ Egypt