~ What’s YOUR Geographical Location? ~

Another day another blog! Peace and Blessings one and all it’s yours truly Ms Fashion.Silhouette forgive my absence my loves one has much work to catch up on but I shall not bore you with that let’s get IN TO IT!!! So right now I hear you saying what’s up with the title? Well my dears it has EVERYTHING to do with modesty, we’re going to be scientists for a day and explore the world of Geography. First and foremost what does Geographical Location mean?


Geographical Location: The terms location and place in geography are used to identify a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere.


Now that’s cleared up I want you all to focus on a part of that sentence which touched on this point: “ used to identify a point or an area” << now this is paramount, why, because all those who are in the clothing business especially marketers scope the globe to survey and tally up what the consumers are into, what clothing trends they follow, which area they live in and so on and so forth, and once data is collected and analysed then decisions are made in regards to what clothes are marketed to what area and to whom. Has the light bulb flicked on! :D …not yet. Well this means that Modesty itself and modest clothes are also marketed to a certain demographic. How so you say? Well look at it like this, modest clothes like long chiffon tops or a well-made pair of trousers etc. etc. all seem to be located in an area either where middle class people live or wealthy areas and along with those types of clothing you usually get those middle class and or wealthy prices, which make them unrealistic to buy or we have a use a few pay checks to buy that ONE ITEM! RIGHT (Just here me out lol ).

However when it comes to poor-ish areas, the clothing stores and the clothes inside are cheap, unattractive and either way too tight, too small or too big (those bloody manufacturers!) This is most of the time, it’s not to say this is all of the time because you do find some nice pieces for great prices. But my point is readers that those marketers and clothing companies and the people who own them, study the demographic and know that certain ethnicities live wholly in one area, and not only that, but we work to survive we do not work to live. If we were living we would be up there with the stars and celebrities. Now that isn’t to say we as a people don’t live because there is always a way for a short get away or holiday but that takes months and months of planning. (Cries inside) 

So if they know the masses of the people don’t earn much and clothing is a part of our daily life, they administer a certain type of clothing to those type of people depending on the area you live in. (I see you side eyeing me ha-ha) yes people it’s true! Go ahead and take a look at the area you live in, who surrounds you in your neighbourhood and the type of clothing stores that are situated in your area whether it is middle-class, wealthy or poor compared to an area that you know that’s wealthy or middle-class, their clothes tend to be completely different and a lot more chic. I know this because not only have I worked in retail for 5 years, so I know a little something something, BUT I myself live in an area where the shops are marketed for us poor people, so the clothes are less appealing, at times cheaply made and fugly! Not convinced? Do you need pictorial evidence! (Smile)

Above we have two areas in London the first is Hornsey which is a middle-class to affluent area which my sister happens to live in, and in this area not only do they have a STARBUCKS, but they have a vintage shop, small posh cafes, a bridal shop and much more! And the other area which I reside in is called Peckham, my area has no Starbucks (whhhyyyyyy?) every other shop is a hair shop or badly maintained hair salon, butchers and a few random clothing shops. Do you see the difference hmmm yes I thought so! Even though Peckham is slowly beginning to change it will always have those types of stores, even though history , family and friends once told me that it was a really chic place to shop! Now that you have seen two areas in London, the next time you go clothes shopping or are on your travels take a gander at the stores and the clothing inside and watch the type of people who buy from them, things will begin to click!

Let me not be one sided, let's travel across the pond to the states! below you have two stores, once called "Clothing Co" and the other Milanos, which are both classed as stores which middle-class people shop at, but can you see the type of people they are aimed at? (Use them goggles!)

RETAIL MANIA!!

As I mentioned previously I worked for 5 years in a retail store and with that much experience under my belt, certain things began to pop out to me. This alone caused me to do a little task of my own. Here in London and throughout the United Kingdom there is a well-known clothing shop called PRIMARK which sells affordable fashion for really great prices. However I noticed that there was a huge difference in the areas this shop was situated in. In central London Oxford St the shop is more high fashion in the design of the store as well as the clothes, whereas my area is poorly designed and the clothes, although nice, it wasn’t the same as Oxford St let alone like the other Primark that’s situated only 20 minutes away even that one had a MAKEOVER O-O pictures are below! 

London Oxford Street

London Oxford Street

Peckham, Primark

My point is that the government and those who control the money make most of modest clothing and market it in a way that is unaffordable to the masses or if we can afford it we use a few pay checks to pay it off or to buy it, when ALL of this can be avoided! Everyone has the right to wear nice clothes and feel expensive or feel GOOD without breaking the bank. This can be done by looking on great clothing websites like EBAY, Aliexpress, New Look, Boohoo, H&M, so on and so forth. I’m here to tell you there is nothing wrong with shopping cheap or buying cheap clothes oh no my dears! It’s about how you put them together, having the >>>> EYE OF CREATIVITY<<<<.

(Disclaimer: if you can afford to buy expensive clothes and name brand items then KUDOS TO YOU HONESTLY!) HOWEVER this same look can be achieved on a well-constructed budget! I kid you not :D.

Below I have two beautiful volunteers who are modelling two day to day outfits which they did not spend much on BUT they both look so chic and so fabulous! Both outfits fell within the range of $25-40 dollars YES you read right :) so if they can do it what’s YOUR excuse o_O!

In closing, again I hope and pray you have learnt something! Modesty and modest clothing is a science in itself and location, location, location plays a key part. So the next time you shop, shop like the scientist you are but of course have FUN because FUN is elementary my dear Watsons ;)


“Buy Less Choose Well” ~ Vivienne Westwood

Until Next Time My Lovelies!

Fashion.Silhouette.

 

~ Lorsque à Paris (When In PARIS!) ~

Bonjour one and all! I know I’ve been on a two week hiatus but I promise it wasn’t because I have forgotten my lovely readers, I had a well-deserved break and travelled all the way to PARIS! :D yes the place of romance, love and DISNEYLAND! (big smile on my face). I can honestly say that it does encompass all of those magical qualities, however at the same time it did have its downsides and ups >> (ooooo I hear you say)(smile). Well it’s just like any other place it has its good parts and bad parts, however let us settle on the BEST for now :D .

We are currently now in the whirlwind that is London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, now I know London has passed and Paris is upon us as we speak, these are the times we see the true uniqueness of everyone’s creativity seep through the surface of the pores of fashion! These span from Faux Fur to Lego hats and Tony the Tiger handbags RAWR >>can we say dynamic or what! One cannot deny that originality is at its highest, however coupled with that is that everlasting word that I want all of us to keep in our word memory bank >>MODESTY. Most of the street style pictures I have come across, as well as designers themselves ,have that flare of modesty about them married with their own flare and understanding of fashion. So what am I saying? I’m saying, just like my last blog each and every one of them is making their own statement, with class, elegance and innovation << something we all can adopt right!

Now when it came to my time in Paris and encountering the locals on my adventures, I have to say that my sister and I did cause a scene and no not an inappropriate one lol. It was more of a scene of adoration, amazement, shock, a few jealous side eyes sprinkled with a tiny dust of envy ha-ha! We definitely stumbled upon a lot of emotions from onlookers as we went about our day to day goings. (I promise you there is an upside to this, I’m not conceited I promise lol) what it was I believe, was the respect and appreciation (in some cases) that two young Black Muslim Females dared to step out with their heads covered adorned completely and still looking chic! Now I don’t say this with any malice or boastfulness in my heart I promise you, but what we did, just like the individuals I spoke about, is made a statement, a statement to say we were PROUD of who we were, RESPECTFUL to people whether we received it or not and at all cost remained COVERED & MODEST because that was and is the essence of who we are. The clothes per say wasn’t the reason for the stares and flirty greetings, it was more so the energy we exuded from the inside that shone SO BRIGHT that it made the clothes that we wore stand out that much more.

That energy embedded the realisation of we KNEW WHO WE WERE and most important of all LOVED OURSELVES. As the great and crazy RuPaul STATES “ If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else, can I get an amen up in here!” lol and it is so true. Please readers I say to you all LOVING YOURSELF is the number one priority and is of the utmost importance if you want your light to shine bright ….like a diamond:D  

I’m saying all of this dear Silhouettes because each individual has, or need to adopt four things that will keep us going in this crazy world, and these are:.. 

BAM! It’s that easy. (So I know you’re saying right now where are the pics! They’re coming sheesh) Below I have constructed my favourite looks from the Street Styles of London & Paris during this Fashion Week Season, as well as my three favourite looks of myself in Paris.

Street Style London 2015

Street Style London 2015

Street Style Paris 2015

Street Style Paris 2015

Street Style Paris 2015

The styles are amazing RIGHT (HEARTS ALL AROUND!) SO as the above picture states, one needs Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent, I myself took this phrase into consideration and frequently apply this to my lifestyle. I do this by pushing the boundaries to my style and I can say that I did this with one of my looks in the above picture of the floral bag with the matching Female Brogue Shoes! Brogue is definitely and English thing however I loved the originality of the shoes crossed with the bold print, plus I set myself the challenge of finding such shoes as my beautiful sister bought me the bag for my birthday! So it was only right that I give it the representation it deserved! It was a stretch for me in style however my vision once brought to fruition looked absolutely flawless! And these are the things that keep me going, when it comes to pushing the boundaries in Modest Muslim Fashion!

So as I bring this short and sweet issue to a close, just like a New Year, we have a new season approaching us and I say hit that cassette player and fast-forward yourself into the bold fashions of SPRING.

IN CLOSING!

“ A  Penguin Cannot Become A Giraffe, So Just Be The Best Penguin You Can Be” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk

Until Next Time My Lovelies

Fashion.Silhouette.