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12 Modest Women Across the Globe Tell Us What Style Means to Them

This month, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to bring the much-deserved spotlight on modesty. At a time when Muslim women are facing hurdles for just being themselves, we are not only dedicated to empowering them with the power of choice but to also show the world that we can look good doing it. Since a large part of their identity stems from dressing modestly, we caught up with 12 Muslim women who are showing the world that modest fashion is here to stay.

Summer Albarcha, 23, @summeralbarcha

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in the USA in Saint Louis, with family origins from Damascus, Syria. I currently reside in New York City.

How do you define your personal style?
My go-to phrase is “I <3 layering”, but I love dressing in a functional and professional style. I’ve been told by my audience that I just need to switch one item, such as sneakers for heels, or denim to trousers to make all my outfits work-appropriate.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
I love mixing highs and lows, ranging from designer accessories to mainstream, versatile clothing pieces. I really enjoy Topshop, Zara, Mango for their recent modest styles.

Who are your style icons?
I love the styles of the past and current first ladies around the world, such as Michelle Obama to Meghan Markle. I love seeing elegant wear for professional outings, and a lot of times it tends to be modest and easy for me to be inspired by.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
My Jimmy Choo sparkly low-heel wedding shoes!

Leena Asad, 25, @withloveleena

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Texas! I am half Palestinian and half American.

How do you define your personal style?
I would define my personal style as simple, feminine and sophisticated.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
My favorite clothing stores are Mango, Aritzia, and H&M to name a few. My favorite luxury brand is definitely Chloé.

Who are your style icons?
I don’t really have a specific style icon, I just wear what I like and try to stay true to my own personal style.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
The most valuable item in my closet is my Chloé Tess bag that I wear with everything right now.

Melanie Elturk, @hautehijab

Where are you from?
My Dad is Lebanese and my Mom is from the Philippines. They met in college in Detroit, Michigan where I grew up. I then moved to Chicago, after getting married and we moved to Dubai shortly thereafter. I currently live in New York City.

How do you define your personal style?
My style is definitely classy with a twist. I’m much more into timeless pieces rather than jumping on trends but there has to be some unique element to my look that keeps it from being boring. My style is also informed by my body-type and what looks best on me. I can’t wear a bohemian dress to save my life. It swallows me up whole. Instead, I opt for more structured pieces that suit my small frame. I’m also always in heels — I’m too short to be walking around in flats.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
Definitely depends on the piece. For the classic, foundational items I’m all about J.Crew, Massimo Dutti, Club Monaco, Sezane and Ralph Lauren and for more fun, eclectic pieces I love Zara, River Island, and ASOS. If its shoes, I love Gianvito Rossi, Kurt Geiger, and Giuseppe Zanotti. If it’s luxury, I’m a Prada girl.

Who are your style icons?
I absolutely adore Victoria Beckham, very feminine-meets-masculine, just my style. Audrey Hepburn definitely has a special place in my heart as well.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
So many pieces! I have old sweatshirts from high school I’ll never part with, of course, my wedding dress is so precious, I designed it in person with Ines De Santo and it was a dream come true. Something very precious to me is a jewelry set my grandma gave me when I was a little girl. I just got some vintage Chanel suspenders that I suspect will become pretty special for me over time.

Soha Taha, 29, @sohamt

Where are you from?
I am from Egypt

How do you define your personal style?
I like to describe my style as modest yet edgy, I have been drawn to the black scarf since I first started wearing it and this is kind of why a lot of women relate to me in the Middle East.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
Online shopping is my favorite, especially after I recently became a mom. And Ounass.com is my absolute favorite website. It’s so much easier to get all your favorite brands from one place!

Who are your style icons?
Recently it’s Kendall Jenner and Priyanka Chopra

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
That would be my grandmother’s Chanel hat, my mom inherited it from her and gave it to me when I was six years old, though I don’t wear it on a lot, it means so much to me.

Aydha Mehnaz, @aydhamehnaz

Where are you from?
I am originally from Bangladesh. I grew in the small town of Narayanganj next to the capital city Dhaka. I came to Paris to study luxury brand management at ESMOD and now working as a communications assistant for Mugler.

How do you define your personal style?
An amalgam of conform and comfort. I like clothing that is structured. For example, my regular everyday style is blazers with matching tailored trousers or vintage Levis with a regular white converse and a black jersey scarf.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
In Paris, hunting down cute vintage finds in cozy little shops near the Marais. It has become my favorite activity every other Saturday for about six weeks now. My favorite brands which I mostly have to save up for (or buy pre-loved ones at Vestaire Collective) are Jil Sander, APC, (Old) Celine, Acne Studios and of course Mugler. However, whenever I am in Dhaka, I love to cop up some versatile traditional accessories from the flea markets or old stores.

Who are your style icons?
I don’t have a particular style icon, to be honest. To me what is more interesting is when I see a particular style, I try to see how I could make it my own usually by adding something that already exists in my closet.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
The most precious thing in my wardrobe would be my grandmother’s diagonal shaped gold earrings from the 1940s. It was one of the first things my grandfather gifted her after they got married.

Anlya Mustapha, @anlya_modestfashion

Where are you from?
I come from Paris, France.

How do you define your personal style?
I like playing with my style, so it’s difficult for me to define it with few words. However, I like oversized items such as knitwear and pants. And, I definitely take inspiration from the Parisian trend and style.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
My favorite ones are Frankieshop, Modus, Namelazz (a Russian brand), Mango, Zara, and &otherstories.

Who are your style icons?
I take inspiration from a lot of women that I find very beautiful and stylish (I scroll a lot through Instagram and Pinterest, guilty!), but I can’t really define a specific icon.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
I love my new coat that I bought from the brand, Namelazz, such a beautiful piece!

Khaoula Boumaaza, 20, @absolutelykhaoula

Where are you from?
I’m originally Moroccan and have been living in Spain since I was three.

How do you define your personal style?
My style depends on my mood, but I’d say it’s mainly casual, with a touch of sophistication depending on the occasion. I like to be comfortable while also making an impression.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
I do my shopping mostly online from El Corte Inglés (Spanish version of Harrods or Liberty) and other sites such as Inayah or Modanisa, always on the hunt for modest pieces. Also, one of my favorites to check out is The Modist. There’s so much waiting to be discovered.

Who are your style icons?
My inspirations go from classic icons such as Audrey Hepburn to fellow bloggers like Nabilah Kariem from Cape Town or Ascia from Kuwait.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
One of my most valuable items, and probably the one accessory I never go out without is my Michael Kors Access watch. It embodies elegance and practicality in a pretty, modern & stylish design that simply blends with any outfit.

Samah Safi, 30, @samahsafi

Where are you from?
I am from Jordan and the USA.

How do you define your personal style?
Simple, modern, chic and comfortable.

Which are your favorite places/brands to shop?
In the States: White House Black Market, Anthropology, Zara. Overseas, I like modest brands in Turkey.

Who are your style icons?
Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan and from the past I would say actress Audrey Hepburn.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
A ring my mother gifted to me.

Nia Amroun, @niaamroun

Where are you from?
My nationality is British (born and raised in London) but my father is Algerian and my mother is Trinidadian.

How do you define your personal style?
My personal style comes in many forms. To be honest, it just depends on my mood or the occasion but generally, I would round my style as, minimal and utility. Which consists of neutral earth tone colors, power suits, trench coats, linen abayas, and co-ord sets.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
My favorite brands would be @hessafalasi @choicegcc @madihaofficial @manaalalhammadi

Who are your style icons?
As cliché as it sounds, my mother (Fouzia Phyllis) is my day one style icon. I rarely find much inspiration and have few style icons due to that fact that there aren’t many real “modest” bloggers out there. But I’m happy to say that @fashionwithfaith is one who constantly continues to prevail modesty and fashion.

Maria Alia, 26, @marialia

Where are you from?
I’m half Palestinian and half Puerto Rican but I was born and raised in America. I currently reside in New York City.

How do you define your personal style?
This is always a hard question for me but if I had to define my personal style I would say it’s classic meets cool contemporary.

Which are your favorite places and brands to shop?
I love to shop vintage and thrift so I have a few local shops in Brooklyn that I frequent, but I also spend a lot of time on TheRealReal.com, Vestiairecollective.com and even Etsy for vintage. For more luxury pieces, I love Farfetch, The Modist, and Ssense. For contemporary pieces, I shop Stylenanda, The Loeil, Simonett, and Mango. My current favorite brands are Jacquemus, Nanushka, Peter Do, Beaufille, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, Dalood and Margiela to name a few.

Who are your style icons?
My style icons are honestly the most random assortment but they include modern icons such as Rihanna, the Olsen twins, Solange, Queen Rania, and classic icons such as Audrey Hepburn (it’s cliché but she really is iconic), Diana Ross, Sherihan, and Naomi Campbell.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
The most precious item in my closet is my late grandmother’s cream fur coat from the 60s. I don’t buy or wear fur but this piece means a lot to me because she was such an incredibly beautiful person inside and out, and not to mention she was incredibly chic as well.

Fatima Haidar, @exoticarabian

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I am of Lebanese descent, my parents immigrated from Lebanon with my five siblings because of the war at the time that had crashed the economy.

How do you define your personal style?
Where I am today is a result of starting to dress for myself and my own comfort. It’s hard for me to define my personal style because I have always been held to so many standards and torn in different ways about my clothing. It would be dishonest to say as a public figure and a curvier Muslim hijab-wearing woman that I have not had trouble finding my sense of style or allowing the judgment and opinions of others dictate the way I dressed but with the rise of modest fashion came more acceptance of fashionable Muslim woman and it really helped me come into my own. I could say personally the way I dress is a mix of street style and neutral looks. I like to have basics that do not go out of style mixed with unique pieces I often thrift. My need to find a modest spin on any clothing I want to wear allows me to rise to the occasion and style it in a way that makes it a little different to the normal streetwear style that you see and I think that’s what makes it more personal and more me.

Which are your favorite places or brands to shop?
Now that social media has made it easier for people to launch their own clothing brands and businesses I find myself trying clothing from somewhere new every week. I do not shop in malls or any of the big retail stores, in fact, most of those stores don’t carry sizes that fit me so I am thankful that I now have alternatives to that. I like to visit consignment stores in my city to find vintage pieces from brands like Adidas and Nike. I do tend to splurge sometimes on sneaker collabs from some of my favorite brands like Off-white, Yeezy, Kith, Comme Des Garçons, Undercover, and more.

Who are your style icons?
Some of the biggest style icons are Zendaya, Bella Hadid, Rihanna, and Blake Lively. I think they play both sides of the fashion coin very well. They can be playful and chic while dressed down but also elegant and classic when they are dressed up. I like effortless style that is put together and clean but also clearly comfortable.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
The most precious item in my closet is probably my sneaker collection. I love a good shoe. I think that they often make or break an outfit. I only started last year to build a somewhat notable collection and hope to only grow that from there.

Manal Chinutay, 26, @chinutay

Where are you from?
I was born in Canada but my parents are from Ethiopia.

How do you define your personal style?
Classy, feminine, edgy but really whatever I’m feeling that day.

Which are your favorite brands to shop?
Zara, Topshop, Asos. And any vintage shops I get my hands on.

Who are your style icons?
I find myself getting inspired by not just an individual but everywhere. Mostly total strangers really. With styles from all over the world being at the tip of my fingers, culture, history, and traditions help me find MY style. So I don’t really have a style icon anymore. It’s a collection of people, places, and culture.

Which is the most valuable item in your closet?
A few iconic vintage pieces my mother and father used to wear in the 70s. So glad they saved them.

Read Next: Hijabi Cover Stars Highlight the Power of Choice and What Modesty Means Today

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