Choosing clothes and coordinating outfits is a lot of fun, but it can get frustrating to shop for clothes when you are a religious woman who follows certain rules about what is acceptable and unacceptable to wear. Your regular store or large supermarket often won’t make the cut, and you may well have to go hunting for specialist retailers. Here is some help for religious women who want to stay true to their values and obey the precepts of their religion without renouncing the pleasure of shopping for exciting outfits.
For Christian women
Many Christian denominations, from Mormons to Baptists to Jehovah’s Witnesses, put great emphasis on women dressing modestly and not showing a lot of skin. This is true in everyday life, but even more so when you attend church. If you are into dainty patterned clothes and pastel colors, get your modest Mormon Church dresses from Sweet Salt Clothing, a modest fashion retailer that proves that modest clothes don’t have to be boring! As a matter of fact, their clothes look very much on-trend and rival those of any high street retailer—you just won’t find revealing outfits here.
For Muslim women
Just like church dresses don’t have to be boring, neither do abayas, niqabs, jilbabs, and khimars! One of the joys of shopping for clothes is getting to have a feel of different fabrics and choosing the colors you love the most, and Sunnah Style offers you the chance to find whatever style of Muslim dress you need in your favorite color and in high-quality fabrics. Another great thing about Sunnah Style abayas and hijabs is that they are manufactured in non-standard as well as more commonly found sizes, so you are sure to find garments in your size that give you the coverage you need, no matter how big or small you are. For exciting hijab choices, try out Haute Hijab, a company based in New York that produces hijabs in all sorts of styles and materials, from bamboo to satin and from bold printed patterns to stretchy sports wraps. Their new line of colorful hijabs with cascade pleats is particularly cute!
For Hindu women
While the saree, or sari, is by no means exclusive to Hindu women, there is no denying that this iconic garment has been heavily influenced by the Hindu religion, for instance, in the fact that sarees are unstitched because stitched clothing is seen as impure in the Hindu tradition. It’s not hard to find a beautiful, colorful saree—all sarees are colorful!—but one store particularly worthy of mention is Saree Bazaar in Iselin, New Jersey. The great thing about Saree Bazaar is the level of consultation that the staff offer, making it an excellent choice for those who are looking for bridal, groom’s, bridesmaids’ or groomsmen’s outfits (despite the name, Saree Bazaar also sells men’s kurta pajama).
If you are looking for matching sarees for a special occasion, check out the store’s ‘saree duet’ pairings on their Instagram account—they are breathtakingly beautiful!
