My Hijab Collection: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

My first hijab was bought during a convention more than a decade ago.  The hijabi fashion then was only jilbabs and abayas, as far as I can remember.  It was when I decided that a hijabi life was my calling that I approached a man sitting in the booth.  His face, the name of the business, and everything else is no longer part of my recalled memory, but I still remember my purchase.  A black and a white hijab with matching underscarves.  They both were rectangular, polyester material with an underscarf worn like a mask with a face cut-out.

It was my first hijab purchase and my most regretful one.  I wish I had the courage to grab the nearest hijabi and ask her for what to get!  My mistakes were:  1) The wrong colors – why would anyone in their right mind purchase black and white? I thought they would go with everything.  No, Samia-of-the-past, get neutral colors like browns and grays!  2) The wrong fabric – those polyester hijab were the WORST. They slipped incessantly and required too many pins.  A slippery material for a first time hijabi is a disaster waiting to happen. 3) The wrong size – not only were they slippery, but they were too narrow.  When I wore them, they hugged my neck and covered little else.  I had to attach more pins all over my shirt so that they could cover my chest.

Lessons were learned.  Since then, my hijab collection has evolved according to my knowledge, to the (most fortunate) availability and fashion sense.  I ventured into target after realizing my mistake and got two scarves from there, both in the brown family, and both I wore to bits and pieces in the future.  Today, I want to share with you my current collection as I begin to pare it down once more.

The Department Store Hijabs

The first category is from among my dislikes.  The Target scarves mention that I wore down? It did not take that long for them to be worn down.  As is everything with fast fashion, the material is not meant to last long.  I continued on falling for the cute colors and the cute patterns for years.  The last straw was the purchase of a pink, flower themed scarf.  I was so excited to wear it that I took it out from the drawer for my birthday last year.  I thought it would match perfectly with my white dress and a denim jacket.  It did! It looked amazing throughout the day.  Me and my husband went out of town, chowed down on some Korean food, and had a great time.  It was not until I came back home and began to undress that I noticed the pink color had stained my very white dress.  The neck area is still a blush pink and no, it does not look good.  I was dismayed and promptly put the scarf in the donation pile.  That was the last time I bought any scarf from a department store.

Abideen

This hijab has a very beautiful memory attached to it even though it did not meet my expectations.  It was when I first ventured out of my comfort zone and felt extreme gratefulness when Allah opened the door for me to understand His Book just a little bit.  Quran Intensive was single handedly the most amazing and beautiful experience of my life.  It opened doors, it brought me much needed sisterhood, and showed me the beauty of knowledge.  During the intensive, one of the social nights were to visit Abideen’s shop in person.  I had already begun my minimalist journey by then, so I was not too thrilled with the shopping opportunity, but I thought to try and find an abaya that I liked.  I actually found an amazing abaya, perfect for our hot weather, durable, and it still graces my closet today.  What I did not love was the hijab (that no longer in my home) that I picked up.   It was the worst hijab that I have found.  What frustrated me was that it was coming from a muslim store, I expected them to not carry materials that do not allow you to breathe.  I was a sweaty mess the first time I wore it and a sweaty mess the second time I wore it.  The third time never happened.  Islamic stores, please, please, please don’t carry anything that you wouldn’t wear yourself.

Haute Hijab 

You know when you are just tired of experimenting? That was me after failed department store hijabs that are basically temporary due to their quality and the water-weight-reducing fabrics carried by those who I expect to not to do so.  Haute Hijab seemed like a perfect brand – it was made for hijabi women and intended to actually be thoughtfully made.  So I took the plunge with their cult favorite jersey fabrics.  I. was. sold.  This was the best hijab I have ever worn. I did not know that I liked jersey fabrics.  Apparently, I do.  I love the breathability, the stretch, the versatility and the durability of these hijabs.  I don’t need any pins if I choose so, the quality of HH jersey is phenomenal – the colors do not fade after washes and it does not begin to pill after a second time in the washer.  Being so pleased after repeat purchases, I finally changed gears and bought some chiffon hijabs.  I craved patterns, and this was the way to go.  Again, LOVE happened.  They are so perfect for the hot weather, I do not know why I was hesitant to buy them.  The quality is once again very good.  They look and feel luxurious, are well stitched and meant to last.  In short, HH has not failed me.  I would be willing to try every single one of their hijabs, even the formal collections (and their newly released underscarves) if I could.

Hidden Pearls

These hijabs are the reason for this blog post.  I was contacted by HP to try out two of their hijabs and talk about them.  I thought that it would be wonderful to review them and compare them with my current HH faves to share with you. I think comparisons are what help to make decisions.  One of the hijabs I chose was a chiffon fabric because I wanted to compare them to my current favorites.  Rust was a perfect color that I did not have in my arsenal.  From the two hijabs that I ordered, this one was the least expensive one.  It felt like chiffon should: Breatheable and versatile.  The only drawback is the quality with the stitching on the edges left a little to be desired and seemed very hasty.  For my second option, I chose the gray Morroccon tassel hijab because HH does not have anything similar. I wanted to try something different and this one really caught my eye.  It is from among their premium hijab selections and it truly feels like it.  The quality is on point.  The stitching, the feel, and the look of it is exactly what I imagined it to be when I ordered it.  The fabric is not well suited for the summer weather but I think it would be just fine during our winters here in the desert.  This was a step away from my usual purchase but I took an opportunity to try something different and I was not disappointed.

This past decade has been one of lessons in the hijab world.  I am still waiting for an environmentally conscious and/or sustainable option.  I know that you could find scarves from some sustainable places, but I really want them to understand the hijabi needs.  So far, the best option for that is Haute Hijab because they use dead-end fabric and at least in their company, all of the workers are treated well which is my top priority when I search for items.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my closet and that it helped you in making a decision to purchase one for yourself.

-S