| ISLAMIC CLOTHING ON-LINE
The global on-line market for Muslim women’s clothing is growing fast. Why should this be?
The world’s Muslim population is expanding, in terms of both numbers and geographies. Immigration and high birth rates among the Islamic community have brought about an increasing Muslim presence in many Western countries outside the traditional homelands of Islam. Muslim women in these countries often have difficulty in finding a good selection of suitable clothes in their local stores. Many of them are looking for their original culture’s traditional styles, like the jilbab or the abaya, as well as the headscarf. However, many younger Muslim women today also want to dress in a more Western style while still observing the requirements of modesty. This means long skirts and loose-fitting, lined tops with long sleeves.
Western stores typically follow the dictates of fashion, with seasonal collections of styles that are mostly not considered appropriate for Muslim women. This limited choice available from their local Main Street fashion stores has led many Muslim women to look for Islamic clothing on-line.
The new generation of Muslim women in the West is computer-literate, familiar with the Internet and regular users of credit cards. Thus it is not surprising that specialist on-line stores have sprung up, serving the needs of women looking to buy Muslim clothes.
Many of these stores specialize in traditional clothes from various ethnic backgrounds, such as the Middle East, Pakistan and India, or South East Asia. Others, however, have recognized the changing attitudes among Muslim women born, brought up and educated in the West. These women are integrating with their home societies while remaining true to their Islamic principles and have no problem with combining Islamic modesty with elegance and style in the way they dress. They are looking for modern, light fabrics and patterns, cut to be looser and less transparent than typical Western fashions.
A number of on-line stores, based in the US, UK or in South East Asia, cater to this market. Prisha Abdul (www.prisha-abdul.com) is one such outlet. Founded by a Singaporean Muslim who has lived and worked in several Western countries, the Prisha Abdul brand offers casual and office wear ideal for the Muslim woman who wants high quality clothes that offer modesty with style. |
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