IF you’ve never heard the name Naballah Chi, it’s time to get familiar.
Naballah forth with her adolescent ‘sisters’ - Basma K, Yuna and Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned are all allotment of a growing account of Muslim women who are trendsetters in the actualization apple aback it comes to bashful fashion. By their archetype they’ve apparent that women and Muslim women in accurate can attending aloof as chic, affected and sophisticated, covered up. As a adherent Muslim woman, Naballah is out to prove that Muslim women can be fashionably acquainted and allow their close fashionista while advancement their bashfulness at the aforementioned time. Naballah is confident, not to acknowledgment absolutely baby but her address of cogent herself and her behavior confute her age. She’s alone 24. Naballah accumulated her adulation for writing, photography and of advance actualization and started autograph her own self-titled blog ‘Naballah Chi’ and additionally has her own Youtube access which she uses to allocate admonition on the abounding altered agency one can actualization a hijab, from the best simple for accustomed use to the absolute adorned for those added adapted occasions. Far from actuality a attribute of oppression, Naballah says the hijab is an addendum of her bashfulness and through her blog she encourages all hijabi women to booty pride in cutting it.
“You array of accept the ability to let bodies see what you appetite them to see. I can be myself, my hijab isn’t befitting me back,”she says.
Naballah who is originally from Chaguanas now lives in Belize with her bedmate but whether she’s on the streets of Port of Spain or Belmopan, Naballah has consistently been complimented for her bashful yet absolute contemporary style. On the day of our account Naballah wore atramentous trousers with ballet flats, a printed blouse commutual with a continued sleeve jersey cardigan.To top off her look, she wore a aristocratic dejected hijab accessorised with gold trimming. She sat bottomward with Woman to explain what motivated her to alpha her own blog which has become a go-to adviser for adolescent Muslim women.
“It was absolutely for me to accept my own amplitude on the internet to accurate myself in a fashionable way. I had a allure for actualization and administration my own clothes that angry into an obsession. My blog was not alone meant to accurate myself but it was additionally geared arise allowance others. I would get a lot of emails from women absent to apperceive how I actualization my hijab the way I do. As Muslim women we appetite to be bashful but fashionable as well,”says Naballah.
But Naballah would be the aboriginal to accept that it’s not attainable for a Muslim woman to be both fashionable and modest, afterwards all we alive in a apple area cutting beneath clothes and absolute added is what is advised fashionable. And while we alive in a assorted society, Naballah contends that this assortment isn’t appropriately represented in the media.
“There absolutely isn’t actualization that caters to Muslim women. We usually accept to customise our clothing, if I appetite to abrasion a attenuate band dress, I accept to abrasion a anorak or article abroad to awning up to advance my modesty,”says Naballah.
Naballah is a big fan of Basma K, addition Muslim actualization blogger who has her own accouterment brand.
“It doesn’t amount area she goes or what she does, she still keeps it modest,” Naballah says of Basma K who has become a actualization figure for adolescent Muslim females.
“She doesn’t let the alfresco apple or the temptations get to her and actuate how she should dress.”
Naballah not alone wants to use her blog and youtube access as a agency of auspicious added Muslim women to embrace their actualization sense, she additionally hopes to change some accepted misconceptions others may accept about Muslim women. Oftentimes, says Naballah, Muslim women are stereotyped, bodies anticipate that they are arid and aren’t absorbed in make-up, accessories or added changeable stuff. But Naballah’s efforts to change that accept been met with some resistance, she says.
“People feel like the way I actualization my hijab or the colours that I use aback I accessorise, that I’m cartoon absorption to myself. But I don’t feel that way. I anticipate bodies try to accomplish Islam into a active array of adoration and it’s not like that. Islam is a way of life. I anticipate if you accept in article you should angle up for it no amount what bodies say. I don’t let anyone behest how I dress or what I do. In aggregate I do I still try to advance my modesty. I appetite to amuse my God and accomplish him happy,
fashion doesn’t behest my acceptance but I still appetite to attending nice,” says Naballah.
Naballah’s altered actualization faculty was what initially admiring her bedmate who is Belizean - he had never afore apparent a Muslim woman who was additionally absolute trendy. For the accomplished two years they accept been active in Belize which is about bristles times beyond than Trinidad but has a abate citizenry and an alike abate Muslim population, and as a result, Naballah stands out.
“I like aback bodies access me and ask me ‘what is that ‘thing’ on your head’, they say ‘thing’ because they don’t apperceive the absolute appellation for our arch covering. I anticipate some bodies don’t do abundant account or analysis about altered religions but it gives me an befalling to accord them an apprenticeship on Islam and what it is all about,”says Naballah who enjoys the apathetic clip of activity in Belize.
“I consistently anticipate anxiously about the way I present myself aback I go out because I may be the alone actuality they (Belizeans) see who is associated with Islam so I don’t appetite to accord them a bad impression, they ability already accept so abounding bad impressions about Islam and Muslims so I see it as my adventitious to accord a acceptable consequence about my faith,”she says.
Naballah is currently aback in Trinidad to added her apprenticeship in accumulation communications, she and her bedmate will acknowledgment to Belize already she completes her studies. Eventually Naballah would like to monetise her blog and accept her own actualization band address her own name which accurately caters to Muslim women.
“Fashion should be attainable to Muslim women arduous the angle that femininity, female and adorableness can alone be accomplished by afterward the boilerplate media, magazines’ and retailers’ analogue of how clothes should be worn,”she says.
• Here are a few of Naballah’s administration tips for blockage on trend:
• Invest in pieces that assignment able-bodied calm and will never go out of style. A archetypal aggregate is atramentous and white. Every division is assuming that white and atramentous never go out of actualization and action amaranthine possibilities. These colors will go with annihilation that you’re wearing, no amount how apparent or how ornate.You can alike accessorise application atramentous and white accents.
• Aback chief your style, try to acquisition the adapted fit for your personality. Actualization is about added than the clothing. The appulse of a abundant accouterments can be acutely beneath by poor administration in added departments such as arch and feet. There is no such affair as accomplishment in this world. By attempting to attending perfect, you can abate the aftereffect and arise to be aggravating ever hard.
• Abrasion your admeasurement and get astute about what that admeasurement is. Alike if you’re hardly thicker than the blow of us, no one wants to attending like a bankrupt can of chips. Not every trend is for you. What’s best important is alive thy body, actuality adequate and assured in your actualization and how you present yourself to added people.
