Style Bites: Women's religious outfits go sinful

Sun, 10/12/2008 9:47 AM  |  Lifestyle

Lebaran season has just passed. I remember as a child, my family celebrated Idul Fitri by getting together at my grandparents' house. Me and my cousins were always euphoric eating the tasty Sumatran foods and each one of us would proudly flaunt our new outfits, specially bought for the occasion.

As we're all grown up now, we pay less attention to this "new Lebaran outfit" custom. Renewed spirit is more important than new outfits when celebrating the day of victory. After all, why bother with a new dress when half the city has been playing dress up for the past month?

This is what I call "playing seasonal dress up". During the fasting month, most females, in all walks of life, from ticket girl to sales girl, from door greeter to front desk officer, from child to celebrity, all wear "a hint" of Moslem attire, which reflects how Muslim women should look. During this period, more women than usual use a head scarf, better known as a kerudung or a jilbab, to cover their hair.

In Islam, the idea of covering up is directed at akil baliq (woman who have reached puberty) who are "ready": those who have proved a strong commitment to the faith, with consistent modesty and obedience to the Koran.

Among the instructions, woman are guided to dress modestly by covering up, in order not to attract too much attention, especially from men who are not their muhrim (close relative of the opposite sex with whom marriage is forbidden).

What I don't understand though, is what I see as a new twist in Muslim wear. I often feel there's no common sense connection between the creative touch and the rational behind wearing them. Some women wear jilbab only during fasting month, which makes it seem like a seasonal trend, rather than the salvation of a life time.

I've noticed there are two types of jilbab women. First are those who wear a loose-fitting jilbab which falls to the waist, pinched under the chin, paired with rather straight and loose outfits which silhouette the body. Then there are those who sport a modified version, wrapped tightly around the head, ornamented with embroidery, corsage or other decorations. These can have a brim like a cap and are usually paired with fitted or semi-fitted outfits.

I don't think I'm the only one who gets choked up looking at the matching of bizarre garments -- fitted T-shirts, pencil pants, shorter hemlines, sheer and heavily decorated materials -- with jilbab.

The one that took the cake though, was a curvaceous girl I saw at the mall wearing a bejeweled jilbab on top of double layers of strikingly colored, fitted tees -- complete with calf-length lycra leggings and a denim miniskirt decorated with three layers of white lace, ruffled around the hemline. I was stunned, shocked, amazed, startled and began to shiver -- what was this all about?!

Hate it or love it, these types of modern Muslim outfits are some of the most demanded and most profitable items for the fashion industry. What can I say? Do modern women want to appear religiously stylish (or stylishly religious?) even though it's probably not strictly in line with the Koran's commandments on how religious outfits should be worn?

Those commandments include: covering up the whole physique, except for face and hands; not wearing items which act solely as accessories; not wearing flashy or decorative items that attract attention; not wearing thin materials and, finally, not showing off the curves of the body.

So what's happening with these new Muslim fashion trends? Look at designers' creations of modern Muslim wear; the jilbab looks exaggeratedly contemporary, similar to the work of cutting edge London hat designer Philip Treacy.

Meanwhile the accompanying tight-fitting kebayas are made with see-through lace, embellished with glaring crystal beads. Then there are the shocking choices of colored shawls, and wait! Let's not forget the super-thick foundation, glossy lipstick and smokey eyeshadow to top it off.

I believe that religion shouldn't be catered to by fashion at all. It can't cut both ways -- you can't satisfy the requirements of both. Either wear religious garments that follow the established rules, or follow popular trends.

On some occasions people seem to use religious attire only as a paradoxical fashion statement.

We've seen many parodies of the habit (a nun's outfit). From those sexy-naughty shots on postcards, to Halloween and fetish costumes. Versions have also been featured in movies such as Sister Act, not to mention Christina Aguilera's stage show, well, that was until she stripped it off to reveal her dir..rrrty under garment. Of course, different faiths will have different levels of tolerance when it comes to letting their symbols be used for commercial purposes -- depends on the people I guess.

Perhaps in the case of Muslim women's, these over-the-top designer outfits are just the parody we all enjoy? There's many other things that branch out from this Muslim fashion degeneration, like the Muslim swimsuit and jilbab for babies. I don't know about you, but I just think they're a bit unnecessary.

I understand the need for adjustments when applying old traditions to the modern world. The rational modification of religious wear, including proper fit, choice of materials and modest use of bling-bling should be considered carefully. In the end which one will appear more revealing? Which one has the greater need to be concealed? Your hair or the curves of your body?

--Diaz

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