When Uniqlo launched a collection with blogger with Hana Tajima I realised how little attention had been given to provide off the shelf, easy to combine clothing options for Muslim women in the high street. Social Media gave this community a new vehicle to share tips and express themselves creatively (#hijab #hijabfashion #muslimah) but this step forward to brick and mortar validated a smashing reality: Islam is not incompatible with style.

From my Western European upbringing, I grew up seeing Muslim women mortified in their clothing. I remember teenage Moroccan girls wearing thick long sleeve winter turtle necks under spaghetti strap maxi dresses, on hot summer days in Spain. I thought: God they must be suffocating! I realise now that part of it was the lack of suitable options available for them. Luckily nowadays I see many young Muslim women dressed nicely, modestly and wearing hijabs like proud crowns. They have more comfortable options at their disposal and they are able to express themselves with modern fashion. Fashion has empowered them. I see them in the streets of Singapore too, dignified, confident, and with an enormous amount of creativity and style.

Faithful to the brand, the Hana Tajima collection for Uniqlo is a combination of comfortable, well cut basics and a few statement pieces you can mix in endless permutations. Lose fitting tops, slacks, tunics, cool airy dresses and subtly printed scarfs in white and deep shades. All items I would wear as a non muslim and that I would expect from a Japanese brand. If you are not crazy about fashion or can’t spend much time shopping and putting outfits together, these collections are a fabulous option for you. If you want a little more bling in your life this might be too bland.

I was hungry for more muslim fashion, so I went online to find modest outfits with more sass and what I found really amazed me.

These are my top 5 Muslim Fashion Blogger outfits –

Ethnic print scarf worn in the front and tied with a belt. Off white hijab and long black dress, from SincerelyMaryam.com

Jersey skirt and knit jumper in grey and whites. Soft colors and chunky trainers, by Nuriyah O. Martinez – Hijabhaul.com

Ethnic print trousers with matching the turban. Mustard blouse and green jacket are picked from colors of the print. This is a great trick. By Imaan Ali – modeststreetfashion.com

Khaki shirt with distressed jeans, brown stripped hijab and pointy heels, by street hijab fashion

Black, white and gold maxi necklace. Win win win! By blogger Essra Azim from Valessie

Out of all brands it was Uniqlo (probably thinking of South East Asia) the one to move forward on this area and not Zara, Next or H&M for example. All high street fashion companies that come from countries that have much bigger Muslim populations than Japan. It surprised me because Japan is not a very diverse country, from what I have seen myself and what I learnt from my friend Lara, producer of the documentary Hafu – the mixed-race experience in Japan. So kudos to Uniqlo for taking this step with Hana Tajima!

Check out more inspiring modest looks in my Pinterest Album. I kept collecting them for years because I find that I go through phases in life where I want my clothes and my look to be more discreet while keeping it stylish and there were a great source of ideas.

Singapore, March 2016 –