Authors note: This blog post was originally published in 2010; I am cleaning it up in December 2024. At the time this post was written, the Syrian/Jordanian style Jilbabs (overcoat style of jilbab) were steadily losing popularity among Muslim women in the US (and other Western countries), whereas the Gulf style shoulder Abaya (or just “Abaya”) was gaining popularity. In 2010, “Abayas” were still not as common to find as Jilbabs imported from Syria or Jordan, but they became popular as they were lighter, less stiff, and easier to wear. This provides context for my readers who may be wondering about the impetus for this blog post.
Asalaamu alaikum & Hello dear readers!
Ever consider why Abayaat (plural of Abaya, in Arabic “-at” is used to pluralize a thing; Abayahs) tend to be a lot more popular than Jilbabs?-I’m talking the average jilbab, the kind that you can fairly readily get here in the West.
I’m mostly talking about the kind that comes out of Jordan and Syria, which can be rather uncomfortable with their straight, boxy cut and large shoulder pads. Figure in usually that the fabric is coarse and scratchy and/or lined with some slick, cheap polyester, and you have yourself a very uncomfortable wearing experience. The Turkish Pardesu (Pardesü), while a definite step up in comfort and style, tends to have its own set of problems for a potential buyer here in the West…namely…difficulty in getting them, their price—which is normally well above $100 a pop, their lack of sizing diversity, and if you do find one that fits in the body, often they are cut narrow in the shoulder area and can be uncomfortable to wear if you have anything but the slimmest shape in your upper body.
So, frankly, I can understand why Abayahs tend to be more popular...even the cheapest, poorest quality, nastiest crepe ones which seem to be readily available here in the US and other western countries predominate, because, well…they are much more comfortable.
Abayaahs MOVE with your body and are easy to wear, whereas most Jilbabs seem to just not move and instead your body has to conform to the garment.
I have one such Jilbab, its a black corduroy number from Jordan, has the typical boxy straight cut and requisite large shoulder pads. I admit, I do like it because its warm and the corduroy fabric makes the garment a bit unique. I do believe that this Jilbab would be much more comfortable to wear if it wasn’t made to fit like a, American Football players uniform! I wore it to the Library 2 days ago to get some work done and after a few hours developed a neck ache along with a headache because I am just not used to frequently wearing a confining boxy, large shoulder padded style overgarment. So maybe I’m not the best judge.
So, fast forward to today, I recently decided I needed to add a little something-something…maybe a new Jilbab that wont feel like its strangling me… to my wardrobe, and here in the US I remain a HUGE fan of Shukr. Really, I can NOT say enough fantastic things about them-I used to order from them fairly regularly when I was working on my Masters degree circa 2008-2009. They fill a much needed niche for simple but modest clothing for Muslim women that is great for a busy life. None of that flashy, trashy, too skinny, too short or archaic; popular in 1999 designs that are usually sold to the western Muslim community.
So, I popped online and went to Shukrs Jilbab selection and purchased the Shirtdress Jilbab.
My package from Shukr came incredibly quickly and I was quite pleased with this Jilbabs look, quality, fabric feel, cut. You name it. I was pleased to find that it’s utterly unlike any other jilbab Ive worn before – and yes, I’ve worn Jilbabs off and on fairly consistently for years, remember…up until about 8 years ago or so, Jilbabs were the most common type of overgarment for Muslim women available here in the US-hence why I named this post A Contrarian jilbab.
Ok so, onto my review.
The Material: The material is 100% cotton twill; I am surprised to find out how soft and airy the fabric is. I had assumed the cotton twill would be thick and coarse, but, on the contrary, it’s buttery soft. It feels light on the body, not like it weighs 2-3 kilos, but it does have some substantial weight to it when held up and put on.
The Fit: I feel like this Jilbab fits surprisingly well; it is neither too narrow in the upper body/shoulder area nor is the cut too big and boxy. The fit is sort of in between. Alhamdulillah there are NO shoulder pads, yet the upper body portion of the Jilbab doesn’t look or fit in a sloppy manner. Like when you try to take the sewn-in shoulder pads out of a Jordanian or Syrian Jilbab (eegads! I don’t recommend that one!).
This Jilbab does come with a belt, but obviously you don’t have to wear it. The sleeves are the perfect length on me (I’m 5ft4) as I like all my sleeves to hit around my knuckle area, but the fit is such that you can flip up the cuffs to hit the wrist area if that’s what you prefer. I don’t find the cut to be boxy. The garment’s cut is a tad on the straight side with a hint of an A-line, if that makes sense. It’s not very noticeable when you walk, but there is more room for a normal walking stride. This Jilbab buttons all the way to the hem, with visible buttons to about knee length.
What I dislike: I can think of only 2 real downsides to this Jilbab. –First, the rather out of place Epauletts on both shoulders. They stick up on me. Hence, I’m getting my seam ripper after I finish this post and very delicately taking them off as they serve no real purpose.
Two; given that the material is 100% cotton twill, I will probably need to be careful when washing and drying the garment due to the possibility of color fade and garment shrinkage. I will most likely stick to hand washing and air drying this garment to ensure longevity and proper fit.
In conclusion; From here on out, should I want any more Jilbabs, I will just buy them from Shukr because they seem to be made to have a more comfortable fit.
…I’m already eyeing that linen Yarmouk jilbab for summer, hehehe.
Here are a couple snaps of the Shukr shirtdress Jilbab
JazakhAllahKhair for reading! Feel free to leave me a comment! I love to hear what you think.
-Bailey Umm Ibrahim
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Assalaamu Aliakum 🙂
That jilbab is lovely, masha’Allah! I think there’s a misconception out there about Shukr’s clothing being made for shorter people…do you find that to be true? I’ve always wanted to ask somebody who has actually ordered from them 🙂
Great post!
salaams…hmmm…ive actually never heard that. But I could see how if your quite tall you could have issues with length. Like I’m 5ft 4 and maybe a half. Something like this. Its a pretty average height in the US from what Ive read…but I often have problems with length…either items are too short or far too long. As far as Shukr goes…for my height, its really good. I think up to maybe 5ft5-ish like the jilbabs would be fine. The jilbabs all come standard-I think 57 or 58inches which for me, I like as I wear my abayaat that length anyway. If you were quite short you’d need to shorten them. For pants and skirts, anytime I bought them, they were just incredibly long on me. I think a taller sister would have no problems with their skirts or pants. like the pants usually come a good 5 inches longer than I can wear so obv a trip to a tailor is in order. For tunics, most of them hit around knee length on me.
So basically, really it depends on your height…for jilbabs, you may find them not long enough, for skirts/pants…the length may be ideal…tunics…it depends on the length you like.
I hope this helps!
p.s. I do hope thou someday Shukr offers a bespoke service so your items can be altered inhouse upon ordering!
Oh, I am so glad to hear that! Thanks for the detailed reply 🙂
I’m 5’6 and was nervous about ordering from them, but perhaps now I will 🙂 Their designs are so cute.
salaams
well if its any help…they are UBER GOOD about returns and echanges…probably the best online company about that Ive ever ordered from. They get back to you very fast and your money is returned quickly, and/or the exchange gets to you fast…unlike a LOT of shops which take for ever to do either.
In the past when I ordered a lot from them, Id say order like 2 pants, 3-4 tunics (I was working then)…maybe some would be too big, too small…i’d just email them, pop them in the mail and within a week and a half-sometimes less, Id have a diff size.
Like with them, I think u dont need to fear anything-seriously.
Salaamun Alaikum wr wb,
I hope everything is going well with you inshaAllah 🙂
I often see iranians wearing a simple, plain manteau…often university students are wearing black ones it seems. It’s basically just a plain manto, with long or nearly-long (3/4 maybe) sleeves, and it’s button up. I would LOVE to have one of these manteau’s but I have no idea where I could find them other than in Iran 🙁 Is there any way whatsoever that you know I could get one? It looks a bit like this: http://www.3noqte.com/main/images/stories/ali/manto.jpg
But that’s seems to be basically a trench coat…now the ones I’m talking about are not trench coat’s because first of all, they’re not heavy weight at all really like trench coats but instead are just normal every-day wear fabric weight, and also they may not have that belt (but that’s not so important) AND may not be double-breasted button up but rather just button up in the middle. But whether they’re double breasted or not doesn’t matter for me, I’d just love to have one! I hope you know what ones I’m talking about, and if you do, please let me know if you know a way I can get one, or even a way (like a pattern) to make one.
JazakumAllah Khayr,
Wassalam
well, right now in Iran everyone is wearing Turkish manteau, I know the styles you mean but I can honestly tell you, most the modest, Iranian made ones are close to non-existant due to the high cost of manufacturing in Iran right now, most places stock Turkish made manteau…they r more expensive but are kinda trendy. Try e-tessettur and hijabplanet, ayzagursoy (google them), they all stock Turkish manteau which r the styles seen in Iran right now.
OK
I see, okay. Thank you! I took a look at the websites you referred me to, but all their manteaus are quite long like I think nearly down to the ankle. That is good too of course, but I was looking for one thats more like knee length. But thank you so much either way! Oh yeah and just curious, do you know farsi?
Nope sis, actually they all have knee length ones too. Esp Ayza Gursoy and eTesettur. Ok
They have a lot which are 3/4th length or knee length.
Here sister, here is a direct link to the manteau ayzagursoy has, most are actually knee length. They are exactly the style currently worn in Iran, as I mentioned, the Turkish manteau are whats trendy now. Ok. they also have other brands too. Ok
argh the link didnt show up…LOL…but if you go to “apparels” under AyzaGursoy, they have 3 dif pardesu brands, 2 of them have a lotta knee and 3/4th length manteau up and the designs are the same as whats popular in Iran, infact many of them are sold IN Iran. OK
best of luck
Thank you so much for your help sister, jazakallah! I really do appreciate it, and I dont want to sound picky or anything, but theres a very specific type of the manto’s that they’re not quite like the ones on those websites you showed me (or at least I think they’re not – maybe they are and I just dont realize it).
They look like this —> http://jadi.civiblog.org/_photos/wear_chador_5.jpg
I don’t really care about the slit going up on the sides, but something like that ^. The ones in the turkish website still are a little bit more trench coatish if you know what I mean (correct me if I’m wrong).
Aha! also, like this except in black maybe –> http://www.across-then-up.com/imgs/gallery/8388/8388_17448974604ab356041ae1b.jpg
It seems the fabric in these mantos in the links have a lighter or just different fabric/feel than the others.
Really sister I dont know what to tell you. Let me explain a few things…ok…1, those styles your showing are the made in Iran type of manteau and before they were really cheap and easy to get, but, like over the past say 2 years the prices of everything has gone up in Iran so many places no longer sell the made in Iran type of manteau because the price of the material is very expensive, as a consequence even those styles have become quite expensive lately. Currently everyone is going for the Turkish manteau as they really are now about the same price as the Iranian made ones-like when I went not last summer but the summer before, I was shocked to see very basic, not very good quality, black manteau, knee length for around $50 meanwhile 5 years previously they had been what…10-15-maybe 20?! So the Turkish ones are better quality and the cut and look is ncier on them so most women buy those now adays, also most of the Irani made manteau are now made extremely tight fitting and very short, my last time there it was hard to even find a modest fitting knee length one, forget longer! The women who wear the longer style either a-buy the Turkish style or make their own. It could be that the women your seeing are wearing an older style or made their own or took it to a seamstress.
2-the turkish ones, the material and cut is very, very good, thats why they r kinda expensive. The material isnt too much different. I can tell you I have 2 black Irani manteau, 1 is knee and 1 is old style calf length and that black material is actually very hot and not very comfortable, cuz its cheap and lasts…right. The Turkish ones really are nicer.When I was last there, most of the good manteau shops sold Turkish manteau with a few Iranian ones sprinkled in.
I dunno what else to tell ya sis, but I can tell you those Turkish ones, esp like the Kayra brand styles (like what you see on AuzaGursoy) are indeed whats being worn there now. Really. I’m not exaggerating. LOL.
Sorry, otherwise, dunno what to tell ya. If someone you know is going to Iran ask them to get u one if you dont want a Turkish one. OK.
also…the “elegance” line that Ayzagursoy has up now m(I guess they just put it up) is also exactly the current styles in Iran too. Once I have time in the next month, I’ll try to do a post showing styles that r in line with whats currently popular in Iran. OK I’ll try…i’m really busy with Nursing school but en’shallah over winter break.
Hahah thank you for the great explanation, now I understand! Okay, now I think my mind is clear 🙂 thanks! It would be GREAT if you could do a post about the popular manto lines in Iran sometime…I love your blog.
Well inshallah hame khoob pish bereh baa dars-haaye shoma (not sure if you know farsi, but just saying hope all goes well with your school!).
keep us in your dua 🙂