THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Winners to be announced shortly.

Thank you to everyone for participating.

When I’m on Facebook, it’s fair to say that most of my updates are about the girls, my hobbies, or something annoying that’s gotten my hijab in a bunch. So it’s no surprise that the targeted advertisements on my page are usually marketing diapers, children’s toys, Doctor Who and an overwhelming amount of online Islamic fashion. In fact, I see so many advertisements with random hijab models that I’ve started marking them as spam.

But the other day, one advert really, really got me excited. And when I discovered that it was a local store with handmade and originally designed scarves, I knew it was time to go shopping!

modestycollage

Nestled away in the halal food heart of Mississauga, Ontario is a lovely new hijab boutique. Last weekend I took Eryn to meet with the creative geniuses behind “ILoveModesty“ to take a look at the store and grab a couple of new scarves for Christmas gifts. It didn’t take long for Eryn to start filling a basket with handpicked Maxi hijabs, ultra-comfy Jersey scarves and gorgeous silk Signature hijabs.

erynshopping

Designer and “hijabista,” Neelam Alvi greeted us with a huge grin and salaams — and as we walked through her store admiring all of the lovely scarves, abaya and tunics, her three adorable children took turns poking their heads out from the back room, giggling at Eryn and Ivy. Both she and her technically minded husband, Nasir Mahmood, were extremely patient and gracious as I questioned them about their business.

Their idea to enter into the “modest” fashion industry began when more and more people complemented the fabulously talented Neelam on her own hand-sewn tunics — and started asking her to make clothes for them as well.

I have a degree in fine arts, and dress designing has been my passion all my life. The idea of starting a modest clothing business originated in 2007, when there weren’t many businesses around who catered to the needs of women wanting to dress modestly, especially in Canada. It was my husband’s idea to start it as an online business. In addition, there was this desire to do something “good” for others. Of course, we always strive to do things that would benefit not just us, but others as well — and to please Allah (swt).

ilovemodesty1After finding success in the online fashion scene, they decided to branch out and enter into the wild and wonderful world of hijabs and hijab accessories. Trying to design their online and physical store in such a way so that it appeals to the younger generation, Neelam uses bright colours, bold patterns and a lot texture for her signature hijabs — many of which are handmade in Canada. She then pairs them up with modern fashions to complete the “look” — and gives her products cool names, like the “Maxi,” the “Rani,” and the “Jersey” (fun!!).

In addition to their affordable hijabs, they also have a wonderful selection of handmade, unique stone and silver hijab pins, jewelry, skirts, abayas, and hijab essentials (like sleeves and under-caps). After about an hour of shopping, I grabbed myself a couple of really amazing stone pins and, oh yes, an electric blue tiger stripped hijab!

But I couldn’t just get something for myself without sharing with all of you. So Neelam and Nasir have very graciously offered to sponsor a GIVEAWAY!!

Two winners will have the chance to win one of these two designer scarves:

giveaway

All you have to do is:

  1. “Like” ILoveModesty on Facebook, and 
  2. Leave a comment here with a valid email address (either in the comment itself or in the email field when you fill out the comment form).

You have until midnight GMT on Sunday, December 30 to enter.

I’ll announce the winners (picked at random) in time to ring in the New Year!

They’re beautifully made and work well as a neck scarf or as a hijab. If you want to see how they look, check out the ILoveModesty online store — or if you’re in the Toronto area next weekend, you can catch Neelam at the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference! Drop by to say hello!

Good Luck!

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