How come Muslim women have better shoes than everyone else

[Gigantaur]

It has occured to me recently that Muslim women seem to have far nicer shoes than us boring old lot.

I live in an area where there are quite a lot of ladies that wear the full hijab (i am praying that is the correct term now)
I see them all the time dressed entirely in black and looking -pplease don't flame me- well, identical to each other.

and yet to get to their feet and they are wearing some very glamorous very sparkly shoes that i would consider dressy enough for an evening shoe. yet they wear them daily just to do the school run/trip to tesco.

I am .

Is there some muslim store where they go to buy these shoes that i don't know of?
I want to be able to wear fabulous shoes all day long.

and while i'm here i am intrigued as to what they wear underneath the Hijab. is it an outfit in itself or just an overcoat type thing that covers up plain old jeans and t shirt?

And please, if i have offended anyone i am deeply sorry. i really don't mean to.

[Havingkittens]

I don't mean to generalize but it's no secret that a lot of arabic people are quite wealthy. Also, I suppose if you they are only allowed to show their eyes and their feet then it stands to reason they would want to wear fabulous eye make up and express their good taste and wealth via their footwear.

They wear a hijab over their regular clothes which they uncover in the privacy of their own homes.

[PosieParker]

As above.

[Gigantaur]

well yes that does make sense.
though not all of the women i see are from wealthy arabic families.

some of these ladies are very far from wealthy.

It is more their ability to walk all day in such beautifull shoes.
I barely make it through the day without reaching for my plimsoles

[mathanxiety]

It's a desperate attempt to individualise themselves using the only part of the body that isn't hidden under the uniform, tentlike overclothing?

[PosieParker]

(or is it another sign of a patriarchal community in which women walk around in crippling heels and caked in make up?)

[mathanxiety]

The heels, the makeup, the plastic surgery and the burqa: quadruple whammy.

[PosieParker]

G, did you mean the very decorative heels? Indian women wear them too and shed loads of Chinese, in China? Also the porn heels, a lot. (the clear perspex heel and platform)

[Zembo]

Most muslim women you'll see are probably asian (India + subcontinent) or arabic. Generally they tend to dress in a much more glam way (compared to standard european styles of dressing) so they have the glam shoes to match. Simple as that really.

Are these the kinds of shoes you mean? They're worn commonly with shalwar khameez. So, it's not a desparate attempt to draw attention to the only visible bits, just part of the outfit. Speaking as a non-hijab wearing muslim woman.

[ValiumSingleton]

As Mathanxiety says.

I sometimes think, ooooooh ?120 for those gorgeous shoes, no, no I just can't. But if the rest of me was covered up I would.

[PussinJimmyChoos]

Interesting thread...DH is from Syria and there is definately a fashion to wearing hejab - much the same as fashion for women that don't cover here

I found that when I wore hejab in Syria, I was more conscious of my acessories, nails etc than normal...but really, its the trend dictating it - not Islam

Women just want to fit in - covered or not covered

[QueenGigantaurofMnet]

I must admit i had noticed it in asian ladies in general but obviously on the women wearing a full burkha it is more obvious that the shoes are so glam.

I didn't necessarily intend for this to be a heavy feminist type thread but i guess there is an element of that to it.

My first thought was that it was because the feet were their only way of showing individuallity and personality.

But then i figured that maybe there was more to it than that.

after all, most women follow fashion to impress other women rather than men. and i would imagine in Islam this is almost certainly the case. Yet they are able to remove their Hijab when amongst only women so they wouldn't need to only show their style with their feet. they could wear a polka dot bikini if they felt like it.

I dunno. It was just something that got me thinking really, and it detracted from teh heavyness of other threads runninga t the mo

[PosieParker]

I must admit that, aside from the uber rich Arab Muslims, most Indian and other muslim ladies I see have shoes that make me think 'vulgar, tacky, vile, gaudy' and not hmm fabulous shoes!! (I've spent far too long in china in the underground markets to not notice a cheap shoe!!)

[higgle]

Zembo - I just love some of the shoes on that site - the high heeled ones with toe posts look really comfortable too - I have stored the address as a favourite for whenn I have a glamourous event to attend.

[ragged]

Try Thursday market in Loughborough to dispel your illusions; the wee Bangladeshi and Pakistani ladies evidently have very tough feet, judging from their habits of wearing flip flops in the snow and ice, but quality footwear it ain't.