Wearing hijab/ headscarf and modest clothing , if not Muslim

[Charliescar]

I am 40 and love the idea of being modest , like Muslim women .
Would you be offended if your were a Muslim and I dressed like this ?

I think lots of different religions have a tradition of women covering hair. Personally I wouldn't do it, not because of cultural appropriation but because I don't like any tradition that has different expectations of women to men.

Also, I went to Iran once, covering the hair and 'modest' dress is the law for women. The clothes were fun for the first five minutes, after that they were just an inconvenient pain and faff.

I think wearing a hijab would be a little strange, but I'm wearing clothes that would probably class as modest today, just because I'm in wide trousers and have put on a big fluffy jumper cause its freezing!
Modest clothing doesn't need to be religious. A hijab is making a bit more of a statement.

Wimple?

Offended by wearing a scarf.... no, might assume you were muslim if saw you in the street. Depending where you are can attract negative attention so you may not enjoy wearing it.

I dress modestly, jeans and a jumper today.

My grandma always wore a headscarf when she left the house, and her clothes always covered her body. I don't think she offended any Muslims, but she wasn't trying to replicate them and she wouldn't have claimed to be wearing a hijab!

I dress modestly, jeans and a jumper today.

Me too!!

I've often felt the same. I'd love to not have to worry about my hair, just wrap it up, and some of the wraps, scarves etc are very pretty. Jeans and a jumper just isn't the same imo, I still feel exposed like that. Can't stand summertime for this reason.

Also nobody wod know it was "cultural appropriation" - I see many white women wearing this stuff in London, although I assume they are muslim - they might not be, nibody is gknna stop them to aak.

Those saying they are modestly dressing in jeans and jumper, I would think you need looser fit trousers than just jeans, to fit the definition of modest? Aren’t they a bit tight around the bottom and legs?

What is modesty?

Memories of my childhood include waiting at my nana’s house for her shift to end at the factory at the end of the street, when the gates would open and dozens of women in headscarves (often covering their hair rollers) and gingham housecoats would stream out. All looking a bit like Hilda Ogden or Nora Batty, but women of all ages dressed like this not just old ones.

If it’s a more glamorous look you want you only need to look at Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn in a headscarf and sunglasses.

If you want to dress modestly there are lots of ways to do it. Dressing ‘like a Muslim’ is not the only way. I can’t speak for Muslim women as I am not one but can say that your implication that non-Muslim women are not modest is.

It wouldn't offend me but I'm not Muslim (I wear a scarf over my hair to visit holy sites where the faith requires it but otherwise, no). Depending on the area, you might attract more attention than not wearing it would do.

Some Roma women wear a scarf over their hair. I've often contemplated it on a bad hair day! I don't think there'd be any impropriety about it. It's also not a cast-iron thing that all Muslim women must do- I've known plenty who don't, though some religious leaders do encourage it.

Hats come in summer and winter versions. Ditto scarves.

Coats, dresses, skirts, trousers and tops don't have to be body conscious or particularly revealing. No cultural appropriation necessary.

Dress how you like.

If you were wearing proper hijab and not Muslim you might get some weird glances, but no one would be offended. Plenty of people cover their hair for loads of reasons, including those undergoing kemo.

In terms of modesty, again, Muslims don't own modesty.

A great stylish line (though I'm not sure if it's available in the UK) is the Marks & Spencer modest line. Long, loose kimonos, dresses, shirts, blouses, pants. They are my go to for work in the Middle East because they are so comfy, stylish and very flattering (in my view). All the Muslim ladies I work with LOVE it.

I do sometimes ponder about the origins of clothing style. Disregarding the concept of modesty (which is a bit of problematic / thorny issue as it is closely linked with shame) for just a moment it hasn't escaped my notice that clothes protect from the cold and rain but also the sun, dust and heat. I prefer to cover up a bit in summer than slather on copious amounts of suncream all over. Anywhere I can clothe, I save on sunscreen. I think in the desert I would be pleased to wear hijab style cover for this reason not because I am particularly modest.

Wearing loose attire that covers the body does not belong to one religious or cultural group. More importantly, no one group has a monopoly on modesty. All woman should be assumed to be modest - by which I mean unavailable to sexual advance - as the default condition, whatever clothes are being worn. I really wish that the epithet ‘modest' would not be used to describe a certain type of clothing as it seems to suggest that those wearing other styles of dress are immodest.

But if you want a quintessentially British role model for the headscarf look, what about the Queen?

And regards modesty issues I am equally happy in full compression running tights when running because they are supportive and comfortable and exactly the right clothes to wear for my running.

I think people can be humble (not being boastful) in all senses without being ashamed of their bodies which seems to go hand in hand with some perceptions of modesty.

In the past all Europeans wore hats/scarves and covered their heads. (Likely from religious origins, but also much of Europe is cold half the year!)

What is it you "love [about] the idea of being modest"?

@OutwiththeOutCrowd great pic- how happy does HM look there!

Conservative Christians dress in modest clothes. Some cover their hair in a small headscarf but it is more symbolic than actually hair covering.
Orthodox Jews dress modest and cover their hair with a wig.
Roma women dress modest and often have a headscarf.
I dress modest because all I wear is jeans and loose tops because they are comfy. I don't follow a faith. What has dressing in modest clothes got to do with being Muslim?

Modesty isn’t the preserve of Muslim women. Plenty of others choose to because of their religion or culture and some just because they want to. Brethren women wear scarves and long skirts, lots of fundamental Christians believe modest dress is necessary.

Many more orthodox Jewish women choose modest clothing. Tzniut includes a group of Jewish laws concerned with modesty of both dress and behaviour. The principal guiding point of tzniut in regard to dress is that a Jew should not dress in a way that attracts undue attention.

Modesty doesn’t mean dressing in an Abaya or Burkha. No harm of offence in wearing a loose, high necked midi dress with long sleeves, regardless of religion.

If I’m in the Middle East I take care not to wear clothing that would suggest a lack of respect but I don’t wear anything I cannot buy in Monsoon or Jigsaw. I wouldn’t wear shorts in a mall and might wear a maxi skirt more than I would in the U.K. I’d not wear a vest style T-shirt but might wear a looser cotton blouse, with sleeves.

If it makes you feel more comfortable wear it.