So I don’t have a walk-in closet, but I do have a huge double closet. It’s ridiculously big, you guys. Gigantic. And it still only BARELY manages to hold all my clothes. Now, why is this? Because I’ve got a double wardrobe. Well, if you count my Desi clothes, a triple wardrobe.
I have my Desi wardrobe, obviously: these are traditional shalwar kameez and langas and shararas. Maybe even the odd sari or two. I don’t know; I haven’t been in the back of my closet in forever. I also have a zippered bag full of carefully folded silk sari blouses, and another zippered bag full of silk dupattas (the rectangular shawl-like cloth worn with shalwar kameez – Google Image it if you’re really curious). These are what I wear to weddings and when I go to dinner parties with my mom, or when we host them. Or whenever her friends drop by, because apparently it’s a sin for me to sit around in my house in my jeans while Desi aunties are over.
Then I’ve got my normal wardrobe. This includes my suits, my shells for those suits (all of them sleeveless, which is super whorish), my vast array of cardigans and shrugs, and random blouses and blazers and the like. These are clothes I wear when I’m out and about, dressed up or dressed down. My arms are always partially covered – my shortest sleeves when wandering around in public are half-sleeves.
And THEN I’ve got my parent-approved wardrobe. These are tops with high crewnecks or turtlenecks, long sleeves, loose hems, long in length, etc. I look like an old lady in a JCPenney catalog – worse than that, really. These are the clothes I wear on the rare occasions that I’m out and about with my parents, especially my father. This is because a top that none of us would consider the least bit objectionable is a top that is completely whorish as far as they are concerned; a top that can mean nothing else but that I am open for business in the most sexual sense imaginable.
I should clarify at this point: I don’t consider my wardrobe immodest. I’ve often talked on this blog about loving cardigans because I wear them over sleeveless tops. It’s easy (and correct) to infer that I NEVER wear sleeveless tops out in public without wearing something else over them. I don’t wear mini-skirts or anything of the sort. If I’m not in pants, I’m in full-length, billowy skirts. I dress very conservatively by today’s standards, and slightly conservatively by my own standards. ;)
But then again, y’all know I’m kind of a prude. My ‘slightly conservative’ is, again, ‘very conservative’ by normal standards.
Hah, I remember when me and my dad were road tripping it to the Smokies in Tennessee, meaning I had to pack about a week’s worth of Dad-Approved outfits that would keep me from sweating (glistening?) bullets during long summer days spent outside. OMG, I had no idea what to pack.
I packed all my tunics, and all my long sleeve blouses, and my Extra Super Fat Jeans. I don’t even know why I bought those. They were super baggy and I was like, ooh, these will be Shelter Jeans, so the puppies and kitties can rip them to shreds and I won’t care and they’re only $10 because they are for plus size fourteen-year-olds.
I looked HORRENDOUS that whole week. I never quite feel like I’m inhabiting my own skin if I’m wearing clothes that are as horribly ill-fitting as all the clothes I had to pack and wear that week. I don’t wear skin-tight clothing by any means, but I prefer that my clothing actually fit me instead of being at least two sizes too big.
But yes. Three wardrobes in my closet, y’all. And you know why? Because I’m doing it wrong. There are plenty of ways to use ‘normal’ tops and up the modesty factor, without shopping for clothes three sizes too big, or always making a bee line for huge tunics that probably housed the Russian circus at one point.
It’s actually not that difficult. Observe what I did for today:
Grey Twill Pants ………. $15
Hive & Honey Shirred Henley in Magenta ………. $22.99
Crew Neck Jersey Tee in White ………. $7.99
Nine West Barbe Pumps in Black Leather ………. $41.40
Not that hard at all.
I went with grey pants for this outfit – decided to make that my neutral. Or, at least, one of my neutrals. I picked a simple henley in a bright, bold color; something similar to what I might have in my closet. I actually think I do have something similar to this, but in baby pink and with short sleeves. The one here isn’t something that I would wear out in public without something over it. (Usually a cardigan or a cute little cropped shrug – I’m big on those.)
But toss a simple white long-sleeve tee under it, and it’s easily something that a hijabi woman, for example, could wear out in public. (And remember, most of my Modern Muslimah outfits are targeted toward hijabi women – those that cover their hair, for those not familiar with the term.)
I tossed in a pair of black heels, and bam. Done. So simple, and pretty conservative, too, at that.
