Body Image: Being Curvy, Muslim and Fashionable?

Our relationship with weight can be complicated and a conflicting affair. My sister asked me the other day, ‘why do you always were baggy clothes?’. And I replied I feel the most comfortable in it and quite frankly I can’t find clothes that are modest, stylish and fit my body shape. This got me thinking, are we as curvy Muslim women restricted in what clothes we can wear? because even loose clothes can be somewhat skin-tight! Billie Ellish recently said in an interview that her decision to wear baggy clothes stems from the fact that she doesn’t want people to judge her body size. I have always had a complicated relationship with my weight and have found it very difficult to get to terms with it. There are times where I have made a conscious effort to get to a certain weight, for example 2019 where I began my gym journey. However, I have felt that getting the results you want doesn’t come over night. And what topped it all is that the idea of going shopping and finding a size that fits my curvy body can be a real struggle.

The experience of being curvy , Modest and Fashionable at the same time is difficult as would many Muslim girls agree. There are so many factors to abide to and boxes to tick that it feels restrictive to even express yourself, which I feel your clothing should do. There are many Muslim female fashion bloggers like Dina Tokio or Habiba da Silva. However, these bloggers show the versatility of modest fashion, it can somewhat come far from the reality, where Muslim girls like me find their fashion to a great form of expression but a little farfetched and more mainstream. The blogger world has become more to do with the ‘clout’ the Instagram picture will get and less to do with the power of the influence. The question that consistently interests me is how Muslim women can be ‘thick’ or ‘curvy’ and modest and basically make it work, without just wearing the same clothing every day.

I have been through many clothes where they are meant to be loose, but still are too tight on me and show my figure. Honestly, this really does dishearten me as I know that this may be the case for many other girls. I don’t claim to be a fashion blogger, but I feel strongly about the way in which we are influenced through clothing and how our body shape can ultimately define our existence, where it really doesn’t have to! Wanting to be stylish whilst being curvy and a Muslim makes us a minority within a minority.

Firstly, body image, size and figures are a diverse world which has only recently been fully discovered within the fashion industry. The word ‘curvy’ describes the feminine figure, however, wasn’t until recently where the term ‘curvy’ has been accepted as a natural contour amongst many other contours that women should accept and be proud of. Also, within recent times, in the fashion industry, there has been a more inclusive attitude adopted to clothing and the diversity of different female figures, for example plus size models such as Ashley Graham being photographed as Vogue’s cover girl. But of course, we can’t say curvy without the Kardashians, who somehow made themselves flagbearers of being curvy, however as we may know being curvaceous wasn’t exactly deemed as attractive and didn’t fit the conventional body type of a women. but now has become popular due to the likes of the Kardashians. Once again, this can also be said to be an unrealistic image of what curvy looks like, as these women spent hours on changing their looks to fit the conventional.

So where are their examples of realism within the fashion industry which reflect the realistic idea of being curvaceous, fashionable and Muslim? Meet Leah Vernon!

Leah Vernon is a plus size Muslim model who is a feminist, blogger and activist and conveys a powerful message of self confidence and body positivity. Her content aims to empower girls to be proud of their own bodies and to be confident and unapologetically themselves. This universal message is reflected through her blog ‘The Beauty and the Muse’ where she shares her thoughts about the diversity of Muslim women, but most of all uncovers a different angle to the conventional image of a Muslim women.

It’s incredibly important to show the diversity of Muslim women as it creates the idea that there not the only ones. Being curvy, Muslim and fashionable can sometimes feel impossible however fashion bloggers like Leah Vernon have shown its doesn’t require you to constantly be infatuated by the size of everything, to have some self-worth and belief.

We should stop comparing ourselves and seeking validation from unrealistic images of female figures, as its mostly likely that there has been some manipulation in the process and far from the reality as you can get. Jameela Jamil provides a great insight into how to have more self-love and confidence in your body type. to stop I admire the creativity of fashion bloggers, however, there needs to more curvy modest fashion bloggers within this spectrum, as I feel that we are a minority within a minority. A final thought is that don’t limit yourself to the size of your jean because there are far more interesting things about you that matter.

Thank you for reading!

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