Spring is here and it's not just about blooming flowers, chirping birds and warmer weather. It's a time of renewal, and that part of the year where we begin to alter our mindsets, rearrange our goals, create new ones and ultimately embrace change. What better way to reflect this than outwardly through fashion. We put away our heavy sweaters and keep the lighter ones close by, give away our knits that have seen too many Winters and opt for breathable fabrics for the warmer seasons, in colours that are bright, light and cheerful. 

So here is this Seasons Key Colour Trends:

1. Khaki, 
2. nude, 
3. bold red, 
4. orange, 
5. blues, 
6. yellow

1. Khaki 

A classic, and back on trend this season, in all hues and textures, form satin to suede, in more elegant forms, including smart safari to military. How about a Khaki lace skirt or satin dress? or perhaps bring out those camo or khaki cargos...Mr. Price Sport currently stocks these and I'm pretty sure they are a staple at JEEP and Cape Union Mart stores. 

Liviana Conti S/S 2015 

Ralph Lauren S/S 2015

Marc Jacobs S/S 2015

Chanel RTW S/S 2015

3 ways to wear khaki

* Pair khaki utility or Cargo pants with a more feminine top in chiffon or lace and wear strappy sandals or block heels.

* pair a khaki shirt knotted at the front with a grey t shirt maxi dress and converse takkies

* try khaki accessories: a fringed khaki kimono will hit 2 trends in one go, khaki sun hat, large bag, military jacket, or scarf paired.

Perfectly paired khaki:

Try it with grey, nudes, coral, red and even aquamarine and denim.

Jessica Alba

2. Nudes

Nudes such as cream, beige, white tones, blush and dusty pinks, and earthy stone colours have been on trend for a while now and still going strong into Summer. They are feminine, glamourous with minimal effort exude luxury. Nudes are easy to pair with existing items in your wardrobe as they are not an overpowering palette and can be mixed with other trends. My go to on this trend is to pair nude seperates and accessories such as nude shoes, belts, bags, cardis or scarves to mix with my current wardrobe staples. Consider Nude chiffon skirts, Flowy nude sweaters and dresses, and longer length culottes (think wide leg extra flare pants).

Haider Ackermann S/S 2015

Stella McCartney RTW Spring 2015

3 ways to wear Nudes

* pair pastel or brightly coloured outfits with nude shoes

* use nude shoes with nude pants to elongate a petite figure and make your legs look longer

* pair an all white ensemble with nude heels, clutch, and scarf or belt.

Perfectly paired Nudes:

Have fun with nude shades they are as basic as you can get and play nicely with all colours. Remember though that nude paired with cooler colours are perfect for warm weather.

3. Red and orange 

Popping up subtly in our blushes, lipsticks and even bags. This season they are celebrated in dresses, sunglasses, shoes, and pretty much every piece you can wear from head to toe. Red is overwhelming for the majority of us, so try pops of red in your scarf prints or elements on your bags, clothing or jewellery..think red pom pom key chains, red floral prints and red stone jewellery. The bold will love red skirts, dresses, stilettos or takkies (this seasons "it" shoe)...whatever it is, it is worth a try!

Balmain Spring 2015

Zuhair Murad S/S 2015

3 ways to wear Red:

* try a red shoe with a black ensemble to start out, then pair with nude. 

* Colour block Red shoes with a cobalt blue dress and yellow accents like a belt and black as a neutral colour in your bag, scarf and elements on your dress like a black zip, buttons or a panels.

* Red compliments green, try a red plaid shirt with a khaki scarf or utility jacket.

Perfectly paired Red:

4. Blue

I doubt there is a wardrobe that lacks this colour, whether it's nautical stripes of navy blue and white, blue floral prints, marine blues touching on green, or denim in different shades of blue. 

Chloe S/S 2015

pic courtesy of Style mag

Elie Saab S/S 2015

pic courtesy of Vogue.com

3 ways to wear Blue

* blue skinny jeans with a loose asymmetrical cut or high low hem white shirt and fringed red, tan or teal clutch or wristlet bag

* try a denim skirt with button down front and a red, yellow or nude boxy shirt half tucked in at the the front

* pair a bright blue scarf with a nude ensemble and a yellow clutch

Perfectly paired blue:

This polka dot number hits so many trends in one

5. Yellow

The colour of sunshine, used by colour therapists to energise and reawaken enthusiasm and confidence, it's one of my favourite colours. This colour is not usually widely available but being on trend means you are going to see alot of it....yey!

3 Ways to wear yellow

* Try a yellow cardi or floral kimono over blue, grey, denim, nude or a purple dress or t and jeans.
*  Full length maxi in yellow paired with red, tan, turquoise, purple or nude heels or strappy flats looks amazing.
* for a more subtle approach try buttercup or pale yellow in scarves, belts, bags and jewellery.

Perfectly paired Yellow:
  

Hope you enjoyed this!;)....Please note, that this post mostly serves to inspire you to combine colours and create combinations that you will add to or make hijab appropriate and are ofcourse not entirely hijab appropriate on its own....next up is current trends,  and how to incorporate them in Hijab, finally some feedback on our amazing sponsors and the hijab workshop and hijab styling as a career, the magnetic pin craze and the lady who started it all, spa that is altering the way we see wellness, an adventure safely tucked away in Fourways thats great for the whole family,...and a whole lot more..InshaaAllah till next time;)

STYLE: TURBAN WITH ACCESSORIES

I have such a wealth of hijab styles and outfit combos to share with you�.I feel quite overwhelmed�Thankyou for sharing this blog with others!�it inspires me immensely to continue. Lets get started with today�s lessons.

I have seen a huge following with the turban style and was inspired by the number of ladies I�d seen wearing them on my trip to Dubai. It�s a look anyone can wear and you can take it from casual to formal by using �accessories�.

I almost got rid off my earrings many months ago as I thought it was just sitting there unused due to hijab styles I opted for.

Then I thought I really love my earrings and would love to use them. The turban style allows this and there are so many ways to tie one. So I would like to introduce: 

Turban styling with accessories.

LOOK 5 A

Summer Pattern mixing

SUMMER PATTERN MIXING

HIJAB DIY: 

1. You will need two patterned scarves, to choose your patterns wisely stick to one scarf as the accent piece as worn on the muslimah�s shoulders with large purposeful designs (all designs on the scarf have a theme it wishes to portray eg, sailing with anchors and rope designs or floral ) and one, which is simple with small repetitive popular designs (mini polka dots, thin stripes, small paisley designs repeated throughout the scarf like the polka dots). The pattern mixing is very on trend. The scarf you use to tie the turban can be a long one (1,8 or 2metres), or a square. We will first try the long one.

2. Draping the turban, do as you would a dupatta style but at the back. Place your rectangular scarf on your head with one short end (till just below your shoulder blades) and one long end, then take the long end at the back and drape it over your head. You should now have the scarf in two layers, with the short end tucked in.

3. Grab the additional length left at the back and begin twisting it and pull it to one side over the top/ front of your head and secure well with fancy pins. Tuck the tail end at the back, under your scarf.

P.S. I�m not a fan of the twist around the front of my head so I twist it around my bun or grip it like look 1 from hijab styles issue 1, where you could use fancy hair grips.

4. You can easily drape the square scarf around your neck for suitable cover by folding the square in half to form a triangles and securing the two ends by tying it to the back. Pinch up or ruffle the scarf for some fullness to cover the neck as below. 

OUTFIT DIY:

As we have chosen the scarf around our neck as the accent piece, our accessories such as our earrings, bracelets, even belts can match the colour of this scarf.

Accent pieces are generally in brighter more flamboyant colours. Our turban scarf is the base and neutral colours like the monochrome (black polka dots against white background) and even neutrals (browns, greys, taupe, black etc) compliment each other well. You can always change it up and opt to use accessories in your turban colour.

P.S. the white shirt is a classic favourite and returns time and time again�if you don�t have one�consider it, the white chiffon is feminine, summery and worth investing in, best of all it can be worn in multiple ways. Watch out for �how you should be wearing that shirt� in my future posts.

Some colour combinations to try for look 5 with or without patterns:

1. Turban: taupe or chocolate brown 

    Neck scarf: Lime green, yellow, turquoise,

2. Turban: grey
    Neck scarf: yellow, neon green, purple, peach or orange

3. Turban: white 

    Neck scarf: black, silver, white, gold, other neutrals, most colours

4. Turban: black
    Neck scarf: any colour and any pattern that compliments your outfit.

I love the combination below�.no twisting (",) just knot the remaining scarf length at back and pull to one side or both. It�s more of a bandana style. 

LOOK 5 B 

Bandana style colours

There are multiple ways to tie your neck scarf, depending on how much coverage you need around your neck and neckline. Let�s explore a few: 

Option 1, under �twist�, is great for starting out. You can fluff it out to add volume and coverage for your neck

Tip: If you are worried that your neck might be exposed, the next look is just for you.

LOOK 6 

Summer Pastel Hijab

SUMMER PASTEL HIJAB
HIJAB DIY:

1. You will need a burka style scarf /underscarf (these are the ones that seem to mould to the shape of your head) and a light jersey knit (pin free) or chiffon square or rectangular dupatta style scarf.

2. First wear your underscarf.
3. Draping the turban: place your rectangular scarf on your head
    ensuring both sides are equal. Cross it at the back and knot it.
4. Finishing off: Now take the one side and you could fold it lengthwise till it�s the width of a hairband (about 5-10cm) and wrap it around the front half of your head or just at your crown making sure you cover the exposed knot. Then do the same with the other, tucking in the tail ends into the wrapped around- bands, and leave a little to hang loose.

OUTFIT DIY:

The Muslimah wears a nude or blush coloured dress, which has a pleated chiffon skirt with a longer length pink cardigan. Long or short, cardigans compliment dresses. They can be worn open, buttoned up or belted. Also consider wearing your shirts as a cardigan, denim is a plus!

With long-sleeved dresses you can also opt for sleeveless cardigans to wear over.

See below for some cardigan and dress combos. 

NEUTRAL CARDIGAN WITH PEACH DRESS, ANIMAL PRINT BELT AND SCARF

The scarf style worn above is Turkish and they favor the square scarves. I will do a post soon dedicated to Turkish Hijab styles. You will love your square scarves again! 

Remember this look from issue 1 Hijab style and outfit combos.

Pleated nude or blush coloured maxi skirts as worn in look 6 are gorgeous and have been on and off the catwalks and can be dressed up or down. See below, you could easily swop for a longer sleeve length or cardigan, blazer etc. 

Pleated Nude Chiffon skirt with chic tee for casual wear

Onto our next look�a step by step tutorial..yey! 

LOOK 7: 

The plaited turban

THE PLAITED TURBAN
HIJAB DIY:

1. Wear an underscarf.Simply knot a dupatta (rectangular scarf) at the side of the head, then plait as

    much as you would like (knotting it as you go along), fasten with a pin to the back on one side and

    allow a little to hang loose. Then simply add accessories.
2. The classic trend with hijabs are the use of necklaces and chains first attached to the under scarf and

    hanging across the forehead..you could also use alicebands or diamante bracelets. Best worn for

    occasions.

Well that's it ladies....
I really enjoyed doing this post, takes alottttt of time, effort and love. So Share the love with others who wish to gain insight on the turban style for hijab. The above is but a few, so I will revisit turban styling in the future..IA! You can add me on facebook: Waseema Abdool Khader, on twitter: stylexplora or email:waseema561@yahoo.com with your queries and comments.