Happy February, and Welcome to Modestish.
My name is Hafsa Lodi, and I’m an author, journalist and stylist with a keen interest in the evolution of modesty in fashion.
When my nonfiction book, Modesty: A Fashion Paradox launched almost exactly a year ago, it was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, my work was finally out in the world, available to buy, and accessible to interested readers across the globe. On the other hand, launching in the middle of the pandemic proved extremely challenging, book tours and events for the year were cancelled, and I had to lean heavily on social media to hustle. And, as I continued to come across more talented designers, beautiful bloggers and inspirational personalities in the modest fashion realm, I felt compelled to continue my work – the book may have been printed and bound, but modest fashion is an ongoing movement.
So, I decided to start Modestish, an online content hub and news platform dedicated to all things modest fashion. If you’ve read my book, you’ll know that my own journey with “modest fashion” as a term was rooted in the friendship I shared with my Mormon schoolmate in California. Depicting multiple interpretations of modesty, to cater to diverse religious groups, cultures and demographics, is our fundamental goal, as we kick-start an exciting global community of women who represent the colourful voices of modest fashion.
This is a safe space, void of judgement and preaching. We’ll be serving style inspiration, interviews with interesting women (and men!) in the modest fashion sphere, news stories and opinion pieces hooked to current events about modesty and fashion. We already have numerous articles online written by some talented contributors, about Halima Aden’s departure from the modeling world, Pretty Little Thing’s collaboration with Black, Hijabi model, Billy Marsal, and the first-ever Modest Fitness Week. Opinion pieces explore whether the word “modest” is outdated, how women of different faiths can inspire each other when it comes to modesty and why we need more modest stylists in the fashion industry.
Modestish styling is a service we are excited to start providing to brands and retailers, and our debut fashion shoot features a taste of the passion, energy and creativity we have to offer. It stars rising changemakers in the modest fashion sphere: the bold and artistic Junaynah El Guthmy, a hijabi model with unmatched grace and spunk, and equally inspiring creative Engy Mahdy, whose innovative and androgynous approach to fashion design reflects in her own personal aesthetic.
Bookmark our website and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date with current events, new collection drops, brands to know, influencers to follow and style tips to experiment with. And if you haven’t yet read my book, Modesty: A Fashion Paradox, you can find it here with worldwide shipping.
Signing off with a short fashion-themed rapid fire:
The fashion that’s topping my shopping wish list:
this lilac gingham set from Mango’s spring/summer 2021 collection
The small business I’m supporting:
The modest fashion creative I started following on Instagram:
The inspirational quote I’m signing off with today:
Thanks for tuning in, and looking forward to having you become part of our long-term modestish community! If you’d like to stay up to date with new developments in modest fashion, scroll down to the end of this page and subscribe to our soon-to-launch newsletter.
