I was once walking through the exhibits at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC when I happened upon one of the most stylish women I had ever seen. She was beautiful - stunning to say the least. And yet she was fully covered, head scarf and all.  I then noticed I was not the only one staring at her. She was radiating pure style to everyone who viewed her. Her wide leg trousers, Chanel looking blouse and trim-cut jacket looked like it came right off the runway (not to mention the way she tied her chiffon Hijab was absolutely beautiful and different from what you'd see or expect).  It was uttermost confidence, beauty and a sense of feminine virtue rolled into one beautiful whole. Although it was not Hana from Style Covered (whom we have secretly admired from afar for the way she works within her own moral codes of dress), this girl adhered to Hana's tastes and reminded us of a comment we once heard ... "modest or not, this girl has style." So although many of us have different moral codes that we subscribe to under differing titles of religiosity, or even the overlying ethic of modesty (if you click then scroll down to "modesty in dress" you'll see my favorite quote... "Most people consider the clothes that they are wearing to be modest. Otherwise, they would not wear the clothes. What is considered "modest" in this context will depend on the context when the clothes will be worn and can vary between religions, cultures, generations, occasions, and the persons who are present.) we still have respect for anyone that truly has innate style. 

So with that being said, here's a shout out to Hana and the beautiful things she's doing at her blog Style Covered and her newly started clothing line Maysaa. She's giving so many women more options in their specific moral codes of dress. Although we adhere to differing codes, we have great respect for what she's doing.  We can only hope to follow in her footsteps of creating style that enriches many varying degrees of modesty. 

Long story short, when I put this outfit on the other day I realized that whether Islamic, Jewish, Christian, or other - style can be beautiful and universal. Skirt, Ann Taylor; belt and bracelets, Forever 21; top, Zara; blazer, Zara.

P.S. in this same vein, isn't this Derek Lam dress Beautiful?