In the last few months, I’ve been really making an effort to dress beautifully at home. Before that, I was always the one lounging in my nighties with a mismatched top. Although I would dress up for a family event or eid, my everyday day clothing at home was guided by ease and comfort with little thought given to appearance. 

But I’ve turned that around. With a few shopping trips, browsing online for inspiration I’ve managed to update my look and change the ‘girl in pyjamas’ persona to something a little more polished and fashionable.

Some of the benefits I’ve noticed from making an effort in my appearance are:

1. You feel beautiful

Wearing the clothes you love, that flatter your body shape and height makes you feel beautiful. Wearing beautiful clothing and spending an extra 5 minutes on your appearance even when your staying at home all day, makes you feel better about yourself.

2. Boosts self confidence

When you look incredible you feel incredible. It might be odd at first when the people around you notice how you’ve started to dress beautifully but sooner or later they’ll compliment your outfit. Taking care of your appearance is a huge confidence booster.

3.You get to play dress up again

You know what I love about dressing beautifully is that you can have so much fun with it. It’s a wonderful way of expressing your intention for the day. For example, if you have guests over for lunch, you know you’ll wear something a little more conservative but still pretty. If your plan is to go out all day and run errands outside the house then you’d choose something smart and comfortable that would be easy to wear underneath your abayah.

4. It’s comfortable

Having previously been the queen of pyjamas I can tell you that dressing beautifully doesn’t have compromise comfort. Of course, there is no feeling equal to chilling at home in your pyjamas but there’s a comfort that comes from dressing your best.

5.Connect with your inner, wild girl

Honestly, I love fashion. As a young girl I was always into make-up and dressing up. However during my early teenage years, I started practising Islam more deeply and naively cleared out my life from anything that would distract me from Allah. I emptied out my wardrobes of excess clothes, all those different coloured hijabs were given to charity or passed on to family members. I remember throwing away all those teenage magazines I had collected over the years and passing on a huge storage box of make-up to my cousins. So though it was an incredibly, peaceful time in my life – it wasn’t sustainable. Fast forward a few years I’m getting back to playing with make-up and having fun with fashion. The key is to be balanced and well rounded. You want to be balanced in this world but be orientated to the next world.

What I love about dressing up is that it connects you to that inner, wild girl. That girl who just wants to have fun and play. That innocent girl who only cares about playing in the sand, skipping in the park and picking up daffodils. That wild, youthful, relaxed girl who radiates her happiness and light to the world. And that’s what makes her so attractive. That energy. That light. For me dressing up is a way to connect to that girl who adores life, who gives her heart and soul to the world.