Sunday, March 15, 2009
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Dressing as a Muslimah
Let me start by saying that these are my personal views and that I believe that every woman is entitled to her own views and should dress in whatever way that she feels most comfortable with. At the same time, just because a woman chooses to dress modestly (whether or not she is a Muslim) I don't see why it has to be in dull, drab colours or that it should be shapeless or make her look like a sack of potatoes.
As a woman who places a lot of importance on how she looks, I look for beauty and uniqueness first in clothes together with comfort as I believe that if you are not comfortable in what you are wearing you will not look good. Just think about a woman who is constantly pulling, tugging and adjusting her clothes.....
How did I come up with the name Arya? Well, I was looking for something short, catchy, nice sounding with a beautiful meaning too. I decided on "Aria" which means "beautiful melody" in Italian but unfortunately someone had already registered that name at the Registrar of Businesses so "Aria" became "Arya".
So these are the principles that I use when buying for the Arya collection - beauty (well cut pieces and in rich wonderful colours), uniqueness (who wants to wear what everyone else is wearing???), comfort, figure flattering (we don't all have model like figures, which is why I have used "real people" ie myself and my family and not professional models) without being revealing and whenever possible practicality and low maintenance. Most of our pieces are (hand) washable. Only the jackets should be dry-cleaned.
I have also attempted to get "something for everyone" which is why the collection encompasses Formal wear, Work wear and of course Leisure wear.
A point to note is that many of the collection are one-off pieces as each Batik piece is individually hand-drawn in a cottage industry set-up whilst the Mat Mee (Woven/ Sutera Tenun) Silk pieces are also one off pieces. Only the embroidered / beaded pieces are available in various colours and sizes.
Finally, I firmly believe that clothes MUST be tried on to fully appreciate its beauty, the feel of the fabric and also to of course to determine the fit. Arya is a labour of love, my gift to women who want to look and feel beautiful. WE ALL DESERVE IT.....
As a woman who places a lot of importance on how she looks, I look for beauty and uniqueness first in clothes together with comfort as I believe that if you are not comfortable in what you are wearing you will not look good. Just think about a woman who is constantly pulling, tugging and adjusting her clothes.....
How did I come up with the name Arya? Well, I was looking for something short, catchy, nice sounding with a beautiful meaning too. I decided on "Aria" which means "beautiful melody" in Italian but unfortunately someone had already registered that name at the Registrar of Businesses so "Aria" became "Arya".
So these are the principles that I use when buying for the Arya collection - beauty (well cut pieces and in rich wonderful colours), uniqueness (who wants to wear what everyone else is wearing???), comfort, figure flattering (we don't all have model like figures, which is why I have used "real people" ie myself and my family and not professional models) without being revealing and whenever possible practicality and low maintenance. Most of our pieces are (hand) washable. Only the jackets should be dry-cleaned.
I have also attempted to get "something for everyone" which is why the collection encompasses Formal wear, Work wear and of course Leisure wear.
A point to note is that many of the collection are one-off pieces as each Batik piece is individually hand-drawn in a cottage industry set-up whilst the Mat Mee (Woven/ Sutera Tenun) Silk pieces are also one off pieces. Only the embroidered / beaded pieces are available in various colours and sizes.
Finally, I firmly believe that clothes MUST be tried on to fully appreciate its beauty, the feel of the fabric and also to of course to determine the fit. Arya is a labour of love, my gift to women who want to look and feel beautiful. WE ALL DESERVE IT.....
