I first saw Fifi at Itang Yunasz fashion show. I could never forget her face, she has a very striking and strong feature about herself. Maybe it’s about the confidence and how stylishly she wore her hijab and attire. Not long after that, I saw another lady with hijab at XSML fashion show, she was just as stylish as Fifi and I could spot her easily at that very packed room that night. Later I discover that she’s Hanna, the other half of Hijabscarf. I learned about their blog only after they were featured in a magazine and that’s how my question got answered as to who these two lovely ladies are.

If ever anyone tell you that wearing a hijab will only limit your style, you should show them the Hijabscarf blog. This blog will defy any connotation of the sort.

In an attempt to know more about them, I asked Lita to step aside from Mommies Daily for a while and did an interview with them. I love their blog and I can’t stop looking at the nicely done photos on their blog! (I’m like stalking their blog every other day!).

So here it is!

Can you tell us when did you first decide wearing hijab?

Fifi started wearing hijab since 2009 after she got married while Hanna started wearing hijab after her pilgrim to Makkah in 2005.

What do you both think about the perception that says wearing hijab is not fashionable, yet we see more and more stylish hijabi women?

We are not sure about this perception, but the only reason we can think of that maybe it’s because back then there were not many younger muslimah with hijab meanwhile nowadays we see many young muslimah with hijab and young muslimah tend to dress to express themselves. The muslim media, the muslim community, muslim fashion business, muslim designers are also developing. Those aspects influence the rise of muslim fashion in Indonesia. We get more familiar with hijabi women in different styles. So everyone believes that hijab does not limit everyone to express their character and style.

As women that wear hijab, do you still follow the latest trend?

We keep ourselves informed with the latest trend. It’s not merely to wear something popular or not, but also to find out how to look fresh and new, but still comfortable is the most important aspect. We like searching the latest trend as much as the classic vintage one.

Any tips that you can share to our readers to stay up to date with the latest trend but at the same time remain within the guideline of modest dressing?

Never be  scared of trying new things. Keep yourself aware with the latest trend. Reading magazines, browsing, anything. Keep yourself informed with the latest trend doesn’t mean that you have to follow every trend going around. Know your body shape, which part you should cover and not. Make sure that you know your measurements and determine your shape, so you can pick any suits that fit your dimensions, body type, and your character. From there you can invent your own style and be creative with your own style.

Coming back to your blog Hijabscarf, how did it start and what is the purpose of this blog?

It was on March 2010 back from Bandung, we had a conversation how we both had a dream to be working mom. We also talked about how hard to find a media that targets muslim fashion that suit our style. From there, we then came up with an idea to make a media that specifically discusses about how to dress nice from our point of view. We choose blogging because it’s cost-effective, can spread world wide and measured. We know who visits our blog, how many hits each day, week, month, which post get more attention, etc. However in the future we would love to see Hijabscarf in a printed version; books, magazine and gather more inspiring muslimah within. Moreover we want Hijabscarf to be not only a blog but also a community filled with many inspiring muslimah.

With the blog gaining more popularity, what are the effect of this to both of you?

We get more friends request on Facebook and Twitter. Some people recognize us as Hanna and Fifi from hijabscarf. We also find our pictures from blog to blog. It surprised and thrilled and honored us at the same time. It’s beyond nice yet scary to be responsible to fulfill everyone’s expectations upon us. However the most interesting part from having hijabscarf is meeting new friends who also experience the same stories regarding hijab.

Can you share the key pieces in your wardrobe?

First of all you have to be comfortable with scarves you wear. Know your face type. Knowing your face means you know what kind of scarves suit your face best. The material, shape, size will effect the way you round them. Second of all, Fifi loves all her jacket collections. It saves her old collections before she wore hijab. Hanna has wide hips so she feels that it’s important to have the right pants. You will never go wrong with the right pants that perfectly shape your hips.

*Photos courtesy of Hijabscarf