ACCEPTABLE modest wear for Polish women?

I'm trying to find out what is acceptable modest wear. I mean, the kind that doesn't bring TOO much attention that this girl is a "prude" but doesn't reveal too much body details like skinny jeans does.

Any advice? I would like to hear from both sides, men and women.

What kind of clothes do you find modest and good for everyday life (university/work/hanging out with friends)

I visited Poland during the summertime. Many of the females dressed in light, casual clothing. Their daytime attire included tank
tops, loose-fitting shorter skirts and capri pants.

I wish I could make changes to my original post. I guess I should rephrase it.

What can a Muslim girl wear in Poland, to appear modest yet blend in with society? (regardless of hijab)

Abu 3issa,

When in Rome do like the Romans.

Purpose of Islamic dress code is specifically to blend in and not attract attention - as far as I know.

My advice: go there; see how people dress and dress like them! This usually work for any place!

Generally speaking:

Jeans + T-shirt = blends in

Skirt or shorts + tank top = blends in

Short, long, a bit revealing, not so revealing = all blends in

However:

Chicken suit = does not blend in

Fluorescent green or yellow = does not blend in

Black Hijab, niqab, abaya, burgu3 = does not blend in and may very well attract more attention, mostly negative

Stylish head scarf (like pashmina for example) = may blend in if it is winter or on an older person

Polsyr, I'm very grateful for your response :)

How about a hat and roll her hair inside instead of a hijab? Although the neck would show but I'm not really sure which is more priority.

You are half right about the islamic code dress purpose. The main idea is to BLEND in, but within standards of modesty (actually this applies for both men and women unlike a lot of people think).

So tank tops and short skirts are out of the question, at least for me and my family.

What would you recommend that would be the least revealing and the most blending?

abu3issa

For hair, try something called bonnet hair cover. It is a popular accessory in many parts of the world and blends in without attracting the wrong kind of attention. Do an image search on google and you will see what I am talking about. You can even order them online.

That would be OK.

Or maybe something like this:




How about this?:

modest wear in poland

Although I rather the long skirts she would truly prefer the pink and blue jeans

Much appreciated Paulina
If you have more ideas please give me :)

Hi,
I visit Poland regularly, I'm Sikh (sort of) so I do appreciate your dilemma. In summer straight leg jeans with a long sleeved,mid thigh shirt or smock should be okay. There are some quite nice thigh length tops in the shops. A nice chuni (long scarf) wrapped around your head and tied at the back of your neck won't attract too much attention.

In winterb the long chunky sweaters and cardigans over jeans, woollen scarves and hats to cover your hair. If you have any job interviews etc... Black wide legged trousers with a knee or mid thigh jacket over. I don't know if you wear make up? it's better to wear very little, looks much nicer. I hope this helps.

OK, I'll try :)


If she likes colourful clothes then she could go with skirts like these, for example:

And as kaz200972 wrote she could combine those wide jeans with a tunic blouse:

Also, during summer when it's hot she could wear those tunics with wide linen pants, which are a classic and elegant choice for that time of year:

As for skirts, then this could be considered a very casual "university" look:

Everyday outfit:

For work:



Something more chic, elegant:
Elegant outfit in Poland

And more summer looks:
broken link

To be honest I'm not sure what would be acceptable for Muslims, so I don't know what to propose. Are long sleeves in blouses obligatory? And how close to the body they could be? For me, for example, the first "summer look" (the photo with the white chair in the background) is pure innocence, but maybe it wouldn't be acceptable for a Muslim girl?

Btw, how old is she?


+1
Or woollen skirts:




I had a feeling you'll write that lol


Well, if she's a Muslim then she may want to conform to some Muslim laws out of her free will and then it's neither mine nor your business.


Tom, even in Europe you can wear a bikini only on a beach lol

Rubbish!!! Have you not been to a british niteclub.... i mean dyskotek...
girls walk around in underwear all the time... :)
not all muslim girls are traditionalists... same as some catholic girls in poland dont believe in no sex before marriage.... when i say some...i mean most..

No, I haven't been to a British nightclub. Abu3issa's is asking about Poland. He asked: "What can a Muslim girl wear in Poland, to appear modest yet blend in with society?"

Walking around in underwear isn't "modest", do you understand that, Tom?


So?


That's fascinating, Tom, but what does it have to do with clothes for a Muslim girl?

Thank you very much Paulina & Kaz :D
It's a real honor to see people from different backgrounds helping each other with open minds and open hearts.
Honestly, if the would discuss religious things this way, we'd have achieved world peace and harmony centuries ago.

Thank you Paulina for your responses. It seems Tom made two replies but I only see one ='/

Regardless, it doesn't matter what religious background you come from, you are right about "when in Rome". But you forgot something, Saudi Arabia are 99.9% Muslims, you have to follow the norms of that society, otherwise you'd be disrespectful to them. Imagine walking in a church in a bikini? I think the people inside would consider it insulting. Now imagine that nation wide. In the other hand, in Poland and most western communities, there are people from all kind of religious backgrounds. So it's more acceptable to walk around in whatever clothes you like as long as you keep up with most social norms. Take nuns for example, they still cover almost like a Muslim girl does. It's their choice and people respect them for that. At least this is my opinion in this matter.

That's the whole point of my thread here. I want to visit Poland, a country with very very few Muslims, and be able to walk around with my family without the letting go of my religious standards while being able to blend (even slightly) with Polish society norms. Finding that balance is something I want to do out of respect to Poland and its people.

abu, I agre with you... if a western girl went to Saudi she would dress accordingly....
if a muslim goes to poland, she too may have the same courtesy....
at the end of the day, anyone can wear whatever they like in Poland.. its a free country....
if you want to stand out thats fine, if you want to conform to the socail norms thats fine too...it's not a big deal....

How about food. You can't eat the meat in Polish restaurants. When I was in Poland I brought my own food from home because I can't eat anything cooked in a non-kosher kitchen. At least I can drink the beer, but I don't think you're allowed to do that.

Are you wearing a hijab ? I'm just asking...

@Yehudi:
HEY!!! How are you my friend? :D
I have considered that, I would turn myself into a vegetarian unless invited by friends who understand my religious diet.
I thought I might find kosher restraunts, since we are allowed to eat the food prepared by Jews and Christians (unless pork or prepared using alcohol) but I'm not sure I'd find many, and now with your comment I'm definitely turning vegetarian during my stay xD

Although I was told KFC is ok but I'm not sure. They could be using animal fat (pigs mainly) to extract cooking oil ='/

@Grzegorz_:
No, I'm a man. We don't wear hijab but we still have modesty standards in our clothing.

Hey abu3issa. Doing fine, thank G-d.

When I travel abroad, it's sometimes a problem to keep my head covered, which we're supposed to do even indoors. I either wear a kippah or a hat and that doesn't always blend in well in Europe. The good side is that when I do wear a kippah, any Jew who sees me recognizes me as a "member of the tribe" and then we start to talk as if we were old friends.

You won't find a kosher restaurant in Poland except maybe in Krakow, but if you see a guy in the street with a kippah, just walk up to him and say "Where can a Jew eat around here?"

You're welcome :)


:)


No problem, I'm religious myself. Tom's posts ended up in the bin (Random Chat Thread (deleted periodically)).


That's very nice of you and I'm sure the girl will enjoy it, however:


Tom is right, Abu3issa, the girl can wear a hijab if she wants to, it wouldn't be considered disrespectful by Polish people. The only downside would be that people would stare at her, as there are so few Muslims in Poland and her outfit would be considered something "exotic" ;)

Btw, is "the Muslim girl" your wife or daughter? Is she Saudi Arabian?

(Mods, shouldn't this thread be in the "Society, Culture" section of the forum?)

And Warsaw and Lublin and Gdansk and Tykocin and Lodz and Zamosc and Kazimierz Dolny, and those are just the ones which come straight off the top of my head!

There might be restaurants that call themselves kosher, but they're often just "Jewish style" and don't really keep the rules of kashrut (kosherness?). And my experience has been that kosher restaurants in remote places are never open when I'm there. Maybe it's just my luck.

There are also Halal places in the far east of Poland. As far as I know, unless someone is very strict indeed the two are compatible.

The ones I'm thinking of are properly kosher.

I am learning so much from all of you :) I really appreciate the time and effort you are all putting into this.
My trip to Poland is exciting me to no end. I know there would be a few disappointments. But It's still exciting nonetheless.
In Saudi and back in Yemen I've met Christians,Hindu,Athiests and even Sikh.
But they were living OUR way, there wasn't much of cultural exchange except through conversation, filled with "back home we did this and that". I honestly want to visit some churches. A friend of mine visited a church in Egypt and told me how interesting.

@Yehudi:
Yeah I'm planning to go to Krakow :)
Honestly that really seems interesting. I have NEVER met a Jewish in person.
I just hope he wouldn't feel like I'm mocking him, an Arab walking towards him with a girl in hijab.

@Jon:
I really should research more about halal food and kosher similarities :)

@Paulina:
I think you are right, this is turning pretty much into society and culture rather than everyday life.

And this girl is Polish :) She's a Muslim. and she's my fiance :)
I just want to know more about life there from other points of view. I want to surprise her with lots of knowledge about the culture there :)

If you're planning to visit some churches then when in Kraków Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Basilica) is a must :) Also the Wawel Cathedral with tombs of Polish kings and I personally like and also recommend visiting the Church of St. Francis of Assisi's.


Oh, I didn't know you put it in the "Everyday Life" section. I wrote that because someone moved your thread to "Relationships, Marriage" section (I don't know why really).


Well then I'm sure she'll know what to wear in Poland :)


I've found a photo of a Polish Muslim girl living in Poland:



Btw, she wrote on a blog she can't wear a hijab at work so this can be a problem (I don't know if it's regulated in any way by law, it probably depends on the employer).

Is she Muslim born or converted?

Converted.

Good to know. Next time I'm around one of those places I'll look them up.


I don't think he would feel that. But who knows?

You really never met a Jew? I've met plenty of Arabs where I live, but never a Saudi, or a Hadhrami.
Hope your first Jew turns out to be a nice guy.

So why do you keep your women in these things ? Would you like to see them in mini skirts ? I'm just curious.

Traditions are as 'sacred' as in Poland, Grzeg ;)