A Brief History:
The debate about the veiling of women has been ongoing for decades now. Many believe that the veil is symbol of women’s oppression; a marker of a woman’s “second class status”. However, there is also a great magnitude of people who believe that the veil is not a symbol of injustice, but a shield against possible objectification. A great pool of women choose to wear a hijab, burqa, niqab, etc. voluntarily as a sign of their personal freedom.

What is the hijab? A Hijab is only one kind of headcovering that is worn by muslim women all over the world. It is an Arabic word meaning “cover” and there are many different forms, colors, patterns, styles, etc. Some Christian and Jewish women in certain traditions also sport a headscarf for cultural practices of modesty. The garment holds different legal statuses all accross the world. Especially in many parts of Asia and Africa, it is common to see the head-covering tradition. Modest fashion is also becoming widespread across the West, believe it or not.

This being said, at Cinnamon Spirit we value the power of choice. Whether women are wearing head coverings or not, we know that these women are beautiful inside and out, covered or not – and we have provided some excellent fashion tips and tricks for a modest outfit regardless of culture or religion.

Level One: Short Shorts
On a cold day in Amsterdam, this brown beauty keeps her outfit warm and appropriate by pairing pleather leggings and denim shorts with ultra-blue high heels. She has accented her shoes with a collared shirt under her tweed sweater. Her white blouse that is tucked into her shorts is buttoned high for a prim and very proper look.

Level Two: Just a simple scarf
Dark skinned and just oh-so-darling! This woman is dressed very stylishly and modestly. Her over-the-knee suede boots are paired with black leggings and an over-sized t-shirt. Everything is pretty neutral until BAM! A vibrant head-scarf is wrapped around her hair bringing the outfit together!

Here is another example of a more structured outfit paired with a textured hair-wrap.  A military-style white jacket with black buttons is on top of what looks like a white t-shirt and casual skinny dark-wash blue jeans. Her brown leather briefcase and peach watch work great with her skin. The burgundy lipstick really warms up the look as well! This gorgeous woman is just glowing in the streets of New York City. There’s much to be said about her poise and beauty.

Level 3: More traditional
Here, this woman brings her culture into her day to day style. she is captured wearing a long-sleeved casual Anarkali (Indian-style dress that is paired with skinny cotton pants) with fabulous geometric print on the bust. She is able to draw attention to her small frame by her bold style. Her skin is radiant while surrounded by the canary-yellow veil she is wearing. The golden chain head-band makes this woman look like a princess!

Wow right?

What makes model turned actress, Mugdha Godse so irresistible?Maybe it’s her deep set eyes, or those full pouty lips – no it’s definitely that dark brown skin!

Mugdha is a 28 year old model and former semi-finalist at the Miss India 2004 competition. Towering at 5ft 9, she was one of the tallest contestants in history! There is so much of her to love!

She came from a modeling background and wanted to fill her hands with a new project: acting. When Priyanka Chopra burst into the limelight as one of the darker skinned women of Bollywood, it soon marked a path for Mugdha to follow. In 2008, Bollywood released a film produced by Madhur Bhandarkar called Fashion. It flew under the radar for a bit, but she and Priyanka became great friends. Mugdha played a supporting role playing a model herself – I suppose it wasn’t actually acting. She impressed several audiences and since then has been seeking the right next new role.

Mugdha says she has been offered countless acting roles but is waiting for the right time and opportunity to strike again. She says her journey has been “great – no, fantastic!” and is so thankful for Madhur Bhandarkar’s film and all her fashion education for giving her this start, but is in no rush to become the next it-girl.

On being darker than the average bollywood queen, Mugdha says she’s been very appreciative of her skin color. She doesn’t however draw attention to this “breaking of convention”. She doesn’t believe she is a dusky outsider, but just another actress. A gorgeous one at that!

It’s Holiday Season again! All around the world people will be celebrating winter holidays like Pongal, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Thaipusam, and of course, bringing in the New Year (Jan 1st, 2015). If you’re searching for the perfect dress to show off your beautiful brown skin tone, what better way to sparkle than wear sequins!

Mindy Kaling – writer, comedian, star of her hit show The Mindy Project, and absolutely fabulous brown skinned fashionista embraces sequins as well as chunky jewelry and bright colors. Where many women of color will shy away from these kinds of bold moves, at Cinnamon Spirit we think you should be the shining star of the party!  Mindy agrees “I wear all of those things, because I like looking at it. It makes me feel happy and excited to wear it.” In the photo below, she wears a beautiful dress and skirt combination. This scene was from the Pilot Episode of The Mindy Project, and to be honest she looks gorgeous! I love that the kind of sequin pattern on top is so much different than the metallic embellishment on her skirt. From far away, it looks like a dress, but when you look closely we find that Mindy has connected the 60s disco-ball and the Victorian Era in the best of ways. While Mindy’s outfit does technically break the mixing-prints rule in fashion, it is a definitely haute look that I think any brown woman could pull off. 

Anouksha, 21 fashion blogger from the United Kingdom has found a way to glitter during finals week. Here, she wears a black bomber jacket from H&M, black stockings, and casual tan booties from MissGuided. Paired with her gorgeous vintage flapper, and stuffed bagpack, she get’s an A+ for style. 

I found another stunning gold and black sequin dress from BeBe while looking for my own sequined New-Years-Me Dress. I can’t tell what is more radiant, the model’s deep brown skin or her dress. I’m too focused on how happy she looks while twirling around in it!

So maybe, you’re working for the holidays. You can still bring your briefcase of glitter with you! Katerina L., a 27 year old from Voronezh, Russia wears her sequins subtly. This outfit is a perfect day to night outfit that can be worn at lunch with friends, and then again at office party. Her sweater is also from H&M and her skirt is from Mango. She and her skirt, look delicious.My personal favorite is an Etsy Legend worn by a beautiful Indian Model, Menaka Iyer. She is 23 and from Toronto, Canada. I’m sure once you see this dress, you’ll be dying to have it.  She wore this vintage, one of a kind dress to New York City for the first time. “I had my first mimosa in NYC – Dream come true!” Menaka says excitedly. Although I couldn’t find the dress’s link, I did find that her feather earrings are from Spring and her muted (but also black sparkly heels) are from Nine West. Obviously not many of us can afford to splurge and spend thousands of dollars on a holiday dress (we’re too busy getting presents for our friends and family), so I’ve compiled a few under $50 options:

Stay tuned to see what sparkles I picked for my holiday dress! Stay warm this season my brown-skinned beauties!

If you are like me… you want to find those unique treasures that aren’t commonly found everywhere. When it comes to clothing, it is especially true. So when I was searching for Indian clothing, my niece introduced me to UDD.

As a supporter of vibrant colors and textures, I find Yuti Shah’s creations fascinating.

Her ability to bring her original fine art to life in every day wear that brings a smile to the  people wearing it is contagious. I guess that is what I admire the most.

Her depiction of animals in the forest …. wonder what this would look like as a mural.

And then … the jewelry.

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