Salaams all!

I recently recorded a podcast with the Dr. Uzma Jafri and Zaiba Hasan over at Mommying While Muslim (they both write fabulous monthly columns as well for The Haute Take) in which Zaiba was talking about a recent surgery she had that she had put off for nearly a year because of this reason or that (mainly children-related). Her takeaway advice was “Don’t just live for the kids. Take care of yourself for yourself, and also so you can be there for your kids for the long haul.”

I’m sure we’ve all read some version of that advice at some point in our lives. Whether or not you are married or have kids, prioritizing our own health (both physical and mental) is sorely needed and very important. The question is, how?

Or perhaps another question we should be asking ourselves is what happens when we look in the mirror and don’t give ourselves time to really see ourselves and the potential we have within ourselves to live our best lives?

In recent times, Haute Hijab’s own Melanie has been sharing on Instagram positive affirmations she posts around her mirror, so that she can read them and think about them as she looks at herself and prepares for her day. It made the rest of us at HH think about that as well. Do we view ourselves with positivity? Do we see all the good and beauty and potentiality in ourselves when we get ready for that day’s activities, whether it is going to school, going to work, caring for our family or some combination of it all?

It’s all well and good to talk about self care, but what about starting with how we actually feel about ourselves, how we view ourselves? I know it all sounds kind of woo-woo, but there’s something to be said for nurturing one’s own self esteem in tandem with what we are giving back to others and our responsibilities in life.

And so, this month on the blog as HH gets ready to debut its first ever exclusive collection of Bamboo Woven Prints, we are talking about the positive threads that we must weave into our lives in regards to ourselves and our family/friends. We are so excited that in bringing you these new Bamboo Woven Prints, we brought together a group of women from our communities to be our models - young women, mothers, entrepreneurs, students and more. We’ll be bringing you their stories as well as running a beautiful campaign that you’ll all get to be a part of.

We’re also taking you behind the scenes of what it takes to pull off a photoshoot, all the behind the scenes tidbits and work it takes to show you what our hijabs look like on women. Think of it as the anatomy of a photoshoot!

Also coming this month are a ton of fall-oriented stories, with Hakeemah bringing you the latest in fall fashion and our new fall/winter hijab colors as well as a mid-fall check-in with our CX Manager Sandy Abdallah on how the return to in-person learning is going for her children. Danah will be exploring how some women tap into passion projects to reconnect with their culture, drawing upon her own recent experience with tatreez, a Palestinian embroidery that she is learning and teaching to honor her late mother-in-law and her heritage.

Plus, October is domestic violence and disability awareness month, and we will be bringing you stories to help further destigmatize these issues.

As always, please feel free to let me know what you want to read and what you want to see us cover by emailing me here. Take care of yourself, be good and like I tell my kids, always start with Bismillah.

Editorially yours,

Dilshad