Here is a list of our top 10 best-selling items from the USA store, from the beginning of SHUKR’s foray into the world of online Islamic clothing retail.

Clearly, cotton tunics are the winner!

We used to repeat styles over many seasons, but now like most professional clothing companies, SHUKR now has an in-house design team to product new designs every season. Therefore, this list may not reflect your personal favorites that you’re longing to see again.

What are the designs that you love and want to see more of? Are there any that SHUKR should consider bringing back?

10. The 100% Cotton Embroidered Hera Tunic (currently out of stock, but available in Linen without embroidery: US)

9. The 100% Cotton Light Tunic Shirt (currently out of stock)

8. The Hooded Moroccan Zaytuna Cloak (USA, UK, Canada)

7. The Asymmetrical Flared Skirt (USA, UK, Canada)

6. The 100% Cotton Pintucked Tunic (currently out of stock)

5. The Laced Tunic (USA, UK, Canada)

4. The 100% Cotton Cocoon Tunic (USA, UK, Canada)

3. The Princess Dress (USA, UK, Canada)

2. The Trompe L’oeil Tunic (USA, UK, Canada)

1. The Contrast Tunic (USA, UK, Canada)

We’d love to hear your feedback on your favorite styles, fabrics and designs.

Some of the most common fabrics that SHUKR uses are cottons, denim, linen, rayon and tencel. So, why does the Cowl Neck Abaya (US, UK, Canada) (made of rayon) look and behave so differently from the Gia Lai Dress (US, UK, Canada) (also made of rayon)?

Fabrics made from the same fiber (for example 100% rayon) can have different appearances, feels, and drapes because of their weave. A fabric weave is simply the pattern for manufacturing a fabric. Weaves can be simple, complicated, artistic, or even incorporate different kinds of materials in order to change their flexibility, strength, stability, durability, and texture, among other qualities. Oftentimes, weaves and fabrics are often mistaken for each other. One good example is Jacquard. This is actually a type of weave, not a fabric, and can be made from polyester, rayon, silk, etc. (For more info, see this article from the Textile Exchange).

In order to find out more about fabric in general, please visit our intensive explanation page about fabrics on our site called the “Fabric Guide.”

In the meantime, I’ll provide a brief overview of the most common types of each fabric we stock, and then give examples of each one from our website. This will likely be most helpful to those already familiar with our garments; however, we hope it will be useful for new SHUKR customers as well.

On each item webpage on the US site, like for the Selina Dresstop with Pockets (US, UK, Canada), you will see a ‘More info’ tab to the right of the main image. When you click on it, the first thing listed is “Fabric Type.”

So, what does that mean?

1. Code. SHUKR, like all companies, often uses the same fabrics for many designs. Repeat customers may like a fabric of a particular garment they purchased in the past and would like to know what other products are available in this same fabric. In order to help customers we have now included a code for all fabrics that we use. In this example, the code is R16. Other garments made with this fabric are the Cowl Neck Trapeze Top (US, UK, Canada) and the Embroidered Short Moroccan Djelleba (US, UK, Canada).

2. The weight and thickness are fairly self-explanatory. This particular garment is ‘light’ weight, and is “thin.’

3. The third category, “class” deserves a little more explanation. “Class” refers to the fabric construction, meaning either ‘woven’ or ‘knitted.’

A woven fabric is made nowadays by high-tech specialist weaving machines, which interlace 2 distinct set of straight threads, one running lengthwise (warp thread), the other crosswise (weft thread). There are 3 basic types of weave: plain, twill and satin (yes, satin is actually a type of weave and not a type of fabric).

A knitted fabric, on the other hand, is made by a machine that directs the yarn on a meandering path, forming symmetric loops symmetrically above and below the mean path of the yarn. Knitted fabrics normally have a lot more elasticity than woven fabrics. Jersey is a popular type of knitted fabric which SHUKR often uses.

Here is a list of the most common fabric codes that SHUKR uses, along with some examples of garments from each:

Cotton:

C1 –The Inspiration Blouse (US, UK, Canada) and the 100% Cotton Cocoon Tunic (US, UK, Canada)

C3 – The Guardamar Twill Cotton Jilbab (US, UK, Canada).

C12 –The Princess Dress (US, UK, Canada)

C18 – The Long Corduroy Shirt (US, UK, Canada)

C24 – The City Hoodie (US, UK, Canada), The Racing Stripes Hoodie (US, UK, Canada)

Denim:

D23 — L.A Denim Jilbab (US, UK, Canada), Najma Jeans (US, UK, Canada), Leah Denim Shirtdress (US, UK, Canada)

Linen:

L11 – The Linen Shangri-La Dress (US, Canada)

Rayon:

R16 – The Cowl Neck Trapeze Top (US, UK, Canada), The Embroidered Short Moroccan Djelleba (US, UK, Canada)

R3 – The Embroidered Sleeve Duster (US, UK, Canada), The Cowl Neck Abaya (US, UK, Canada)

R8 – The Sporty Top (US, Canada)

R22 – The Gia Lai Dress (US, UK, Canada)

R19 – The Shawl Cardigan (US, UK, Canada)

Tencel:

R21 – The Tencel Denim Duster (US, UK, Canada)

I hope this was helpful. What are your favorite fabrics/weaves? What would you love to see from SHUKR?

This is just a quick note to check out our facebook page! There is a 10% off coupon code posted on the group wall. It’s good for 10% off your order and expires March 31st. While your there, join our group! We are going to start featuring some exciting special offers (i.e. discounts and giveaways),  and at the same time, you can have your say about SHUKR and what you’ld like to see in the future.

We regularly receive emails from customers about a couple of websites that use our images, without our permission, to sell their own products. Here is one we recently received from a wonderful sister:

Salam,

I nearly placed an order on a site because their items were so similar to yours. I then realized that the pictures were from your previous seasons. (I think so anyway). The site is called

barakallah.com.

Are these your resellers? If so I apologize.

However I have read very negative feedback for this site from Muslimah blogs.

Allah hu Alim

Regards,

(A very nice sister whose name we would like to protect)

P.S. I bought my items from Shukr instead, Alhamdulilah

We would like to thank the sisters and brothers who brought to our attention the fact that these websites are using our photos (without our permission). May Allah reward you.

Only certified SHUKR re-sellers and affiliates have the right to use our photos.

Currently, those re-sellers are:

(USA) al Muhajabat

(USA) Hijab Fashions

(Canada) Bahiya Collections

(France) Iqra Shop

(France) Orientica

(Singapore) al Qismah

(UK) The Islamic Establishment

(Germany) Silk Route Design

Any other websites, including Barakallah.com, are not affiliated with us. The photos on other sites have been taken without our permission, and the clothing they are selling is not related to our products. SHUKR quality is only guaranteed when it is sold through our website. You can identify genuine SHUKR clothing simply by looking at the label. All of our clothing features SHUKR’s distinctive label at the neck with our logo on it. If the garment doesn’t have our label, it isn’t genuine SHUKR clothing.

Every collection that SHUKR features on our website has an extraordinary amount of hard work behind it. Each product starts in the sketch pad of our designers before it moves to the pattern cutters and the garment workers. We have a quality control process where every garment is inspected. We package and ship these products overseas for sale. When we photograph our garments, we hire a professional photographer, pay models, rent locations, and provide transportation and food. The photos are then processed for the website by our staff. In all, the work of approximately 100 people, from sewers to graphic designers, goes into the products and photographs you see on our website.

When others take advantage of the hard work the Muslims at SHUKR have done without permission or compensation, those Muslims are harmed. SHUKR works hard to create a product and brand that is unique. We feel sure that companies that aim to serve the Muslim community would not knowingly harm other Muslims. Each company has something unique to offer the Muslim community and should do their own work to highlight and showcase that unique something, rather than relying on the work of others.

Please be careful when ordering from online sites. It is an excellent idea to ‘Google’ them for reviews before you commit yourselves to any transaction.

If there are every any questions about whether or not a product you see online is actually a SHUKR product, always feel free to contact us through our support site or to call us. In the UK we can be reached at +44 208 090 7151, and in the US, you can reach us at (203) 304-2379.

Say goodbye to color swatches as you know them! We are happy to announce that, starting with the new arrivals currently on the UK website, and all new arrivals thereafter, will have images of each garment in every available color, just like the US and Canadian sites.

Simply click on the color swatch below the main image, and the picture that pops up will be of the garment itself and not just an enlarged picture of the color! We hope that this improvement makes shopping easier. As always, your comments are welcome.

Before:

After:

Experience SHUKR in person at Reviving the Islamic Spirit, taking place this year from December 25th – 27th in Toronto, Canada.

- Try on new designs and SHUKR classics

- Purchase from a range of sizes and colours

- Take advantage of our special RIS offers

- Visa and MasterCard accepted

Visit us at booth numbers 1115, 1117, 1214 and 1216.

Eid Mubarak to all! May this holiday be a blessed one for you and your families.

While our website will be accepting orders over the Eid, please note that the SHUKR staff will be on holiday from November 26th to 30th, inclusive. The next scheduled shipping date for these orders will be December 2, 2009. Our staff will again be answering queries on December 1st, so your patience is appreciated.

On that note, feel free to visit our Hot Mid-Winter Sale for the US (www.shukronline.com) and UK (www.shukr.co.uk), where you can save up to 70% off!

One frequently asked question from SHUKR customers are whether or not we specialize in maternity and breastfeeding-friendly clothing. Although we don’t have a specific line of clothing for maternity and breast-feeding, we do carry some items that not only look great, but make your life easier, too. As someone living with a four-month-old infant, I can attest that no one works harder than a parent. Not only has your body gone through some amazing changes, but in the post-partum world, you have some pretty specific needs. Here is a list of my favorites for this special but challenging time.

Pregnancy

First, nothing is more forgiving and soft than our Jersey Fabric (US, UK).  An excellent top in this fabric is the Jersey Pleated Dress Top (Canada). Though we don’t have large amounts left of this one, it’s a keeper.

From our recent arrivals, one of my favorites is the Butterfly Kaftan (below) (US, UK, Canada). It’s made of modal and elastane, so it’s really soft. And since it’s styled like a poncho, it’s great for layering and comes in some truly nice colors.

With regards to trousers and skirts, we have a number of items with drawstring waists and elasticized waistbands:

The Double Layer Jersey Skirt (US, UK), the Flared Drawstring Trousers (first picture below) (US, UK, Canada), the Drawstring Cuff Pants (second picture below) (US, UK, Canada), the Lurex Rayon Super Wide Leg Trousers (US, UK, Canada).

Although our clothing is, on the whole, designed to fit loosely, you may also wish to consider ordering clothing one size up for the latter stages of pregnancy. We also have a feature available on the US site that is really helpful when choosing your size. On each item webpage, you will see a ‘More info’ tab to the right of the main image. This takes you to a garment measurements chart for that particular item, which includes length as well as half circumference measurements. Simply compare these measurements to those of an item you already own, and you should have a good idea of whether the outfit will suit you or not. (We do apologize that this feature is not as yet available on the UK or Canada site.)

Breastfeeding

After your baby is born, you enter a whole new world! You need tops that button down, zip down or otherwise unlatch quickly, because hungry babies hate waiting. SHUKR has some nice choices for you at this stage:

One of our newest is the Tencel Denim Duster (below) (US, UK, Canada). Tencel Denim is soft, flowy and durable, so it won’t be harsh on baby’s skin and it’s a practical and comfortable choice for Mom. This particular garment has metal buttons and buttons all the way down for convenience.

Another good one, perhaps for warmer weather, is the Striped Cotton Voile Bursa Tunic (US, UK, Canada). It has snaps instead of buttons, making it easier to feed the little one in a timely manner.

In about a month’s time, we will be restocking the Cocoon Tunic (below) (US, UK), which also unsnaps and opens all the way. So, watch out for it in new colors.

For colder weather, try our Pocketed Knitted Cardigan (below) (US, UK, Canada). While warm and durable, it also is really easy to take care of–basically, it’s wash and wear. And, from personal experience, if your baby spits up just to be sociable, it can’t hurt to order it in the color Nougat.

When looking at our collection, it may be useful to consider the following:

If you are pregnant, go for tops that have an empire waist. This is basically when the top gathers right under the bust rather than at the natural waistline. This way, you can buy clothes that are beautiful, modest, and will work until perhaps the very last month of pregnancy, depending on how big your little one gets. Since SHUKR clothing is naturally designed to be roomier than normal clothing, even other styles of our tops should still fit nicely through at least the first trimester.

After my son was born, because I was breastfeeding and he is a rather impatient soul, I went for clothing that is fast, easy to open, and easy to care for. This means that generally, I went for shirts that snap rather than unbutton, and chose colors that camouflaged the tell-tale signs of a slightly-too-full baby stomach—colors like Afani, Beige, Nougat, Milk, Cream, Oatmeal, Tapioca, etc. And finally, I went with durable, easy-care fabrics such as Jersey, Tencel Denim, and Modal. But, since every person’s experience of parenthood is different, and every child is unique, your needs and preferences may be different than the ones I’ve outlined here. Please feel free to comment and let me know which garments have worked best for you!

SHUKR is happy to announce some big improvements to our UK operations in distribution and shipping.

1. Distribution

Since we have recently outgrown our old distribution center, we changed to a bigger center and moved all of our stock from Purley to Manchester. Our old distribution center lacked a barcoding system, causing some orders to be fulfilled inaccurately. With the new warehouse, there are some integration issues that we are sorting out and look forward to completing soon. The improved efficiency and capacity of the new distribution center will have orders fulfilled quickly and accurately, inshallah.

2. Shipping

We have changed our preferred shipper from Royal Mail to DPD in order to avoid, whenever possible, any interruptions in shipping. We were caught off guard by Royal Mail’s industrial action, so a number of orders are still undelivered. However, we acted quickly to move away from them in order to assure that your garments are delivered in as timely and reliable a manner as possible. For more information on Royal Mail’s issue, please click here and here.

Ramadan Mubarak from SHUKR!

This is one of our busiest times of year here, and one of our favorite! This year we have a stunning Ramadan/Eid Collection, and I wanted to highlight my top 10 picks from this collection (in no particular order).

My favorite piece this year is the Gia Lai Dress (US, UK, Canada). Tabassum outdid herself on this one. Basically, I’m obsessed with it. It is two pieces: an inner dress and an outer gown. The inner dress is this nice mandarin collared number, but it’s the outer gown that kills me. It just has such great flow. It’s simple, elegant, and I’ve never seen anything like it.

My second favorite is the Mussaret Dress (US, UK, Canada). This is another wonderful two-piece combination, except the inner dress is simpler than the Gia Lai, and the outer gown is more complex due to the embroidery. This one is a hair’s breath from a traditional abaya, but has this classy elegance that I’m becoming so fond of.

Third on my list is the Cowl Neck Abaya (US, UK, Canada). It’s just timeless. Such a nice sense of dignity, modesty and grace, it reminds me of some amazing women who have shaped my life. You know who you are.

Fourth is the Embroidered Drawstring Skirt (US, UK, Canada). I’m normally not a big skirt person, but this one is amazing. The gold embroidery in that interlaced pattern strikes the difficult balance of being both fancy and understated. I could match this with almost anything in my wardrobe and instantaneously take my outfit up a notch.

Fifth is the Dotted Swirl Tunic (US, UK, Canada). It’s just such an unusual addition to the SHUKR collection that it stands in a class by itself. Made from chiffon, it also has a very good flow.

Sixth is the Contrast Duster (US, UK, Canada). I love garments that are simple and practical, but also have some flair. On this piece, it is the cuffs that give it that extra push. And, it’s a great garment to wear to the office.

Not to neglect the men, the seventh is the Hussein Galabiyya (US, UK, Canada). Seriously, this is what a modern galabiyya looks like. Sharp, easy to care for, and lightweight.

Number eight is the Azhar Jubba (US, UK, Canada). A modified remake of the Damascan Jubba (US), it has a slimmer fit, wider sleeves and loses the shoulder pads. I could definitely see Keanu Reeves in this.

Ninth on my list is the Kalima Tencel Denim Trousers (US, UK, Canada). Nothing is more comfortable than these are. Never heard of Tencel? Made from wood pulp, this natural fiber combines softness, strength, and durability, is easy to care for, wrinkle-resistant, and breathes really well. If you’ve been looking for that perfect (yet modest) pair of jeans, you’re not going to come closer than these.

Last but not least are the Hasan Trousers (US, UK, Canada). Comfortable and casual, these might be the perfect pants to wear while you are fasting. They are loose, soft and have big pockets. I’m not sure about the connection between pockets and fasting, but given the choice between pockets and no pockets, I’d choose the pockets every time.

Feel free to comment letting us know what your favorite garments are (from any collection), so in the future, we can have a customer-based top ten list. We’d love to hear from you.

~ Beth, Blog Admin