SHUKR is happy to announce two new improvements on our US website which are aimed at making your shopping experience easier and more enjoyable. The first is “Tell a Friend.” Found at the bottom right-hand corner of any product page, when clicked, it gives you the ability to send a link and image of that style you love to anyone via email.

The second innovation, highly requested by customers, is the availability of extra product information, brought to you in the “More Info” tab. When you go to any product page on the New Arrivals section of the US website, you will find two different tabs where the item description used to be. One is the “Overview” of the product, which is the same as before. The other tab, called “More Info,” gives you precise details about the fabric type of that garment, and its exact measurements in all available sizes.

We’re really excited about offering this extra information which is sure to make online shopping much easier. Now, rather than guessing what the weight or thickness of the fabric is, we give you a precise system for knowing this without having to wait to receive your garment in the post. In addition, we take the mystery out of sizing issues by giving you the exact measurements of the garment itself.  

SHUKR, like most clothing companies, previously just had a sizing chart which was based on the measurements of the customer’s body. This chart is still essential, but the new garment measurements now allow you to compare SHUKR’s garments with any clothing item you already possess to make sure that you are getting the exact fit that you are after.

We are working to include both of these options on our UK website in the future. We look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on any other improvements we can make.

Once upon a time, men were men, and they wore dresses.

Of course I’m being facetious. The very definition of the word, “dress” is that of a feminine garment. However, the concept of an ankle- or calf-length garment for men is by no means feminine. Historically, the early Arabs merely called it a qamees, or “shirt.” Later, distinctions were made between the currently more typical short shirt and the much longer variety. Despite the fact that men have been wearing these long garments for most of human history, there remain a number of Westerners who jokingly refer to my garment of choice as a “dress.”

Ironically, I am not the one wearing clothing of the opposite gender. Rather, it was Yves Saint-Laurent who popularized women’s trousers. Prior to him, standalone trousers were not worn by women. (The salwar kameez does not consist of standalone trousers, but rather, baggy trousers covered by a knee-length shirt, hardly comparable to Western trousers.) Given that YSL was a homosexual, it kind of makes sense that he’d want to improve women’s appearances by making them look more like men.

At SHUKR, our head designer is a woman. Furthermore, the men at SHUKR believe that women have a natural advantage in the appearance department, and don’t need to dress like men to look good. Take my word for it; I wear the dress around here.

(Above: Salim Galabiyya, US, UK)

~ Moustafa, Manager, Retail Division

Create a video (maximum 5 minutes in length) that depicts what you think about Islamic identity in the West and how it relates to dress. The video can discuss any or all of the following:

–Ideas about Islamic fashion trends
–How dress, religion, and identity interrelate
–Islamic dress as a creative form of religious expression
–Islamic dress as it relates to gender and religion
–The fusion between Western and Islamic identity through dress, etc.

These are only a few examples of how the topic could be explored.

To submit your entry, just post a video reply at http://www.youtube.com/shukrislamicclothing to our video of the official rules by February 28, 2009. Videos are moderated. Win $1000 or £500 of SHUKR clothing, as well as publication of the winning video and the videos of the 4 runners-up on our blog!

For the official contest rules and terms of participation, please visit: http://www.shukronline.com/contestrules.html

~Beth, Blog Admin