“How I Wear My Headscarf.” Narratives About Dress and Styling from Young Muslim Women in Copenhagen

Abstract

This chapter investigates the clothing of young Muslim women, its meaning, and practices in the present and in a five-year autobiographical perspective. We focus on how clothing and styling are interwoven with practices of faith situated in the Danish urban context of Copenhagen. Beyond the political and religious, we explore the fashionable aspects, commercialization, qualities, and styles, and the tactile, bodily, and aesthetic aspects of headscarves. This chapter introduces insights from a series of online survey interviews with young women (18–25 years old) and semi-structured interviews with 8 professionals in the field of modest fashion in Copenhagen. The results reveal their practices of purchasing, inspiration seeking, and everyday styling, uncovering how they perceive fashionability and modesty in the site-specific area of Copenhagen.