Clothing is a cultural statement. It is a manifestation of culture equal in impact to art, architecture, literature, and music. Fashions can reflect the adornment or aesthetic values of a particular society and its concepts of modesty/immodesty, or its social mores and values. The manner of dressing can also be an indicator of economic status: the fabric, cut, and ornamentation of a garment are common indicators of socioeconomic standing. In a more subtle and symbolic way, clothing reflects the religious norms of human cultures everywhere.

In Muslim culture, Islamic clothing has historically been connected with social notions of purity and impurity (tahara and najas), ritual behaviour (sunna), and the differentiation of the believer from the unbeliever (ghivar) as well as the separation of the genders (hijab).

Islamic clothing only forms part of a bigger concept of modesty in Muslim culture. The Quran advises about proper behavior between men and women who meet outside of familial bonds, including ways of clothing and adornment:

“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. This will be most conductive to their purity. Verily God is aware of what you do.

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and should not display their beauty to anyone but their husbands …” (Quran, 24: 30, 31)

To theologians and intellectuals in the Muslim community, the modesty emphasized here encompasses all aspects of life and calls for decency, humility and moderation in speech, attitude, dress, and total behaviour. Modesty is an attribute that prevents human beings from indulging in indecency, vanity and obscenity, and therefore should be adopted by both Muslim men and women.

While the modesty rule in Islamic clothing applies to both males and females, tesettur (or religiously appropriate modest dressing) has come to connote especially clothing for Muslim women. But far from being a monolithic practice, the concept of proper Islamic clothing, the head covering or hijab in particular, and dressing in general are ideas that are subject to tensions and negotiations even within the Muslim community. The discussion is far from settled. And so one sees Muslim clothing stores, like 411hijab.com, and Muslim fashion designers introduce new styles and items that expand the limits of these concepts. All of these factors help Muslim women negotiate and justify different interpretations and practices of tesettur.