THERE is a new clothing store in Davao City that offers modest, elegant, chic, yet affordable attire for casual, office, gowns for simple occasions or for attending a wedding and other events.
Modest Wardrobe, located at Timeless Treasure Building in corner Jacinto Boulevard, Barangay 32-D, this city, just recently opened for Muslim and non-Muslim clients who want to wear or are looking for long maxi dresses, long sleeves blouses, long maxi skirts, trousers, cardigans, sweatshirts and different kinds of hijabs.
In an interview with SunStar Superbalita, Modest Wardrobe owner Faye Inojales-Bitte said it was her conversion to Islam that led her to opening the clothing store.
"As a Muslim revert, I knew I must embrace the Muslim tradition of following the Islamic clothing for women. The Quran and Prophet Muhammad calls for modesty, that is, putting on clothes that cover Muslim women’s bodies. And so, in my search for the appropriate clothes, I found that the ones that are available here in the Philippines either have the same designs, are in poor quality, or unreasonably priced," Faye said.
She also narrated that she heard a lot of embarrassing stories from both her husband’s relatives and her own friends about showing up to events and seeing other people wearing the same exact outfit as theirs.
"I don’t know if it’s just me, but I know most of us would not want to get caught wearing the same outfit as others," she confidently said.
The young and pretty entrepreneur said that her target market is not only Muslim women, but women in general as she wants to make sure that her clothing line also caters to office workers, women who prefer wearing long dresses and those who are in need conservative clothing.
The store's clothing line can be described as modest but with a modern twist.
"Our range of Islamic attire does not only promote elegance in style, but also excellence in quality and affordability. Here at Modest Wardrobe, our aim is to offer our customers a unique clothing line that never goes out of style. To maintain the uniqueness of each attire, we will only be releasing one to two pieces of each design," she revealed, adding that if the item is already sold out, there will be no more restocking.
"This, I believe, will help maintain the integrity and exclusivity of each design. Furthermore, putting a limitation to the number of items will entice our target market in purchasing a one-of a kind outfit," Faye said.
Faye's family has been in the garment industry for 40 years and Faye, herself, owns a factory in Manila.
"So, I am quite equipped in knowing the cost of the clothes just by looking at the kind of fabric that is used. In 2016, I joined the family business and started my own garment factory. In the same year, I also enrolled myself into short courses such as fashion design and fashion styling at SoFA Design Institute in Makati," she revealed.
Thus, with her combined background in the garment industry and passion for fashion, she decided to put up Modest Wardrobe here in Davao City not only because the city is home to a lot of Muslims, but also because Davao City is her hometown.
"Since the introduction of contemporary Muslim attire here in the Philippines, I strongly believe that members of the Muslim women community will become more acquainted with the latest fashion trends and will no longer settle for what's available in most stores," she ended.
To all the women who would inquire more about Modest Wardrobe's products, the store can be reached through its cellphone number at 0965-1790521 or on its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/modestwardrobe.official.