LIFTING THE VEIL: HIJBABI FASHION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

As visual representatives of Islam, diasporic Muslim women in the U.S. and U.K. are at the forefront of changing the perception of Islam and the rise of modest fashion. The aim of this study is to analyze how female Muslim social media influencers living in non-Muslim majority areas use fashionable apparel on social media to negotiate cultural and religious demands in conjunction with exploration of personal identities. Social media posts from Instagram were coded using grounded theory. The findings were analyzed using Netnographic methods and Social Representation Theory (SRT) as the main theoretical framework. This study found that Muslim social media influencers are changing both the meaning and styling of the hijab to suite their personal needs and exemplify their identities. The identities of these influencers were found to be multifaceted and unique, but used dress to balance between cultures and religious expectations. The hijab was found to be less of a symbol of religious devotion, and more of a symbol of cultural heritage in a culturally diverse area whose narratives of Islam are in discussion.

In Spain, debates over the right to wear the hijab in the public sphere have resulted in hijab bans for teachers and government officials (Bowen, 2007). Upon election, the first hijab wearing U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar faced a historical ban on wearing headdresses in Congress supported by legislators who opposed her political beliefs. (Tully-McManus, 2018). Fortunately for Congresswoman Omar, this ban was overruled and she was allowed to wear her hijab in Congress on the basis that it is religious dress.
A change in discourse and the rise of social activism are slowly reshaping the West's image of the hijab. At the forefront of this discourse and social activism, one will find social media influencers, who use their platform to not only build a united community of like-minded Muslims, but to engage with non-Muslims users to shape and inform narratives surrounding hijab. This kind of socio-political interaction is not always intentional, but the broadly accessible space that the Internet provides invites these conversations. Fashion media platforms like Elle, Allure, and Vogue, have highlighted purveyors of modest fashion as well as these social media influencers, acknowledging a space for modest fashion and modest fashion bloggers in the fashion industry (Abelman, 2018;Chevel, 2018;Datoo, 2017;Fearson, 2018;Fowler, 2018;Lapidus, 2017;Rudolfo, 2017Rudolfo, , 2018Niven-Phillips, 2018;Yaeger, 2018,).
While Muslims are the not the only group who practice modesty, the mainstream perspective of the hijab changes and hijab-wearing social media influencers become more visible has coincided with the demand for modest fashionable apparel growing throughout the world. Modest fashion meets the religious dress demands of multiple religious groups, such as the Hasidic Jewish community and the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, but also non-religious social groups in which modesty is valued, like women's business wear. The fashion industry has acknowledged the modest fashion market with Modest Fashion Weeks in London, Jakarta, Istanbul and Dubai (Modest Fashion Weeks, 2018). On the runway in 2016, Indonesian designer Anniesa Hasibuan stunned New York Fashion Week with an all hijab collection-a first for NYFW (Pruitt, 2016

Islamic Dress
There is a growing body of ethnographic literature focusing on Islamic dress.
Aimed towards a Western audience, this area of study aims to bridge the gap between two cultures that is often perceived as vastly different. El-Guindi (1999)  but this insight is limited by its focus on online purveyors of modest fashion and the time of writing, as much has changed in the online world since.

Defining the Hijab
The term "hijab" is an Arabic word that refers to the religious practice of veiling in Islam, or the covering of the hair. "Hijab" refers to both the veil itself, as well as the practice of modesty. Directly translated from Arabic, "hijab" literally refers to a physical separation or a barrier or screen, and not necessarily a veil or specific garment (Benaïbi & Elmarsafy, 2015). In the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an, the term "hijab" is used in this literal manner and is not used in reference to veiling (Benaïbi & Elmarsafy, 2015). In fact, while modesty is mentioned and prescribed, the proper way in which to observe hijab is not explicitly stated in the Qur'an-leaving it open to interpretation. Using Qur'anic verses and hadiths 1 that refer to the act of modesty, the female Islamic practice of veiling or hijab has evolved in the contemporary world to mean a woman covering her head hair and body (including, in some sects and cultures, to obscuring the shape of the body), leaving only the face and hands uncovered (Pfluger-Schindlbeck, 2006).    Bentaïbi and Elmarsafy (2015) argue that the practice of veiling creates a separation between "the sacred and the non-sacred, or the divine and the human" (p. 214). Pfluger-Schindlbeck (2006) builds on previous anthropological research on the symbolism of hair, including Marcus (1992), who states that control over hair allows for women to maintain ablution and Leach (1958) and Synnott (1993), who state that hair is associated with sexuality and control. Pfluger-Schindlbeck that control over hair allows for women to maintain ablution and becomes a symbol of sexual and moral control.
With such an association to female sexuality, the veil is typically donned by women once they reach puberty as a sign of their womanhood. After putting on the hijab, Muslim women can only reveal their hair to other females or male relatives, including their husband, father, and sons (Mossière, 2011). Thus, the veil offers spiritual protection as well as protection of female sexuality.
While the veil is typically associated with womanhood, Islam dictates that the practice of hijab is for both genders-both genders are expected to dress and behave modestly (Pfluger-Schindlbeck, 2006). Men are asked to conceal their bodies through clothing as well as avert their gaze from women to avoid any improper sexual feelings or behaviors. But only women are asked to conceal their hair as it is seen as holding a "central place in feminine temptation" (Hirsch, 2017 (Lakrtiz, 2018;MacArthur, 2019;Zhou, 2015). Whereas a bikini or spaghetti straps would be allowed on an American beach, they would not be allowed in the professional or academic setting (Lakritz, 2018;MacArthur, 2019;Zhou, 2015).
Modest dress does not always include veiling, but instead refers to women dressing to cover the majority of the body, often to obscure the shape of the body. In this discussion, modest dress will be a general term that refers to dress that conceals the body, leaving only the neck, lower arms, ankles, face and/or head hair uncovered. Said (2003) illustrated the stark divide between the U.S. and Euro-centric cultures and the Middle East, or Levant, and this cultural distance and misunderstanding is evident in the political landscape surrounding the hijab. As a result of changing attitudes towards Muslims in the early years of the 21 st century, the hijab (as a symbol of Islam) has become the focus of a variety of works analyzing the negative impacts of stereotyping of Muslims in non-Muslim areas. Bowen (2007) analyzed French attitudes towards the hijab in the wake of a series of hijab bans across Europe. Bowen concluded that the hijab's position as a religious symbol -a symbol of Islam-did not fit with ideas of secularism in France. The headscarf was seen as a barrier for cultural integration into society and a tool to oppress women (Bowen, 2007 It should also be noted many in the West view the hijab as tool of oppression towards women. This could be because it does not fit with Western ideals of dress and religious expression. While in some places practicing hijab is mandatory, for most the hijab is a choice influenced my religious beliefs and common socio-cultural practices.

Hijab in Social Media
The age of the Internet has completely altered the way in which consumers access, share and acquire ideas and items of fashionable apparel. Social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram provide a medium to share these ideas and build niche communities with similarly minded folk. There is literature analyzing the online Islamic community with regard to stereotyping (Fung, Rahmund & Yeo, 2016) and Islamic jurisprudence in this online space (Akou 2010). Most recent literature on identity formation by veiled Muslim women on social media (Kraeplin & Kavacki 2017), is systematically flaws and failed to provide a coherent thesis, methodology or data to back up their claims and analyzes.

Fashion Theory
In his famous article from 1904 "Fashion," Simmel (1957) argued that man is dualistic and through fashion fights a battle of imitation and differentiation. Kawamura (2005) expands this idea by stating that fashion is the prevailing accepted dress utilized only for a certain period of time and is dictated by change and novelty.
In "The Fashion System," Roland Barthes (1990) presented the idea that dress is a system of communication. Barthes

Social Identity
Identity is the way which one understands and defines who they are within the world. Identity is fluid, constantly being negotiated and is shaped by sense of place, context and relationships (Wearing, 2011). Social identity is used to describe the way in which an individual's sense of self is created and influenced through their membership of a social group or groups (Deaux, 2000;Tajfel, 1974;). Rather than be informed by their unique individualism, one's social identity is informed by their membership, attachment or relationship with broader social structures and groups.

Diasporic Identity
One of the many social groups one may subscribe to is ethnic group and/or diasporic minority. Ethnic groups are defined as groups with shared ethnic attitudes, knowledge and behaviors (Cislo, 2018). Diaspora minorities are defined as any ethnic group lacking a homeland and/or with a recreated or imagined homeland (Anderson, 2001). Diaspora minorities include immigrants, refugees, migrant labor, and those forced into diaspora through enslavement, colonialism, exile and indenture (Anderson, 2001). While religion is not determined by ethnicity, religion can play a part of one's ethnic identification. Even amongst those who are secular, religion can be an integral part of one's self prescribed ethnic identification, as religion presents a social group for one to identify themselves with (Anderson, 2001). The population surveyed in this project are of the cultural diaspora in the U.S. & Europe who practice Islam, which brings diasporic identity into the discussion.

Social Representation Theory
Social representation theory (SRT) was proposed by Serge Moscovici as a way to study social behavior. Moscovici (1963) defines SRT as, "the elaborating of a social object by the community for the purpose of behaving and community" (p. 251).
Moscovici presents two major processes through which communities develop representations: anchoring and objectification. Objectification is the process through which social groups or communities assimilate objects into their existing categorical system. Hoïjer (2011) Moscovici, 1988). Lastly, polemic representations are mutually exclusive and created by social conflicts (Hoïjer, 2011;Moscovici, 1988).
Social representation theory has also been applied to studies of national identity in culturally diverse societies (Andreouli & Chryssochoou, 2015), to studies of media and communication (Hoïjer, 2011), and to studies of religious communities, including British Muslim communities in London (Sartawi, 2015). Andreouli and Chryssochoou (2015) contend that identity can be seen as "a system of knowledge about oneself, about others and about the social context which is constructed and negotiated within social relations" (pp. 312), which makes an individual or group identity a social representation. Thus, SRT can be used to analyze participant's individual and group identities through dress.
If we refer back to Barthes' notion on fashion and dress as symbolic and meaningful, it should be noted that dress itself is a representation that can be objectified and anchored by different communities throughout various time frames. If dress is a form of communication and a potential social representation that is negotiated by individuals in their unique societal spaces, then SRT can easily and effectively be applied to dress studies and will be used in as the framework for analysis in this study.

Purpose statement
With the events of 9/11 changing the socio-political landscape of Europe and the U.S., veiled Muslim women became targeted as a visual identifier of their negatively stereotyped culture and religion. Diasporic Muslim women living in the U.S. and U.K face a daily struggle of balancing their religious and cultural identities with Western standards and fashion codes. Social media has offered a place for diaspora veiled Muslim social media influencers, often called "hijbis" or "hijbaistas" 2 (see Appendix A), to express their navigation of these various social codes through visual hijab tutorials, modest style look-books, reviews of fashion lines (both modest and nonmodest), and reacting to opinions in the comment sections. The aim of this study is to analyze how female Muslim social media influencers balance religious and cultural demands and identity creation with fashionable modest apparel. Through the lens of social representation theory, the following research question will be considered: How do female Muslim social media influencers use fashionable apparel on social media to negotiate cultural and religious demands in conjunction with exploration of personal identities?

METHODOLOGY
Netnography is a qualitative research method that adapts ethnography to study online communities (Kozinets, 2002(Kozinets, , 2009). The basis of Netnography is unobtrusive observations, whose interpretation of data relies on strong intellectual analysis by the observer (Kozinets, 2002). Unlike traditional ethnographic methods, the lack of face to face contact and emphasis of unobtrusive observations enables researchers to collect data that is not filtered or altered by the presence of the researcher (Kozinets, 2002).
Online data collection and observation presents ethical quandaries regarding consent and privacy, and it is important to note that netnographic methodology provides specific protocol for ethnographic study of online communities that is structured to protect participants from potential harm (Kozinets, 2002, p. 8). This method was selected for the analysis of influencer posts on Instagram, as it is the only methodology that utilizes ethnographic research methodologies in the online space, has observed protocol and ethics, and is unobtrusive.

Data Collection
As this study looks at social media, Instagram was chosen as the source of data as specifically created for this project. All data collected was recorded onto spread-sheet on a secure computer. Laestadius (2016) states that Instagram posts are frequently amended or deleted and the data collected from these posts must reflect that in order to respect the privacy of the users. Amends to edited posts were added to the data and posts that were deleted or made private were excluded from data, as their deletion is considered lack of consent for public usage (Laestadius, 2016). There was not a secondary coder.
Participants were chosen based on the following criteria:

Influencer status
The term "influencer" is typically used to describe an Instagram user with a large following, regular posting, and frequent paid or unpaid sponsorship. Participants considered to be influencers were chosen as they posted at least three times a week and their large audience base and sponsorship demonstrated "influence" within the modest fashion, Muslim and fashion communities online.

Age
According to Business Insider, 90% of Instagram users are under the age of 35 (Dada, 2017). During initial observations, it was observed that the majority of influencers were under the age of 30. Participants under 18 years of age were not considered because they are considered minors and present legal and ethical problems.
In order to prevent the exploitation of minors, there are stricter laws and rules that regulate their participation in academic studies.

Gender
Although the concept of hijab is observed by both genders in Islam, the hijab veil or headscarf is worn only by female identifying Muslims.
Practicing Muslims are more likely to obey religious dress code, and were thus an important demographic for this research. Since the concept of hijab is built on modesty and does not always dictate veiling, modestly dressed Muslims were a part of the demographic. This meant that some participants veiled and some did not, but all followed similar modesty guidelines.

Religion
As

Frequency of Posts
To gather enough data and to meet influencer status, participants were chosen based on their ability to post at least three times a week, which provides the investigator with enough data to make meaningful analysis.

Data Analysis
The content of influencer posts (i.e. components of images, associated text or video with audio) was coded using open-coding from grounded theory. Grounded Theory enables researchers to find emergent sets of concepts that can be integrated into a theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). Open-coding is utilized to find these emergent concepts and create data from them. Open-coding allows for categorization of themes that may arise from the images, texts and videos posted on Instagram (Strauss & 3 It should be noted that humanity has added onto the literal word of god through hadiths (see Appendix A), through Sira (see Appendix A), and through the Sunnah (see Appendix A) which are all written by third party human hands. As a result of its non-translatable nature, clergymen and imams hold the power of interpretation of the Qu'ran. Corbin, 1994). Such categorization can then be quantified, thusly providing quantitative evidence (Strauss & Corbin, 1994).
Prior to the start of this project, several Muslim female veiled Instagram influencers were monitored in a trial run to gather information regarding possible codes for dress types and post themes. The notes gathered informed the codes developed for data collection and a coding key was created (see Appendix B).
Through the initial observations of the pretrial, it was noted that influencers frequently posted about the following topics: experiences whilst traveling, family members, responses to socio-political events or the sharing of socio-political ideologies, and activities or prayers surrounding religious holidays. It was also noted that the majority of posts appeared to be supported by corporations, mostly fashion brands such as Zara, H&M, and Modanisa. It was noted that each individual observed modesty through fashion in a completely different way. Hijab styles varied from person to person, with turbans (see Appendix A, turban) and shaylas (see Appendix A, shayla) appearing to be most popular. Trends such as wearing a baseball cap, hat or square scarf permeated throughout, but were adapted to fit individuals' modesty requirements. The level of body uncovered by garments also varied, but none of the observed participants showed any part of their body below the neck, from the elbow of the arm up, or above the ankle. It was also noted that traditional ethnic garments associated with Islam, such as the abayya or jilbab (see Appendix A, abayya, jilbab), were rarely worn. From this information, a quantifiable coding system was developed (see Appendix B).

Limitations
Netnography is limited by the ethical balance that researchers face, as the invasion of the participant's privacy or unwanted collection of online data can corrupt the data and destroy trust (Kozinets, 2002, p. 8).
Coding through grounded theory is limited by its analysis. Though it aims to quantify descriptive and qualitative concepts, the data is produces must be analyzed by a researcher with extensive knowledge of the field in order to creative meaningful analysis. This presents the opportunity for misinterpretation of data in analysis.

Methodological Integrity
Credibility was established by the author's prolonged observation of this community (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008). The pre-trial enabled the author to become familiar with the community and the important ideas portrayed through their posts.
This foundation of knowledge enabled the author to not only create a codebook that reflected topics posted by participants, but also to analyze the collected data with an understanding of the community. This foundation of knowledge paired with the collected data ensure veracity of claims presented in this study.
It is important to note that the lack of a secondary coder presents a potential for bias in data analysis. Inter-rater reliability was not established due to the absence of the secondary coder.
Dependability was established by utilizing public Instagram posts (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008). Researchers who which to view the posts from the time period of data collection may do so with any Instagram account. This allows for the data collection to be easily repeatable (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008). Posts that were altered or deleted, were reflected in the data by either deletion of their data or altering of the data to better reflect the post's edited state (Laestadius, 2016).
Reliability of the data was established through an audit trail (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008)     (0%), and square scarves (3.6%) were not frequently worn, but were highly prominent during the initial pre-survey. These garments demonstrate flexibility with styling of hijab, as they break away from the norms of Islamic religious dress.
Using SRT's arguments about anchoring and objectification, it can be surmised that the lack of popularity of the traditional hijab in favor of alternative, more westernized styles demonstrates the search to transcribe western garments into a modest Islamic dialogue. Worn as both in adherence to religious rules and as an item of fashion, a new contextual meaning is given to the hijab.  where it is the norm. Given the aggressive stereotyping Muslim women face, it does not seem unreasonable to state that traditional garments like the abaya or jilbab are not popularly donned amongst the Muslim diasporic youth as it might make them stand out amongst their peers and perhaps even make them a greater target for discrimination and hate crimes.
Choosing to don an abaya versus jeans and a t-shirt is a form of code-switching.
Code-switching is the use of two or more language varieties in the same interaction (Gilyard, 1991, p. 31) and their usage is demanded by the social situation (Elgin, 1979). It is far more than a convergence of grammatical or semantic variations. It is also a convergence of identities. Keith Gilyard (1991) argues that identity is wrapped up in language, and code-switching offers two or more identities through which to wade through and find oneself. In the 1950s, Roland Barthes (1990) argued that dress is a form of communication. Barthes outlined a social dress code in which items dress could be read as signs (Carter, 2012, p. 344). If dress is a form of communication, then altering religious or ethnic dress to fit social contexts and expectations (such as wearing a t-shirt and jeans with hijab in the U.S. or an abaya in a mosque), demonstrates the ability to code-switch between socio-cultural dress norms. Travel Elsewhere in the World 28 a N=239 is the number of posts with content related to travel. Travel was a popular content option for the participants surveyed and consisted of 41.3% of all posts surveyed. Travel throughout the U.S. and Europe (72.8%) was most common, whereas travel to the Middle East (15.5%) or elsewhere in the world (11.7%) was much lower. It was also noted during initial observations that travel focused content sponsored by the government or corporations based Dubai and Saudi

Findings: Post Themes
Arabia was highly prevalent. For these reasons, a higher rate of travel to the Middle East was initially suspected, however the low rate of travel to the Middle East corelates with lack of travel to homelands by diasporic populations (Anderson, 2001;Strübel, 2011).
The Middle East is often considered to be a homeland for Islam. And indeed, the most significant places of importance in Islamic religious practice reside within the geographical Middle East or Levant. An example is the hajj (see Appendix A), which takes place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For this reason, one could presume that the "Middle East serves as a religious homeland and participants in this study would be expected to travel to there more commonly than non-Muslims. Yet this was not the case, even during the holy month of Ramadan.
It should also be noted that amongst Muslims, there is debate regarding the status of Arabs and other ethnic groups, where Arabs consider themselves to be superior due to their heritage. Other Brand 138 a N=419 is the number of posts in which a brand or product was promoted. Sponsorship was incredibly prevalent throughout social media posts (72.3%).
Sponsorship by fast fashion brands (41.5%) was the most common, which perhaps may reflect the taste, budget, and shopping habits of the audiences of those surveyed.
Fast fashion brands were considered brands that create large amounts of affordable fashionable apparel, accessible at both physical and online retail venues, such as H&M, Zara, and ASOS. High-end brands consisted of those financially inaccessible to the average shopper, such as Dior, Prada, Burburry, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, etc. Modest brands were those that specifically created modest fashionable apparel, regardless of religious affiliation, such as Modanisa, Haute Hijab and Skin. Beauty brands included makers and distributors of skincare products, make up, and perfume, such as Maybelline, L'Oreal, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Benefit Cosmetics, MaxFactor, and Armani Beauty. Sponsorship by other brands that those note during initial observations was much higher than expected (32.9%) and included restaurants, hotels, magazines, jewelry companies and apps. Such sponsorship demonstrates interest in participating in the fashion system and the want for fashionable apparel. Reference to religious scripture 3 a N=579 is the total number of posts analyzed. As demonstrated by the data in Table 7, references to religion in any capacity were relatively scarce. This is significant in that during the time frame of this survey, the month-long holiday Ramadan (May 6 th 2019-June 4 th , 2019) and Eid al-Fitr (June 5 th , 2019) occurred, which should have contributed to the higher percentage of references to religious holidays versus other reference to religion.
The avoidance of religious references may be a conscious choice. Islamic tradition emphasizes the practice of fiqh or jurisprudence. Practitioners of Islam are encouraged to provide religious guidance to others (Hirsch, 2017, p. 34 (Day, 2018). Her reluctance to be a "Muslim role model" could be in reaction to fiqh regarding how she personally practices Islam. However, such a statement ignores the fact that influencers such as al-Faraj are unintentionally role models for their audience-whether they like it or not. This included imagery and text that either explicitly referred to or indirectly referenced their position on socio-political and religious topics or that advocated for a specific position. As the large audience base for these influencers provides an excellent platform for creating socio-political discussions, it is noteworthy that only 5.6% of surveyed posts made any reference to the aforementioned socio-political ideas. While direct socio-political and religious statements are not being made, the presence of these influencers, their choice to adhere to Islamic modesty practices in a public sphere, and participate in global fashion culture demonstrates indirect sociopolitical meanings being placed onto their garments and social media posts. Asian Muslims and Arab Muslims, family is "the community" and it's "integrity, longevity, and cohesion" is of critical importance (p. 61). While individualism is admired and promoted in the U.S., the individual is the last priority in Islamic cultures.
"The individual has duties and obligations but only after the responsibility to God; all other obligations are to the family" (McCloud, 2006, p. 83). With such a high value places on family, it would be expected that this would be prevalent throughout the participant's projected online identity.
With so much value placed on family, it is important to note the role of the woman within the familial hierarchy. Women are expected to play an integral role in family life by being a domestic homemaker and child barer, whilst financially supported by the husband (Kabir, 2001, pp. 48-49).
Straying from this traditional representation of femininity, female gender roles, and expectations, demonstrates a rejection of these traditional values, roles and expectations. The meaning of Islamic womanhood is altered to one that is more fluid in its values and expectations.

CONCLUSION
The identities of individual members of the Muslim diaspora are unique and individualized. They are molded through both through cultural and religious heritage of their imagined homeland, and through the macro-society they reside. Through dress, the participants navigate multiple identities and establish themselves as individuals. Wearing blue jeans and a blazer, often seen as a quintessentially Western garment, alongside a hijab (see Figure 6), demonstrates an identity performing a balancing act between cultures and religious beliefs. The data presented in this study does not perhaps provide a firm answer to the research question. Instead of offering a generalized idea regarding this community's identity formation through fashionable modest apparel online, it offers a myriad of different individuals and perspectives and opens the door to further research.
Through the lens of SRT, the data shows a changing representation of the new Muslim diaspora-one that nods to their religious and cultural heritage by wearing hijab, but assimilates to their macro-society by participating in fashion trends. They change the representation of the hijab from one that represents religious piety and devotion, to one that demonstrates heritage. By participating in the fashion system, they go against traditional notions of hijab, and draw attention to themselves as fashion lovers and members of the young Muslim diaspora.
The high level of participation in the global fashion system brings up questions about authenticity and online identity. The presented online identity of these influencers is shaped by the prevalence of advertisements, brand deals, and sponsored products. The influencers are perhaps more interested in participating in fashion consumerism and techno-capitalism than demonstrating religious piety, sharing their personal life or political stances. Their true authentic identity is perhaps blurred by the glitz of techno-capitalism. Further research must be done to consider the impact of commercialization on online identity formation and presentation.
The data presented in this study paints a picture of the identity crisis and balancing acts of these young Muslim influencers and demonstrates that their personal identity is not quantifiable or definable, but rather unique. Using modest fashion and hijab, the influencers surveyed in this study are changing the representation of hijab both in their communities and in society at large. Within their communities, the hijab represents a veil that signifies piety and obedience to religious doctrine as well as and a fashionable garment. In this study, the participants demonstrated the importance of the hijab to their cultural identity, which in many ways was a separate from its historical past. The absence of religious expressions even during a period of significant religious obligation, indicates that the participates are forging a new identity that appears less rooted in ancient traditions and is more an expression of the modern individual. In this way, the hijab may be an expression of one's core faith or cultural roots, but may not represent the strength of religious devotion that is often assumed by outside observers. The hijab has been anchored as a cultural garment, rather than a religious garment. In the macro society in which these participants inhabit, the hijab is represented as a symbol of open discussion of Islam's place in the West and modest fashion as fashionable apparel. On social media, participants use modest fashionable apparel to create unique, individual identities that balance between "multiple identities" and may be less an expression of religiosity than of this combined cultural identity. They adapt their usage of the hijab, both the scarf itself and the concept, to participate in the fashion system of an ever-changing, inter-connected, and multicultural world.

Limitations
There is a potential for bias in the data collected, as the data was collected only by the author herself and not checked for bias against the same data collected by others.
This research is also limited by the lack of participation from participants surveyed.
As they were not offered a chance to complete a survey or interview to express their feelings, their intentions and ideas can only be examined through their posts. There is potential for bias, as the data from these posts is interpreted solely by the author and is not directly informed by the participants themselves. More research must be done to include the participants in the conversation about their own dress.

Delimitations
There are some limitations with the population surveyed. "Influencer" status is only HAJJ -the annual pilgrimage to the Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is required to be carried out at least once in one's lifetime by those who are capable of performing the pilgrimage.
HARAM -Arabic term referring to actions or behaviors that are forbidden or considered sinful.
HIJAB -the generic term for a head scarf or veil used by all Muslims. The adoption of hijab requires both headgear and modest dress, as well as modest action.
HIJABI -a woman who wears hijab.
HIJABISTA -a combination of the terms hijabi and fashionista. It refers to a hijabi who is fashion minded.
IMAM -an Islamic religious leader. Always a man. Imams provide guidance on proper interpretation of the Qur'an.
JILBAB -the Qur'anic term that refers to woman's clothing. Today the jilbab is most associated with the tailored, stylized, modest garment worn in South Asia.
NIQAB -the generic term that refers to a face veil. It's a piece of black cloth that is tied around the head and over the head scarf, that covered the lower part of the face.
Women who wear niqabs are referred to as niqabis.
QUR'AN/KORAN -the religious text of Islam. It is a collection of messages sent from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad.
SALWAR KAMEEZ -a traditional two-piece ensemble from South Asia that consists of a long tunic (kameez) and bifurcated pants (salwar). It is worn by both men and women.
SHAYLA -a long scarf worn around the head and left loosely wrapped or partially unwrapped and hanging off the shoulders.
SIRA -the biographies of the life of the prophet Muhammad.
SUNNAH -religious texts which discusses the practices and traditions of Islam.
TICHEL -the Yiddish term for the headscarf or veil worn by Orthodox Jewish woman after marriage.
TURBAN -a headscarf worn by both men and women. It is a scarf that is folded and wrapped around the head, leaving the face and neck visible.