Muslim Swim Attire (Page 2)

I realize that most of the posts here were from Jan, but in case anyone is still interested.... There are several companies that offer swimwear for Muslim women. Sajeda, and Haseema are two of them. I own one from Sajeda, and have used it for the past year. I have had no problems with being allowed to swim, or to take my baby in the mommmy&me swim lessons. The suit does not hold water, and does not balloon out. It does get kind of suctioned to my skin when I first get out, but when I pull on it, it releases and is fine. The material dries within 10 minutes of being out of the pool. My husband is from Middle East, and in his country they have different days at the waterparks/pools for men and women. On women's days, all of the workers are women as well as the guests. Women are allowed to bring their sons up to the age of 4 or 5, but older than that boys are not allowed.

Peace

Welcome to BT.

Thanks.

So then on the women's days can women wear less restrictive swimwear, or is it still the same rules?

in manchester we have a womens only session downstairs in the training pool at the aquatics and many muslim women go. they tend to wear longish swim suits - bit liek tri suits. sometimes with t-shirts.

On women's days they wear what they want, but still would not wear the typical American style suits. They tend to wear bodysuits that are like bike shorts and short sleeves, or sometimes a swimsuit with a t-shirt and shorts. Still more modest, but easier than the full coverage suits.

hi, there, i know this thread is old now, but just in case anyone reading it is still interested to know.

many posts have questioned how it feels to swim fully clothed. i can tell you b/c i've done it. i have never swum in cotton clothing--only synthetics such as nylon/lycra and nylon and polyester. the shirt doesn't feel like anything, really, but one tends to get the feeling of "shrinkwrap" upon entering the water with nylon or polyester pants. as an observant muslim woman myself, i was trying to find a solution and tried several different capri style polyester and nylon pants that they sell at the outdoor stores (ie, "title nine", "athleta", "rei", etc). i discovered that the 'peached', dwr-treated polyester worked the best for not sticking to me when i exited the pool (these were basically like board pants, instead of board shorts). a loose-fit, long-sleeved surfer rash guard shirt (ie, nylon/lycra shirt) worked well, too. i've usually just worn a swim cap (ie, "speedo" or "tyr" brand).

also, i discovered that stiffening the hems of the leg openings of the pants helped a lot in preventing immodest sticking to the legs, as it seems to keep the pant legs open and quicken the drying of the already quick-drying pants.

i formed my own company this year: www.splashgearusa.com and i believe i am one of only 6 known companies worldwide that manufactures "islamic" swimsuits for public use. you can check out some of the other styles here:

http://www.2hijab.com/products.asp?cat=43

https://shop.hasema.com/default.asp?modul=urun&id=1

http://www.veiledbydesign.com/product_info.php?products_id=1814

http://www.primomoda.com/store/index.php?cPath=39

http://www.ahiida.com/


as for the comments about safety, YES, that is a very good point--and i'm not trying to toot my own horn, here, but that is definitely one of the issues i kept in mind from the outset of designing my line. not to bash any other company, but i think it's clear that some have thought about it, while others have not. i actually use the new washtenaw county public pool policy on my website to draw attention to this issue.

the other issue is fashion. i'm sorry to say that it seems like muslims who have awesome intentions don't seem to have a knack for fashion...or at least not western u.s. fashion tastes. that was the other major concern i had and made sure that the swimming outfits were fashionable. i know for a fact that a LOT of muslim women will not wear what is currently on the market precisely b/c it's not fashionable and they don't want stand out even more than they need to.

anyway, i've swum in my own line of clothing as well as what has been available in the mainstream, and there's really, honestly not much to it. as long as you use lightweight fabrics, it's almost like you're not wearing much at all. one of my customers also mentioned that to me. i think the saying "don't knock it til you try it" is very appropriate in this situation. it's not for everyone, but modest swimwear is for religiously observant women (and men) in various faith groups: orthodox jews, latter day saints (mormons), conservative christians, muslims; as well as for obese/very large people; people suffering from skin conditions such as psoriasis and lupus (there's even a company which promotes full coverage swimwear to prevent skin cancer: www.coolibar.com). i figure women w/unsightly body scars or prosthetic limbs may also feel comfortable wearing more in public.

ultimately, it's not what we wear--it's how we all get in the same water facility to enjoy water recreation at the same time. why should anyone be excluded? it's not liberating for a woman if she can't or chooses not to wear a bikini for whatever reason. so, why not offer something that allows a woman to comfortably get in the water and enjoy herself with everone else, or use water therapy if she needs it?

this is not a joke or a lie: before i opened my own company, i helped a 65 year old conservative/traditional muslim woman find acceptable clothing (3-piece outfit) that was all made of synthetic fabrics, etc, and she entered the pool for the very first time in her life...!!!!!!!! she sat in the jacuzzi for the very first time as well and commented on how the warm water helped her arthritis. her husband and i couldn't stand the heat after a while and we got out, but she still sat in the jacuzzi long after.

i think that's great when women have the freedom to do things--like swim--but they do it on their own terms. i think that's beautiful.

anyway, sorry for the long post, but thought i'd throw in my 2 cents.

PEACE.

--s--

God, don't you just love capitalism. See a void, fill it. Find a need, fill it.
Some folks in this world abhor such thoughts but here we have another example of how business can overcome religious or governmental obstacles.
I have a dream that one day.............

thank you for your encouraging comments, it's really helpful to get positive feedback--especially from others who may not be directly related to this type of product.

sappho96, just to let you know, i've been waiting for half my inventory to arrive (production delays) before i am able to take model/photo shots. so, yes, i do indeed plan to take model and action shots (to show the outfits both in and out of the water; before and after they are wet), but am still just waiting to get my full inventory before i can move forward. also, i'm offering catalogs, so i definitely need model photos for that.

thanx!! again for your input.

if you know anyone who may be interested in this sort of product (religious or non), please share all the links i've provided in my initial post.


--s--

Wow. This is neat. Capitalism at its best.

Some folks have a need - one that honestly I didn't even think about, but it makes a lot of sense - and there are at least SIX different companies filling that need. That's just awesome.

Assuming they're functional, the outfits I saw on those websites were actually quite attractive, in a very modest sort of way.