khaki goes to abu hail

Assalamualykum wa rahmatullah

There were more stores than I could count, and more abayahs than I've ever seem before. Alleys and corridoors full of abayahs.. yeesh... talk about overkill. I've been there a coupla times before, but I usually avoid going to such places.

They were gaudy, they were simple, they were shiny and blingy, they were sober and simple, they were ostentatious and cheap, they were quiet and commanding - but there was one thing common among them all - they were black. I browsed through row after row of black gowns and none seemed right. It seemed either too gaudy, or too simple, or too tight (considering full-term). I walked along the corridoors tense and praying to Allah to please help me find something right...

And then I saw it. There was only one word which could quiet describe it: elegant. It was long and flowing, and almost had something regal about it. Though the asking price was way more than I planned to pay initially, I decided to try it on.

I gasped. It fell into swirling folds near my toes and ... it felt... right? i examined myself in the mirror. Even I managed to look somehwat stylish... clearly the gown was special. And then I noticed something. A little bump... forget it... this would be no good in another couple of months. Useless, just like the whole trip was starting to feel.

I walked out of that store dejected... indeed in my desperation I was ready to cry. (I haaaate shopping). The clock ticked by and I started feeling exhausted and nauseous (of course!) I walked down an uninviting alley of abu Hail and something caught the corner of my eye.

The gleaming swarovskis on a display abayah- in neat little rows between pleats. PLeats! Go preggo! You can wear this full-term, I thought to myself. I tried it on, and it was too long and kinda loose and very expensive (drat!). So got the length altered and well... alhamdulillah- the search was over.

It still looks okay now that we're home... Insha Allah I have made the right purchase? What say you?