Thursday, February 9, 2012

Product Review: Aab Abaya!

Asalamu Alaykum!

Today I have a product review I know you are all going to love! 

I usually do not wear abayas, but when I first laid my eyes on the Aab storefront, I knew I was in love. The cuts and colors of Aab abayas definitely make the company stand out.
But as much as I have always desired one, I was very turned off from making a purchase because of the price. Aab abayas seem to average over $100 dollars normally, but the shipping to the states is an extra 30 bucks! 

A few months back I kept squealing about the most amazing thing I had ever seen, a pink abaya! I told my friends, showed them pictures and sighed. I took a lot of encouraging and self-talk to finally commit and I did it! Unfortunately I later received a call from the company themselves saying that they ran out of stock for my size. AHhhhhh! 

sadness....

Then the day came where they reordered new stock and I finally bought the baby. I purchased the Mulberry Pinky Beige abaya.


 The packaging was standard. It still maintained the very minimal look portrayed in the website, although I had hoped for more.


The first thing I noticed about the abaya was the color. It was not PINK...or anything close to or reminiscent of pink. The website did describe the color as "pinky beige," but the picture showed a whole different color that can easily be described as a dusty rose. When I asked for reactions from friends, one said taupe, and the other  said beige! 

I am very disappointed because for me, color was the most important factor in purchasing this item.
The material was a light medium weight cotton jersey. The cut was beautiful and somewhat flattering, however it was a little bit sheer in some areas. I could see the outline of my clothing underneath and some details. I do not like to put on a tons of layers if I can help it, so it would have been nice had they also mentioned this on their site.

 I paired it with my chunky butt pearl necklace and my two toned thrift-store-bought scarf (5 bucks baby!). The bottom hem just skimmed the ends of my ankles which makes me wish I purchased it in a size 58 inches instead of 56. Also the shape was like a trapeze. the sides were stitched that they hung rather then hugged your top half which made the item modestly cut. The real beauty of the garment came after walking around and see how voluminous the bottom half of the skirt could flare out.




It took awhile, and a little posing! to appreciate the garment. The cut was beautiful and chic but I would have preferred the color I thought I was getting. 

If I buy another abaya I would like it to be the along the same style as this one. However, in my honest opinion, it was not worth the 170.00 dollars for me because it did not meet nor exceed my expectations. There are plenty of long sleeve maxi dresses being sold in stores. If you order a size up or add a cardi, it would be hard to tell the difference. I still will watch aab in the future but will make sure I ask and ask again so as not to be surprised. I think it is important that we encourage our Islamic businesses and support them. So I hope they take this review into account and include more detailed item descriptions in the future.


Was this review helpful? Have any of you purchased from this company? What are your opinions?

23 comments:

  1. I don't usually like colored abayaat but I kind of like this one :) I think it looks good on you, Mashallah. But yeahh I would be pretty turned off about the whole color thing too. Because on the website it totally does look like a nice dusty pink color but it's actually like taupe lol. They should be honest with their products :-/

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    1. Thank you amal! It is disappointing, I think what probably happened was when they conducted their photos they didn't make sure to make the end pictures "true to color." I really am very picky when it comes to abayaat which is why I barely own any! ;)

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  2. That's really pretty but I understand your disappointment over the color. I think their stuff is really chic but definitely on the pricey side. I love how you wear your scarf and your accessories too. Is it really called chunky butt? LOL.

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    1. Haha! No!!! I decided to call it that just for kicks! I always wear my scarf the same way, my experimenting days are over! It is def. out of my price range and a one time splurge but alhamdoolilah for just being able to buy it and have it....who knows, maybe I can dye it!!!!

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  3. salaam, hope you're well. i totally understand your frustration as i have ordered from them a few times and was disappointed myself. when ever the new aab collection comes out, i get really excited but then really put off because of their prices. paying £80 for a casual everyday abaya seems crazy, so i always wait for sales. a few months ago i ordered their mulberry brown but when it came in the post i was soo disappointed that i packed it up again straight away to be sent back. my issue was that not only was the abaya NOT brown (it was like a dark green/grey colour) the material was rubbish, i know its suppose to be 100% cotton jersey but i own a few maxi dresses i bought from warehouse and topshop in the same material and they felt completely different. i am no expert so guess that it has to do with thread count or something. the only thing i loved about their abayas were the cuts, they do flow amazingly so you have to appreciate that aspect.
    any way word of advice buy their abayas in the linen materials they are much better in quality and hang beautifully only issue is that they have to be dry cleaned.

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    1. Thank you Fatima! I am so glad you wrote this as I was a bit weary of my reaction at first. There are not many aab reviews out there I will tell you that. It's good to inform the other would-be customers so they know what they are getting into and hopefully it will send a message to aab about how they should improving their standards if they hope to maintain these higher prices. I do not particularly like linen but I will keep your advice in mind. I appreciate the reaction.

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  4. I love online shopping, but when the item I paid tons for isn't as described I usually flip. I had that happen to me once with one of my favorite online stores www.shukronline.com. I bought two pairs of jeans (two different styles) in the same color. Yet, one color was totally off. I complained to them and told them that it was very misleading and they sent me a $20 voucher! You should send them a quick message.

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  5. @sippingchai-you know what...as silly as this sounds but I never thought of that. I am going to contact them now and let them know at least of the sake of preventing a transaction like this again. Thanks for the advice and for visiting!

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  6. would you recommend this for summer? im from Oz so i dont want to buy something that i will sweat in

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    1. Yes miss hijabi, I would wear this in hotter weather. But that is because I do not like to wear layers underneath my abaya. WIth this number I would say to wear a bra that is light it color so it doesn't show through and underwear that is hard to detect the pantyline. Its very breathable, I don't think it could be any more lighter unless it was more sheer or made out of linen.

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    2. i might buy it then. i dont mind the colour you ended up with at all.

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    3. Glad it helps! I would def. keep checking in on their site because they sell out fast and you never know if or when they restock. Don't get me wrong, I like the color but I for me price wise I would spend less for that particular color then if it were the actual pink they advertised. I hope the purchase works out of your inshallah!!

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  7. I'm not big on abayas either .. and honestly I have only 3 of them.. one I brought... one I got at a hijab exchange.. and one I won!!... I love yours only cause of the material and shape.. but I would have never known it was abaya I actually thought it was a long sleeve maxi.. I too would have been upset about the color especially for that price, but the way you wore it at the fashion show was really hot!! .. Here's a site with some really cool abaya if you ever think about buying another one... http://www.islamicdesignhouse.com/usa/category/Abayas-and-Jilbabs?1 and they have a sale going on right now .. I just love the funkiness of there abayas..

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  8. Thanks so much imani! I did like how it eventually turned out (meaning the outfit at the show). I also want to buy more abayat but will def be picky about it. I love the whole maxi dress with sleeves look but sometimes maxi's either have wierd cut outs, big necks or the fit is too scandalous for a masjid. I have seed that site but some of the stuff is too funky for me. Maybe I might give them a try one day! THanks!

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  9. Salaam I saw your post on miss hijabis blog. I was the sister who bought the so called dusky pink abaya that turned out beige. The style was called pink pleats. I returned mulberry brown today as the colour looked a dark khaki. The best abaya I bought from the was croche flare and tbh that wasn't worth the price. Next time I'll get my tailor to just replicate the design as it's so simple providing you can sew which I can't! Honestly i happy to spend alot of money on quality but seriously it seems like a waste when they don't help. I have kept the pink pleats as it was on sale so might give to someone else but like you I've been wanting a dusky pink abaya for ages but was really disapponted. They really need to sort this issue out as it's happening with too many styles. I don't think I'm going to buy from them again. Overrated but they do well cos of people like me -abaya wearers sick of the cheap black foreign looking abayas who cannot sew themselves! Sorry for the rant

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    1. Hey sis. I am so glad you came over here and posted this. I hope anyone who is interested in purchasing from aab reads your experience. I actually had my eye on pink pleats but it sold out in my size so I got this one instead thinking it would be pink like advertized . Its unfortunate it costs 2 to 3 times more than other abayaat. The reason I bought from them was because of wanting other colors like you and of course I didn't question that this would happen since they appear very clean cut and professional. The photos are very well down too but the service is not. They should really work on customer satisfaction.

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  10. ah it's terrible. after reading the reviews here i wish i'd returned the pink pleats too but it's too late now as it's out of the 7 day return period. i was going to let them off as i didn't realise it was a common issue but now i wish i'd returned it. it is alot of money for something that isn't as described and a very basic design. now unless there's somebody at Aab who wasn't taught 'colours' when they were a child, something is making me uneasy about them as your mulberry pinky beige looks a very similar colour as my dusky pink pink pleats. it baffles me how they get it so wrong whereas amirah fashions abaya is spot on in colour (haven't got many online retailers to compare with as there isn't many who do casual abayas that look good with anything which is why aab are doing well as they've found a niche in the market) when i buy an 'expensive' (relative term) pair of shoes, handbag, jacket, dress, top etc they look and feel money well spent i expect the same from an abaya! anyway excellent, honest blog x

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  11. Salam, I just recieved my Aab abaya yesterday after one month of waiting. It's the Brass class navy abaya. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this abaya and aab in general. Positive first, there is no doubt the abaya is flattering and I just love the fitting. The craftsmanship is excellent. However, the quality of the fabric is terrible. My husband commented that the color looks faded and I haven't even washed it yet. It's very thin and feels very cheap. The buttons on the abaya are gold painted plastic. Overall, it's totally not worth the price! If they had just invested a little more in the material, I would have ordered from them again. It's sad that they aren't very foresighted and are probably losing a lot of customers this way. Saying this, I will add that i still like my abaya, but one is enough as I can predict the quality of products they are selling. Great blog, btw! :)

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  12. I bought brass class, the design was lovely but it had small holes in the seams, caused by using the wrong needle during manufacture. I have returned it. I also bought classic polo in black, it is a nice shape but the fabric is thin and not a true black, it looks old and washed out and Iv only worn it once. I am however hopeful that the other abayas are better because they look so nice. I think they need to improve their manufacturing.

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  13. Assalaamu alaykum... After reading about your bitter disappoint about not getting a pink abaya, I felt compelled...yes that's right absolutely could not stop myself compelled!... To tell you about the pink abaya on www.abaya-central.com.

    Now you may think me cheeky...and I am!...But I'm only recommending this because I think you'll like it! Have a look.. www.abaya-central.com?detail.php?id=30 .. it's called "dash of pink"! The pink in it actually comes from the bright silk-ish pink lining under the sleeves and neck line seen through the delicately cut leaf pattern. Enticed? Well here's the kicker... It's only available in one size! Lets hope it's yours!

    Delivery to the states..? OK.. I know it's pricey! We normally charge around $15, but I'm sure we can half that for you with one of our coupons!... just so you can have your pink abaya! :)

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  14. I am glad you wrote this. There is nothing wrong with informing other would-be customers of our experiences. I am sorry you have to go through that and I hope they get that issue fixed for you :(

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