What’s more likely at play here is the idea that marketing toward modest consumers, and Muslims in particular, will alienate other shoppers. “How do you talk about modest clothing without making it sound niche or get away from the connotations that perhaps it’s all about wearing long, black cloaks?” questions Shelina Janmohamed, VP of Islamic branding consultancy Ogilvy Noor and the author of the book, Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World. “That’s one of the biggest challenges. I haven’t seen anyone come up with a good answer for it yet, and that’s particularly important because it can appeal to wider audience." The answer might be to completely divorce the idea that modest clothing has to be tied to religious clothing. Even though many among the community are faith-based, the key to mainstreaming the movement is to remove the moral associations with the word. Maybe we need a new word. (I’m looking forward to hearing your suggestions on Twitter!) If you think that is a crazy idea, consider the fact that destigmatization is already happening on the other end of the spectrum: short skirts and crop tops may seem to be the complete opposite of hijabs, but both have been criticized as being “bad for women.” Campaigns like SlutWalk, high school dress code protests, and Still Not Asking For It have attempted to divorce the idea that the amount of skin a woman shows correlates to how keen she is on receiving sexual advances. But because of our complex relationship to women’s place in these traditional ideologies, the same hasn’t happened regarding women who wear more clothing. But, a growing community of modest dressers is toying around with this idea online. The same Reuters report confirmed that social media, especially Instagram, is vital to the growth of the modest fashion movement, which might seem surprising to those who assume modesty implies that a woman wants to hide in the background. “There’s a pervasive assumption that a conservative woman who covers her body wouldn’t want to be publicly noticed,” says Trehan. “Image-heavy mediums like Instagram and Youtube show the diversity and multidimensionality of modest dressing, and I think a lot of women saw the opportunity to reject a stereotype.” Janmohamed agrees: “They’re rebelling against the ideas of hiding; they’re openly expressing who they are, and that they’re proud of it. There, assertiveness is a form of rebellion.”