What to Wear

The perennial question for all women.

It may seem strange, but for me, the hardest thing about wearing the hijab is selecting clothes.

Since I choose to cover all skin except my face and hands and wear clothes that are not form fitting, every outfit I wear has to be carefully chosen. I can't just throw on jeans and a t-shirt (or if it's cold, add on a hoody). My outfits generally consist of jeans, a dress/tunic, a long-sleeve t-shirt under that, a matching headscarf and footwear. And does it ever break my heart when I prepare a wonderful outfit and realise at the last minute I don't have a headscarf that will go with it.

When I went to my first derby session, I asked Ellen Rage what she wore to derby. "Not a lot," she said.

My typical derby outfits are loose trousers, a baggy t-shirt and a long sleeve t-shirt under that with a short hijab. Sometimes I wear a skirt, sometimes not. It's a good thing I'm cold blooded, or I'd overheat. Some people feel that wearing a lot of clothes slows you down, but I started skating with the belief that if the way I dressed made me slower, I would train harder until I was faster. It's worked well for me so far.


I've found roller derby, and particularly the dames, to be very flexible in what I wear. Most of the time, my attire goes ignored. That's something I adore about derby. The only thing you're judged on is your attitude to skating. Everything else is secondary.