Malik’s Page

13 Austin South Asian | September 2021 Modest Fashion At A Great Price - Classy YM

By Sumaiya Malik

Every so often Maryam Jamal, the co-owner of Classy YM, an Arab clothing company that ships to the US, talks to her 400 thousand followers through Instagram live. She speaks in Arabic about how the store is quickly opening in other parts of the UAE.

At least that is what I gather she says. I don’t understand a word, but I do understand that her clothing line is fashionable attire that works for the modest woman whether from the Middle East or in the US.

The fashion house of Classy YM sells a four-piece outfit for a total price of roughly $100.

The four pieces include loose pants, a matching blouse, a flowing abaya (floor length cape) and a small scarf to be used for covering hair if a woman wishes to wear it that way or use it as a neck scarf, used to be Franchesca in the US before it closed down in Austin.

all of the same color - a color block outfit. It’s a fashion-meets-price model that reminded me of what When I stumbled upon this great find in Dubai on a trip, I couldn’t believe my American luck. The pants could be worn with a tank top, the blouse with jeans, the abaya was a stylish cape - I plan to wear it with blue jeans and a white tee - the scarf will form a bow on my purse! I could also wear them all together and accessorize with shoes.

I tracked down Maryam and her sister Yosra Jamal for their story. The two sisters whose initials make up Y and M were in high school when they started selling their designs online in 2015 with encouragement and support of their parents.

Their line sold out immediately. The buyers, women and girls, wanted to dress up following European and American trends but also keep in mind Arab traditions of long sleeves and pants and smaller necklines..

In 2020, the Jamal girls opened their first brick and mortar store in Dubai at the Galleria Mall.

That is where I happened to walk in the store without realizing what lay in the store. T

oday, they ship their clothing line to the US. Their website gives prices in US dollars as well.

The best way to reach the designers and their clothing is through instagram. They just started their shoe line called Pure YM. The shoes follow the same principle of eastmeets-west at an affordable price.

Follow Classy.YM and their fusion fashion on @classy.ym on instagram and feel great about yourself.

Raj Patel, Rumaan Alam: Best Selling South Asian Authors At Texas Book Fest 2021

By Sumaiya Malik

Two best selling authors and old timers from the Texas Book Festival, Raj Patel and Rumaan Alam, are back at the festival this OctoNothing,” is back with “Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice,” which he has co-authored with physician, activist, and co-founder of the Do No Harm Coalition Rupa Marya.

ber in what will be the first hybrid

book fest with online and in-person events. Novelist and critic Rumaan Alam will speak about his third book of fiction, “Leave the World Behind.” Alam last came to the festival with “That Kind of Mother.”

“Beginning Oct. 25, it’s four days of virtual sessions, then it’s a full weekend of in-person events on Congress Avenue and at the Texas State Capitol,” the Texas Book Festival website said. More authors are being added to the list and the schedule is not set yet.

The short list that has been published announced two South Asian writers and we are excited to share the news.

According to Goodreads, Alam’s “Leave the World Behind,” is “a magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.” on vacation at the Hamptons in an Airbnb. A Black couple who appears to be affluent ring their doorbell claiming that they are the original owners of the property. They come in and give the news of a “mysterious apocalyptic event.”

Alam’s “Leave the World Behind’’ has been purchased by Netflix for a film directed by Sam Esmail directing and starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, said Lila Shapiro in Vulture magazine.

“Inflamed” co-author Raj Patel is a Research Professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs, a professor in the University’s department of nutrition, and a Research Associate at Rhodes University, South Africa.

The book reveals the links between health and structural injustices-and offers a new deep medicine that can heal our bodies and our world.

The book talks about inflammation in the human body, society and the planet as reflected in inflammatory illnesses such as gastrointestinal disorders and asthma, mass uprisings around the world in response to racism and the effect of climate change on life .

“The title makes clear that our current practice of medicine, one that was largely developed in tandem with colonialism, can and will be improved by considering the human experience as a whole, reconnecting to our histories and communities, “uncovering a path to a future where health in its broadest terms might be possible,” said Dr Aarathi Prasad in her book review for the Guardian newspaper.

For more information about the Texas Book Festival please visit texasbookfestival.org