This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Most Americans get that a woman wearing a hijab is Muslim. But they are largely clueless about nuances and style choices accompanying the veil covering the head and chest.

According to Beliefnet.com columnist and editor Angela Guzman, the hijab goes beyond a commitment to modesty and privacy; Muslim women still find ways to express their fashion sense while honoring the cultural and religious garb.

"While they still wear the hijab, many women are shaking things up with different colors to express their individuality," Guzman writes in her column, and she goes on to asks, "What does your hijab say about you?"

A choice of a red hijab, she contends, reveals a woman "very in tune with your five senses," active and with a "fierce personality and ... no problem speaking your mind."

Orange reflects a love for socializing, and acceptance and respect from family and friends; yellow indicates creativity and a propensity for logic and order balanced with "out of the box" thinking; a green hijab unveils a need to be loved and accepted; blue plumbs a "deep sense of ... inner peace and truth," and expectation that others live according to their ideals; purple hints as a need for emotional substantiality that feeds a desire to help others; black shows a desire for power and control, to be in leadership; and white is the choice of a woman who prefers simplicity, independence and self-reliance.

Bob Mims