DEARBORN — An online fashion boutique for women who wear the Islamic headscarf that was established by a local Arab American designer has gained thousand of followers. The website was launched in November, but it has already turned into a recognizable brand, according to its founder Malak Ouza.

HijabLouvre.com offers dozens of items, including headscarves, wraps, accessories and dresses, with prices ranging from $12 to $195. 

Ouza designs the products and buys the material, but her sketches are executed by a professional seamstress. “It is all made in the U.S.A,” she said.

She says her designs come from her fashion instincts and suggestions from her customers on the internet. She does not follow a particular style, but she likes her products to be powerful, vintage and classy.

The name of the boutique is inspired by the the Louvre, iconic Parisian museum. But the young entrepreneur put her own twist on the name by altering the pronunciation of “Louvre” into “La-vour.”

“I was looking for something fierce, artistic and elegant,” she said of the name. 

Ouza said it can be tricky for women who wear the hijab to find evening dresses, adding that the fashion challenges that these Muslim women face prompted her to come up with the idea of her website when she was 22 years old.

“When I first thought about opening an online boutique, I didn’t have the resources. I then realized sometimes one just has to go for it with what they have and where they are because if you don’t, you might regret it one day,” she said.

Ouza.

But Hijab Louvre is more than an online boutique, according to Ouza. “Females struggle with the hijab, whether they should wear it or not, what options they have and how they can be fashionable but modest, etc. I wanted my website to be an inspiration for many,” she said. 

The website includes a blog that offers beauty and fashion advice for women with hijabs in collaboration with other bloggers across the internet.

“We also have Lady Louvre, a monthly interview that features a prominent hijabi (woman with a headscarf), who shares her experience with our readers,” said Ouza.

Past “Lady Louvre” interviews have presented Noor Tagouri, an associate journalist at CBS Radio, and Sheree Mcmillan, who started her own fashion blog in Connecticut.

Ouza said she also regularly posts encouraging quotes to her followers in order to empower them.

Hijab Louvre has accounts with thousands of followers on every major social media network, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.  

One of the goals of the website is to promote the hijab, which is “not just a piece of clothing on your head,” noted Ouza. She explained that the hijab is also about a woman’s character, her honesty and how she treats others.

“The inner hijab is just as important as the physical hijab, if not more ,” she said. 

Ouza said when she first started the website, she put more in to it than she took out of it, “just like any other business would.” But after her following grew, she is now “happy where things are.”

“It’s where I want it to be,” Ouza said of her website. “I get a lot of positive feedback from my followers. People actually recognize the brand now.”

Ouza has a full-time job as a behavioral health case manager at a healthcare company, but she still dedicates time to managing the website, a registered trademark. 

Ouza also possesses a master’s degree in social work from Wayne State University, and she finds a correlation between her two lines of work. “They’re both about helping others. I think they’re related,” she said.

Hijab Louvre’s followers are not limited by geography, according to Ouza. She says she has shipped her products to people in Singapore, Australia and all across the United States.

“It has been a really positive experience,” Ouza said of her website. “My intention is for it to be an inspiration and a support system for Muslim women. Whatever happens, it will be where Allah wants it to be, and I am more than happy knowing that, thank God.”