57% of Hijab Caps Are Black. Only 24% of Abayas Are

A Pattern We Did Not Go Looking For

We were analysing colour preference across our range when a gap appeared that we could not explain away.

Across 4,334 abaya orders, black made up 24.6%. Across 2,723 hijab orders, black made up 23.0%. Both roughly a quarter.

Across 1,373 hijab cap orders, black made up 57.1%.

The hijab cap is the one item in that list that nobody else sees. It sits underneath the scarf, against the hairline, hidden by design. And it is more than twice as likely to be black as the garment worn over it.

The Numbers

Item	Orders analysed	Black share	Colourways offered
Abayas and long garments	4,334	24.6%	39
Hijabs	2,723	23.0%	29
Hijab caps	1,373	57.1%	9

The cap range breaks down further, and it is stark. Three colours account for everything:

Cap colour	Orders	Share
Black	784	57.1%
White	341	24.8%
Nude	248	18.1%

Black, white and a skin tone. Nothing else registers.

Three Explanations, and Which One Holds

Maybe we only make caps in black. We do not. But it is true that the cap range is narrower than the abaya range, nine colourways against 39, so the comparison is not perfectly like for like. That narrower range is itself partly a response to demand.

Maybe it is practical. This is the strongest explanation. A cap is chosen to disappear, and it disappears in one of two ways: by matching your hair, or by matching your skin. Black does the first for most of our customers. Nude does the second. White exists mostly for wearing under sheer and light-coloured scarves where a dark cap would show through.

Maybe it is about what is seen. This is the part we find genuinely interesting. The visible layer, the abaya and the scarf, is where colour appears. The invisible layer defaults to function. When a garment stops being a statement and becomes purely a tool, colour preference collapses almost entirely.

The three-colour cap market is what pure utility looks like.

The Practical Reading

If you are choosing a cap, the data is effectively giving you the advice already.

• Match the cap to your skin or hair, not to your scarf. A cap close to your skin tone at the forehead disappears. A high-contrast cap draws a line across your face in every photograph.
• The exception is sheer fabric. Under chiffon, the cap colour shows through, so there you match the cap to the scarf.
• Two caps cover almost everything. One black, one close to your skin. That is what 75% of our cap orders amount to.

See the range in hijab caps, or the wider set in hijab accessories.

What It Says About Modest Fashion

There is a lazy assumption that modest dressing is about concealment, and that colour is therefore incidental. Our data says almost the reverse.

Where a garment is seen, colour matters a great deal. Women chose 39 different abaya colourways and 29 hijab colourways, and black lost the majority in both. Where a garment is not seen, colour stops mattering almost completely, and the range collapses to three options.

That is not a story about modesty limiting expression. It is a story about expression going exactly where it can be seen, which is what fashion does everywhere.

Methodology

Figures are drawn from Shopify order data for fajrnoor.com covering orders placed between 22 September 2025 and 21 September 2026. Categories analysed: 4,334 abaya and long-garment orders across 39 colourways, 2,723 hijab orders across 29 colourways, and 1,373 hijab cap orders across 9 colourways. Share is calculated as a percentage of orders.

The cap range is narrower than the abaya range, so the comparison is directional rather than exact. This is one Australian retailer's order data and not a survey of Muslim women.

If you would like to cite these figures, please link back to this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What colour hijab cap is most popular?

Black, at 57.1% of 1,373 cap orders in our data, followed by white at 24.8% and nude at 18.1%. No other colour registers meaningfully.

Why are hijab caps usually black?

Because a cap is chosen to disappear rather than to be seen. Black matches most hair, nude matches skin, and white exists for wearing under sheer scarves where a dark cap would show through.

Should my hijab cap match my hijab?

Usually no. Match it to your skin tone at the forehead so it disappears. The exception is sheer fabric such as chiffon, where the cap shows through and should match the scarf instead.

How many hijab caps do I need?

Two colours cover most situations, one black and one close to your skin tone. That combination accounts for roughly three quarters of the cap orders in our data.

Does this mean modest fashion is not colourful?

The opposite. Across visible garments, women chose from 39 abaya and 29 hijab colourways and black took under a quarter of orders in both. Colour collapses only in the layer nobody sees.

Can I cite these figures?

Yes. Please attribute them to Fajr Noor and link to this page so readers can see the methodology.