I recently got the go-ahead from my boss to purchase a couple of
these for some upcoming conferences. If you're not familiar, the outfit consists of a knee length tunic (kameez), loose fitting pants that are long enough to pool at the ankles (salwar), and a scarf (dupatta). They are typically worn with shoes like
thesePros of the salwar kameez
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I think my appropriation alarm bells wouldn't go off so much if it were a garment inspired by a national costume or traditional form of dress instead of a replica of said clothing. But even some garments "inspired" by clothing from other cultures is problematic for me.
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules on this subject. Maybe that is why it makes people so uncomfortable. There are as many different opinions on whether or not something is appropriative and why as there are members of this community it sometimes seems! But, personally, I would rather err on the side of caution.
As for Kyrgyzstan - would that be Kyrgyzstani or Kyrgyzstanian? - traditional dress.... Why would you be wearing it? Again, I'm no authority on this, but I would tend to think it was just fine if you were wearing it to a gathering that celebrated heritage whereas if you were just wearing it to the mall it would feel more inappropriate to me. I don't remember who brought it up but I was reading a blog entry a while back that discussed the way viewers can't know certain things about the way we dress. A viewer on the street, for example, might not realize you were wearing, say, a 1950s dress and apron ironically and instead would have their prejudicial opinions about women and their place reinforced.
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Why comment back to me at all then? Because I would rather be ignored than belittled.
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Obviously, in the end we can't control what people assume about us based on what we're wearing, and we can't know the intent behind what strangers wear. My own tendency is to err on the side of caution and avoid wearing anything that makes me feel like I have to elaborately explain my intentions to people. In my case that means I'm cool wearing vintage/retro stuff, but not wearing overtly ethnic stuff. But that's me, and clearly everyone is different.
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