Wearing Gifts From Indian Friends - Cultural Appropriation?? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Dressing

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Wearing Gifts From Indian Friends - Cultural Appropriation??

Kristin W

Hi Everyone! I'm desperately seeking help with a cultural appropriation question. I am getting married soon. I have a team in India who brought me the most amazing sari with a matching outfit for my fiance and who took pictures of us wearing them while they were here. I'd like to use one of the pictures on my wedding invitations. Is that cultural appropriation? These are genuine clothes which were made by people in India and given to me by Indian friends. The profits went directly to the makers in India - not to an American exploiting the styles. My friends in India said they'd be delighted if I did, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be received well by a largely American audience. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I've been stewing over this for months!

Thanks ahead!

Kristin

Dressing

21 replies

Latest reply was from Becky

rachylou

Veteran

So I am from a very diverse town. Lots of shops. Lots of cultural exchange. I had a salwar kameez and brought it to wear in the Caribbean. My cousin’s husband is of Indian descent. He found it surprising I was wearing ‘ancient Indian clothing.’ As opposed to modern Carribean fashion. My fam... these are people who are ‘why are you wearing a one-piece bath suit?’ people, lol.

I personally am not on the fashion police bandwagon. I would have no problem with anyone wearing, for example, a cheong sam.

That said, I’d be prepared for the fashion police.

Kristin W

Thanks so much rachylou - that's exactly the kind of advice I need. I don't care about the fashion police so much as ending up on some sort of "worst cultural offenders" site as a what not to wear example.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I don't really know. But I wonder if you could include, maybe inside front cover of the card, a photo caption that acknowledges your friends' gift of the beautiful attire. Perhaps also credit the photographer, if the photo was taken by a friend. That could head off negative impressions people might have.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I m not American but I can’t say that I d have any problems with it and if you are making some people very happy by doing it,and it sounds like you would,then if it’s what you would like to do I would go for it .l think not doing things because of what other people might think is a slippery slope.l understand it’s because you are a nice person who doesn’t wish to cause offence but I hardly think that this would be a reason to be offended.Would you be offended if your Indian friends sent out similar invites with themselves dressed in western style?No ,probably not!

LaPed

Veteran

I like the idea of adding a photo caption inside the invitation; a little bit of context will go a long way, I think.

Sal

Veteran

I think it is a lovely thing if it is authentic to you and your life - which it is. Is it the only picture or not?

ophelia

Veteran

My personal opinion: I don't think it's cultural appropriation in the slightest.

NancyW

Veteran

I have so many questions about what cultural appropriation really means. You are not wearing this clothing as a costume or as a way of pretending to be born to a particular culture. Wearing a gift is such a lovely gesture to the giver. A caption on each photo would be lovely: why the place or clothing is meaningful. If using a caption for one photo I would use a caption for each one.

Roxanna

Veteran

Being of Indian descent myself, I don't think it's offensive in the least and have often given Saris or suits to friends attending a family Indian wedding. I think the caption idea is a good one in case you want to head off any debate. But to me it's a lovely example of cultures coming together.

Wise Shopper

(website)

I don't see anything inappropriate at all.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

No, it’s not cultural appropriation. It was a gift from your team in India. But I think your question is less about whether it truly would be cultural appropriation and more about how it would be received. And the answer to that is that it depends on who’s getting your invitations. Are you sending them to people who are looking to be offended or outraged by anything and everything? Or are you sending them to people whose mindset is on the drama-free side of the spectrum?

Runcarla

Veteran

What a beautiful gift to you from your work family, Kristen W. Firecracker provides the perfect solution and I bet your team will appreciate the acknowledgement.

Anonymous

Agreeing that Firecracker has the answer. A picture tells a thousand words but a few extra words might ward off some unwanted ones.

Anonymous

Yes, definitely caption the photos and acknowledge the beautiful gifts from your team! In my experience, people enjoy sharing their cultures with people that appreciate them. To me cultural appropriation is ripping off native designers or otherwise treating a group with disrespect.

elpgal

Veteran

Another person of Indian descent - agree with Sal 100%

StyleDetective

I think wearing the outfits is a lovely way to honour the gift from your team. I think if you get any questions or comments, the answer that you've given here should be more than enough to satisfy people that you haven't done wrong in choosing to wear a sari. Of if possible you can shut it down early by including captions as others have suggested.

I have a dress made from a repurposed secondhand sari (from this maker though my dress is a different colour). I guess there is an argument that it is cultural appropriation, but at the same time, the people who have loved it most have been Indian taxi drivers! It has started some great conversations about their background and their family, how the women dress where they grew up, etc.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I agree that a few words of explanation would be an excellent solution. An interesting topic - cultural exploitation vs cultural sharing. You might know it when you see it but it is hard to define.

Freckles

Veteran

I think a few words of acknowledgement is a lovely touch but not needed to be culturally appropriate.
I assume you're inviting family and loved ones to your festivities and they would be honoured to be included and excited to see what kind of invitation you send out.

fricobatman

Surely upsetting Indians (seeing as the clothes are part of their heritage/culture) is what you don’t want to do, and how the American audience feels is irrelevant? From what you age said, no Indians will be upset by your actions.

I am of Indian descent.

fricobatman

*have said. Plus, as said earlier, the American audience who may be outraged need to understand the difference between cultural exploitation and cultural sharing. It is not for the American audience to decide in this case what to be outraged about.

Becky

Veteran

So much wisdom here. I agree that you've been given a lovely gift, and enjoying it without guilt is surely the most gracious action possible.