How is Hispanic culture appropriated in the fashion industry?

"N ative, Latina, and black girls have been pushing boundaries and trends with what little monetary means we have for as long as the collective american fashion memory exists; it’s been us who have been making and wearing jewelry considered gaudy, cheap, and obnoxious, it’s been us making fashion statements our of dollar tube tops and high waisted leggings, it’s been us doing our hair tight or big, we are the origin of resourcefulness, girls on reservations and in the poorest neighborhoods were drawing on their beauty marks and getting glossy long before girls on Instagram, we are queens of the dollar store and beauty shop, and it astounds me that not only are these looks being taken without a nod to the source, they are being put at designer price points. meanwhile we’re still out here doing our highlighter with two dollar shimmer eye shadow and scrubbing thrifted white Adidas shoes clean with plastic toothbrushes, and we’re looking great" 

Chicano, feminine form Chicana, identifier for people of Mexican descent born in the United States. The term came into popular use by Mexican Americans as a symbol of pride during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s. The Chicano community created a strong political and cultural presence in response to years of social oppression and discrimination in a predominantly Caucasian American society. Like most historically disenfranchised groups in the United States, some Mexican Americans have taken the term Chicano, previously considered a pejorative word, and used it to empower themselves. Today, the term Chicano is an essential component of the community’s revitalization and renewed sense of hope and pride. Regaining and regenerating the term Chicano, and having Chicanismo (an identity embracing the political consciousness of the Mexicans’ history in the United States), was the first step toward releasing the psychological barriers in the minds of many Mexican Americans. Initially, Chicana/...

“Oversized” is a widely-used adjective to describe the clothing purveyed by some of the hottest brands today. As we presumably continue to get bombarded with elongated fits, it’s important to note that this baggy aesthetic was first made popular by the Mexican American youth who belonged to a street gang in Southern California . Whether it’s the high-waisted zoot suits worn by Pachucos in the ’30s-’40s or the buttoned-down flannels sported by Cholos in the ’60s-’70s, Chicano motifs have long been implemented on the racks and catwalks over the years. From budding labels to high fashion houses, many industry players have more or less leeched off the subculture that was initially spawned from social oppression experienced by Latino locales since the Mexican Repatriation of 1929 —an unfortunate circumstance when the U.S. government deported approximately 2 million people of Mexican descent. The list of brands who have added new threads to this intricate web of Chicano appropriation keep...

Hoop earrings as a form of cultural appropriation? Along with hair scrunchies, ripped jeans and body glitter, hoop earrings are, to many people, simply a current fashion trend . To others, however, they carry a lot more meaning, and one woman has now called out hoop earrings as a form of cultural appropriation . Ruby Pivet is a Latina writer who has suggested that hoop earrings should be seen in the same light as bindis, braids and Native American headdresses. “Hoops exist across many minority groups as symbols of resistance, strength and identity,” she wrote for Vice. “I was three years old when my paternal grandparents visited Australia for the first time, the gift of hoop earrings in tow.  “Much to my grandmother’s horror, my ears were un-pierced. During her visit, that changed. I began to navigate the world as a first generation Australian of mixed heritage, small gold hoops dangling from my earlobes.” In the UK, hoop earrings certainly haven’t always been seen as partic...

         Appropriation of the Blackletter Font in      modern fashion Today in Mexico blackletter can be found mostly in folk functional graphics such as fascia lettering, signage, do-it-yourself advertisements and labels; it has also proven its popularity in tattoos, concert posters and less – but still present – in graffiti. Don't be mistaken by the contents of this book and believe that most folk Mexican lettering a set in blackletter, however. Unquestionably, most folk graphics use roman type in its serif or sans serif versions. The purpose of this book is to show the presence and anatomy of blackletter in contemporary Mexico, and no examples of roman type are included. The blackletter that adorns countless small stores, shops and service providers all over Mexico has a long history that today enjoys a wholly Mexican twist that caters to the everyday needs of people, from plumbers to cobblers and everything in between. More than a way t...

                          Rihanna and Karreuche Thankfully, Halloween is over and we have a respite before being bombarded again with insensitive and downright racist costumes. This year, Rihanna and Karreuche Tran did their best to compete with Julianne Hough for the Most Culturally Insensitive Celebrity Costume award. Each posted pictures to Instagram and labelled their costumes “chola”. Rihanna went so far as to far as to give herself the chola name shygirl. These costumes are offensive and perpetuate racist stereotypes that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are violent, gang affiliated thugs. Mora (2011) speaks about the cholo stereotype in Hollywood film which portrays Mexicans/Mexican-Americans (in particular the youth) as abject who threaten the social order and how this negative archetype influences how police and the majority culture actually treat youth from this population .  The result is margina...

        The Jenners 'unintentional' Cultural appropriation scandal Kendall and Kylie Jenner are no strangers to accusations of cultural appropriation, and now a recent Instagram post by their clothing line has the Internet talking again. The sisters are under fire for a since-deleted photo of a plaid shirt from their Kendall + Kylie clothing line that was posted to Instagram last week. It showed a model wearing the shirt buttoned only at the top and worn over a black bustier with black slacks and hoop earrings. These are elements of chola style, as Refinery notes: Women of this Mexican-American subculture are known for wearing baggy pants and flannels buttoned at the top, among other style choices like dark lip liner and thin brows. As Teen Vogue notes, the top itself isn’t the issue, but rather the styling . Non-Latino celebrities like Rihanna and Gwen Stefani have also invited criticism from the Latino community and beyond for pairing unbuttoned plaid shi...

                            Lana Del Rey  Lana’s portrayal of Latino/Cholo culture in her short film 'Tropico’ is only a small piece of the actual stereotyped depiction of Latino American culture , but it is still a huge issue, due to her enormous, young adult following. As a woman of Hispanic descent, I do not feel offended because cholo culture is not one that I feel represents an entire culture of people, or even specifically my cultural group. Of course, we should make the space for actual Latinas/Latinos to speak about whether this image that Lana is portraying is actually an act of cultural appropriation. If a Latina says it’s fine with her, then end of argument right? I also think that we need to shift the focus to what Lana is trying to do. Is Lana celebrating Latino culture or cholo/gangster culture? How do we know if she’s celebrating it or exploiting it? How do we know if white people genuinely wa...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Stefani's been ripping them off basically forever. It's the "chola look," a Mexican-American female aesthetic that's now being appropriated by celebrities. Think white sleeveless undershirts, Dickies pants with suspenders, thinly plucked eyebrows, maroon lips with a lot of liner, big Aquanet-enabled bangs, and a general " don't mess with me" vibe . Gwen Stefani is perhaps the poser Chola-in-chief. In her music video for “Luxurious” she wore chanclas and shirts with old English lettering. Even La Virgen de Guadalupe makes an appearance. Gwen Stefani, whose 2004 Luxurious video places her as the only (blonde, glimmering) white chola at a Mexican American barbecue, reflecting her upbringing in the majority-Latino city of Anaheim, California . “I love other cultures, but I was most influenced where I grew up in Anaheim, two hours from the Mexico border. The girls in class would use a safety pin to separate their three-week-ol...