Kendall and Kylie fashion appropriation of the chola aesthetic

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 shirts with accessories like hoop earrings, The Guardian notes.

It’s insensitive for Kendall and Kylie’s brand (or anyone else, for that matter) to commercialize a culture that isn’t their own, for their own gain ― and a marginalized culture at that.

“So many young girls want to emulate the [chola] look and have no idea of the cultural background or street politics associated with it,” model Hellabreezy, who identifies as a modern-day chola, told Vice in 2015. “It’s easy for young privileged girls to want to have the look, but when they are done dressing up in their ‘chola costume,’ they don’t have to go back home to the hood and deal with discrimination, violence, and poverty.”

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