By When I’m doing my rounds on social media, I obviously come across a variety of tweets, news stories, and Facebook posts that can either make me jump with glee or cringe with frustration. And on a scale from ‘like’-worthy to making me want to rip my hijab off, seeing a VERY familiar outfit on Kendall Jenner first made me smile, then made me pretty damn frustrated.
Apparently, Kendall Jenner putting on a dress over pants was dubbed by blogs as “excruciatingly cool” and a “bold trend.” Now, don’t get me wrong, Kendall Jenner can wear whatever the hell she wants — I’m not going to act like I don’t think she can pull off anything and everything. We know she can. However, the problem here isn’t Jenner’s fashion choice: it’s the way society is reacting to it.
Stop acting like you’ve never seen the combo of pants and a dress before. And if you’re still in denial, let me refresh your memory with two words: shalwar kameez. You know, the traditional ensemble of a dress over pants worn by South Asian women. When these women walk out of their house, no one is rushing to blast the Internet with how amazingly well they rock, and have always rocked, that combo. Instead, women wearing shalwar kameez are sometimes met with ridicule for dawning their traditional clothing in public.
Not to mention, the dress over pants look is a go-to outfit for Muslim women who wear headscarves because it’s modest, easy to layer, and quite frankly necessary for us with the way some dresses are cut. Some of us have been rocking this look since forever. So basically… *yawn.*
A celebrity decides to try out a cultural go-to outfit and suddenly blogs make it sound like she’s the first one to ever wear it. Maybe if we regarded other cultures in the same light, they would have made this fashionable discovery years ago. For now, this one’s a little late, and, frankly, definitely not as “cool.”
Image by Disney ABC.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rY-tp8Iphwc/0.jpg
Meena Kumari kills all.
Totally agree. I wear dresses and jeans together like everyday and people think it’s stupid and weird at my school, but now it’s okay?
I see the similarities (ive looked up what a shalwar kameez is), but I believe the Vietnamese “ao dai” can be considered more similar. Just an opinion.
Come on, people! You want to say “we” and call that a shalwar?! That’s not a shalwar, people! It’s a pyjama, if anything. So Kurta Pyjama would have been the right equivalent. Or the “ao dai”, as someone mentioned.
are you serious? It is chic because it is all white! The most petty article ever. Stop trying to make EVERYTHING about muslim girls.
Muslim Girls Know Their Fashion 🙂 Sweetheart.
LOL, you are seriously grouping all muslim girls together? SMH
The author is making something out of nothing . Western style is different from eastern style. Also, did she acknowledge that other cultures where a tunic and pant combo. You guys sound so petty on this site. Why dont you get a real life in the real world.
Sister amina, if u think d author n d blog is so petty then pls jus don’t read dis blog!
I did not know it was going to be petty. I can read things I dislike. That is like telling people who don’t support Donald Trump not to listen to his speeches.
It is true that her outfit is similar to salwar kameez, however it is more like a dress with leggings and even then I would not wear the dress as it has a huge slit. I always wear dresses and leggings or dresses and jeans to school and it is seen as normal and ‘cute’ or ‘cool’.