Keffiyeh Scarf

[tangerine]

Please stay on the topic of the keffiyeh as an article of clothing and refrain from political debate. Your cooperation and understanding are appreciated.

 

[UNiQFashionista]

sorry tang..i was getting frustrated..I didnt and dont want to turn into politics... i just had to clarify for the last time

 

[avatare]

anybody think that the pattern of Balenciaga scarf it´s keffiyeh?

 

[Lena]

i think he's using a kahfiyah 'inspiration' but not the actual traditional pattern

scrol back for the balenciaga look

 

[beaverhausen]

Yeah, the pattern looks a little 'off' from the traditional kahfiyah pattern to me

 

[xmodel citizen]

sorry tang..i was getting frustrated..I didnt and dont want to turn into politics... i just had to clarify for the last time

Actually, my point is more to do with rampant commercialism and the exploitation of cultures for "fashion" purposes. I lived in a town next to two Indian reservations and attended school on one of them. It's sad to see the effects of exploitation. I don't find it acceptable to take the traditions of another culture and mass-market it to people who have no idea about the culture. And in this particular instance it is so extremely ironic given our world's current climate. I hope that's not political

 

[Lena]

^ we do live in an exploiting society, it's called the 'melting pot'
no tradition is possibly safe

 

[xmodel citizen]

I agree, yes, but that doesn't mean it's right. And I usually don't have a problem with introducing new cultures into the mix if it's done in an intelligent, respectful way. Like, if we see a sari, we know that it's a part of the Indian culture. But I think with this, it's beyond ironic. I mean, this is being marketed to people in the US and UK mainly. I know someone who is in love with UO and doesn't exactly think about what's behind the clothing she buys it's just like "Oooooh, shiny!". I guess that's OK for some people, but I dunno, I think it's disrespectful, and in this case, so extremely weird. I happen to adore learning about new cultures (I want to study anthropology), but I think to most people, they don't care about what they put on their body.

Some might say, "Oh, it's just fashion", but is it? I think fashion is extremely important given first of all that we have to wear clothing at the risk of arrest, but it also it plays an integral part in how people perceive us.

 

[CelineChic]

sometimes i dont want to visit this thread because i dont like to repeat myself..
Xmodel- if you get your sources from wikipedia- then i dont blame you for being confused.
Being Arabic myself- I know my culture....IT IS ONLY A TRADITIONAL HEAD DRESS..that men in the middle east wore for centuries...
I do understand however, that when people who say for example go on protests or pro-palestine demonstrations will wear it- as Yassir Arafat did...so they can show which side they are on...but as everyman especially in the gulf coutries, wear it.(they are required to wear it to work).they dont mean anything political by it...neither do the beduins of jordan,syria ,iraq and lebanon....its like saying the viel(hijab) is political and its not..its religious..and the kofiyyah is cultural and traditional... I understand the confusion..as you are not from that region
I remember when I wore a cap that has the saudi arabian flag (which is green, and has arabic written on it in white) to school (in the states) and a bunch of students came up to me asking me why am I wearing the palestinian suicide wrap thing!! HAHAA...and then i realized that some palestinian groups wrap their martyers in it because it has a religious saying on it..so some ppl now connect it to palestine..i had to exaplin to them that its just the flag of my country and has nothing to do with palestine or certain political groups..

You're Saudi too? I thought you were Lebanese?

 

[cosmicangel]

Do the Olsen twins wear a keffiyah?

there aren't any pics of the twins wearing the keffiyah (in candids & events) .

 

[cheepmunk]

I really like the kahfiyah-inspired patterns, but I'm still squicked by the commercialism associated with the scarves.

I don't find it acceptable to take the traditions of another culture and mass-market it to people who have no idea about the culture.

Yeah, exactly. I think I would actually be okay with people who like the kahfiyah pattern wearing the scarf because they find it attractive, as long as they knew something about where it came from and why others wear it. I guess what it comes down to is that I believe that fashion (or anything, really) should not be solely about personal gratification, but that it should come with some social responsibility as well.

I personally would never wear this scarf...and not because I don't like the design or because I'm overwhelmingly pro-Israel. Politics is a touchy subject, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone or make a bad impression by wearing the scarf...especially in a professional setting.

I agree with you completely. Whatever one's reasons for wearing the scarf, the absolute last place it belongs is in a profesisonal setting. I've had to work in environments in which political discussions were rampant, and it's very difficult to have an employer or a group of co-workers shove their political views -- whatever they may be -- in your face. I know people often don't mean anything by it, but can still be frustrating.

(Sorry about my last post, Lena. I got a little carried away. I won't do it again. Well, I'll try my hardest not to. )

 

[UNiQFashionista]

celine- im saudi- born and bred..
what mde you think im lebanese?

 

[CelineChic]

celine- im saudi- born and bred..
what mde you think im lebanese?

I'm also Saudi but born in Paris. For some reason I thought I read a post where you said that you were Lebanese. I'm probably thinking about someone else on TFS.

 

[missy-t1]

I wear my keffiyah (the Palestinian one- the patterns are slightly different) I love it.. keeps you cool and warm the material is really soft too
But my family take the mick and say I might get attacked one day.. ! :S

 

[contiguous]

I was under the impression that Urban Outfitters had stopped selling their "anti-war" keffiyah with a statement and all, yet they are back on the mannequins in different colors and being sold again. Why go back on their recall from a few months ago?

 

[Alexandra8715]

argh i sympathise with everyone who thinks this trend is really shallow and annoying. 3 of my friends have taken to wearing the trendy Urban outfitters modified ones. I mentioned something about the scarf's significance to my friend when I saw her wearing hers for the first time thinking that she might know what it meant. Alas, she just looked at me blankly. I'm not going to bother with the other two.
I think it's a symptom of Western culture's materialism which in my opinion has gotten worse (probs somethign to do with all that rubbish NME/Myspace stuff) People don't care about what things mean anymore, it's just about looking cool.

(I think my signiture succinctly explains what I mean)

 

[kisa]

You can't expect everyone to know what every symbol means. They saw something being offered to them in a store, liked it, and bought it. I assume everyone here also buys things in stores without doing EXTENSIVE research of the origin of the garment's design or manufacture. Why is this scarf so special that everyone who wears it just for fashion is considered so shallow? I think assuming someone's political views and morality based on a scarf is shallow.

 

[Lena]

we are determined to keep this discussion cooled down,
please respect other member's views, appreciated

 

[Alexandra8715]

kisa the fact is that the kaffiyah scarf has massive political significance and the fact that most people are ignorant of this is testament to the way in which western fashion exploits something that had meaning into a money making device.
I'm not blaming the people who wear it without realising what it means. It's not their fault that they arent aware if it. It's just capitalism.

Also, I don't think there is any other 'trendy' garment out there which has anywhere near the same political significance as the kaffiyah. therefore it makes sense that we don't do massive research into the origins of the smock dress lol.

 

[Alexandra8715]

ooh actually sorry for the double post but it would be interesting if people came up with other items of clothing that have been in fashion but that also have political significance.

(I can't actually think of any though)