Can I wear this dress as a white woman?

[4fingerKitKat]

I found a secondhand dress and I was really drawn to the bold print. It’s by the designer Kemi Telford who is of Nigerian heritage and her clothes are very influenced by this.

I love the dress in abstract as an item of clothing but trying it on I’m not sure I feel completely comfortable wearing it.

The dress similar to this one:

https://kemitelford.com/collections/dresses/products/green-vine-button-down-dress

Is it cultural appropriation? Or just too jarring? Or is it fine? I don’t know.

There are white models on the website.

Doesn't look particularly African to me.

Just wear it.

I've got a pair of cowboy boots, I'm nowhere near the Wild West!

Yes, it's fine, I understand your concern and I think it's good that you're sensitive to it - however she used to use lots of white influencers to promote her clothes.

I think it’s not unethical if you buy it from elsewhere. I had some African print slides sandals which were trendy a few years ago, am sure they came from maybe Zara?

My friends who are eg Nigerian, British Indian etc wouldn’t care either way either.

Of course you can. Wearing a dress made by someone of Nigerian heritage isn't cultural appropriation.

It’s a dress, of course you can wear it.

I have a couple of dresses made from material from Tanzania, given to me by a Tanzanian friend, no way would I refuse to use it on cultural grounds, if she doesn't have an issue with white women wearing African cloth why should I?

That's said I don't like the dress op, neckline is too high for me

Oh - also, I’m Scottish- anyone not Scottish wondering if they can wear tartan - you have my permission!

I’ve got a few KT skirts and dresses and I’m white/blonde. Like PP said KT got a fair bit of traction from white influencers promoting her wares and used a mix of models for her campaigns.

Yes you can!!!
I lived in Africa for a bit and they love when people from other places would wear their clothes. 💖
The pattern is gorgeous and very 70's. I love it.

Why on earth would you even need to ask this? People from other cultures wear whatever they like without a thought for cultural appropriation. It's not, or shouldn't be at least, a one sided issue.

Of course you can. I was expecting a full on Kenyan wedding dress when I clicked that link. It's a typical dress in a bold pattern, you don't have to have a particular heritage to wear it.

While not a Kemi Telford item, I had similar concerns wearing a head wrap made from African wax fabric.

Due to cancer treatment, I have little hair at the moment, so wear a head wrap, usually a silk scarf or a square of cotton. Today, I wore a new purchase African wax fabric, and a print I had seen in Stella Jean's collections and always admired. As a Caucasian woman, I was a little worried about the cultural appropriation nature of it. However, during my hospital appointment, one of the radiologists commented on it and how lovely it looked. I asked her if it was ok to wear it, and she said absolutely. (She also mentioned that she's spotted my head wraps before and think I tie them beautifully. I was thrilled by this!)

You would be buying a Nigerian influenced dress by a Nigerian heritage female designer. Win win.

Yes. There's a white woman modelling another dress on the site anyway. It's an ugly dress to me but you should wear whatever you want.

Pretty sure the business model is not no white people.

yes. Reminds me of the dresses Kirsty Allsop wears.

Bang on trend then!

As long as you're a rich white woman, with that pricetag!

I’ve got quite a few KT sundresses, absolutely love them! I’m white and middle aged from ooop north!

Oh it’s beautiful. I’d wear it.

Who cares???

I honestly couldn't imagine any person I know in real life giving a shit about this.

Woman designs dress.
Woman buys dress.

Why does it matter? Stop being so racist.

I love the colour and print .

People are weird on here.

I once asked in here for thoughts on a dress I had my eye one - a korean style design (modern) style with a high waist, long skirt (plain but quite Asian inspired). Was told by some posters that I couldn’t possibly wear it because it was ‘appropriation’. It wasn’t like it was a geisha dress and hairstyle/makeup🙄.

I wear a lot of jewellery from the ME (my family send it to me - traditional style, some antique) so I’m just waiting to be told that I’m ’not supposed’ to wear that too.

I used to work in Tanzania and got a fair few dresses made to measure there. Ridiculously cheap compared to Europe but dressmakers earn well by local standards.

Tanzanians certainly didn't mind. It would be sad if people became siloed to the point of sticking to 'their own' fashion....