I would like to reflect on the post Swagga-Style by Aleah Baaqee. Although I strongly disagree with her views on fashion and its relation race, I find her way of thinking deeply intriguing. Aleah uses a term that really got me to thinking, "interracial fashion." I would like to know, what does this mean?
As someone who is half Black I definitely see where Aleah is coming from, and it is an idea that a lot of Black people share. In the past thirty years Hip-Hop fashion, which is often perceived as "Black fashion," has become mainstream. Hip-Hop has become a vital part of American culture and it has allowed Black people to be expressive in a way that I feel is beautiful. Hip-Hop and black culture has been accessible
to all ethnicites for the past three decades and Black culture has assimilated and become a core part of American culture.
Although I recognize where Aleah's thought process comes from, I still deeply question what she is saying. I have always felt that all types of fashion are open to everyone no matter what color their skin may be. We should be at a place in our society where we do not question why a person wear what they wear in relation to race. I feel that there is no defined Black fashion.
I would like you to look at the two pictures that I posted above, and think deeply if these two mean are even remotely dressed like each other. I think not. Styles that are often perceived as "Black fashion" originated in ways that many Black people would not be proud of or want to claim as their own. For example, Sagging pants was a style that originated in jail. I am going to go ahead and assume that anyone reading this realizes that Black people are not the only ethnicity of people that go to jail. Aleah, as a black person, you are saying that your culture should be closed off to all other ethnicities but how is that any different from the way that White people used to exclude Blacks from expressing themselves freely?
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