Appropriation vs Appreciation
Cultural appreciation is when the piece of clothing that is being worn is meant as a sign of a person respecting a culture and not meant to be harmful in any aspect. This can take the form of wearing the clothing of a specific culture during a holiday or getting a tattoo influenced by a culture other than your own. Appreciation means that a person knows and/or respects the meaning attached to the article of clothing and wants to show their respect instead of simply liking the design or wearing it as a form of mocking a group or culture. Appreciation is possible when the person wearing the clothes has knowledge of what they are wearing such as where it came from and why it is special.
We will define cultural appropriation as wearing clothes from a certain culture, religion or group of people in a way that would be deemed offensive and in poor taste. This can be in the form of wearing pieces such as a Jewish Kip pah or wearing a Native American War Bonnet (headdress). Wearing clothing that has a specific meaning to a group or culture without the proper knowledge of the piece is what we will consider appropriation. Appropriation can take many forms but the key aspect is that someone can be offended by the article of clothing.
Appreciation
Appropriation
The difference between appropriating a culture and appreciating it is a very thin and subjective line. Before we can reveal where this line is we must define both terms.