Many travelers don berets to tour Paris or buy floral Aloha shirts the day they land in Hawai‘i. Dressing like a local when you go to a new place can be a way to fit in and immerse yourself in a new destination. “Adopting sartorial codes and social mores is a form of recognition and gratitude,” says Denise N. Green, a Cornell University professor of apparel design.
Still, if you’re purchasing and putting on a piece of clothing that represents a particular place or people, there’s a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. It’s OK to slip on a kilt in Scotland, a kimono in Japan, or a sari in India, particularly for a celebration. But other pieces (an Indigenous headdress, red-and-black striped shuka cloth from East Africa’s Maasai tribe) might be considered offensive or insensitive.
That’s particularly true if a garment has religious symbolism. When in doubt, ask before you buy or wear that Egyptian tunic or Indigenous Australian necklace.
“Wearing something from another culture in a way that demeans, ridicules, or lampoons it is clearly inappropriate, unethical, and harmful,” says Green. “On the other hand, wearing a culturally appropriate garment in the community of origin, for a special event like a wedding or when a particular dress code is expected, can be an act of appreciation.”
Here are five cultures that invite you to dress up and join the party.
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Stroll around Honolulu’s Waikīkī Beach, and you’ll find dozens of brightly lit ABC Stores stocked with snacks, souvenirs, and Aloha shirts. The iconic short-sleeved button-downs—often in flamboyant prints (coconut trees, pineapples, sea turtles)—could put anyone into an instant vacation mood.
But they’re also favored by locals, especially politicians and businesspeople. “In Hawai‘i, Aloha shirts are worn nearly everywhere and by everyone,” says Chelle Pahinui, executive director of the Nā‘ālehu Theatre on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. “If you go to a celebratory evening, nearly every man is wearing a Sig Zane [a popular local brand].”
Aloha shirts originated in the islands in the 1930s, often made by Japanese immigrants using kimono fabric. Over the years, the fabrics evolved along with Hawai‘i’s multiethnic community—silk from Chinese immigrants, rice bags from Japanese immigrants, and palaka, a plaid introduced by 18th- and 19th-century English sailors. The prints began to reflect Hawaiian culture: canoes, rainbows, surfers.
(Explore the history behind Hawaiian hula.)
Good Aloha shirts have coconut or shell buttons and come from island companies such as Kāhala, Kamehameha, Sig Zane, and David Shepard. “Everyone—from presidents to beach boys—loves Aloha shirts,” says Pahinui. “And if you put one on outside of Hawai‘i, you’ll find a little piece of paradise.”
Caftans, described in the Bible as robes that fell below the knees, have been worn as far back as ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq). Usually long-sleeved and buttonless, the garments were sported by sultans and high-ranking officials during the Ottoman Empire between the 14th and 18th centuries. They migrated to North Africa (Morocco, Algeria) in the 16th century.
Today, men and women across the Middle East, North Africa, and Senegal wear caftans in styles from formal (silk, velvet) to workaday (wool, the better to keep off desert dust). In 2023, both Algeria and Morocco nominated the garment for inclusion on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage.
Western designers, including Diane von Furstenberg and Tory Burch, have long been inspired by the caftan. But up-and-coming Moroccan designers—Lamia Lakhsassi, Salma Lazrak, and Houda Serbouti—are also putting new spins on them. One of the best places to buy (and wear them) is Marrakech. Try La Maison Du Caftan or Karim Bouriad for a wide selection.
Globetrotters might recognize the kebaya, a jacket-like blouse with an inset panel, as part of the uniform donned by flight attendants on Singapore Airlines or Malaysian Airlines. Thought to be a shortened descendent of the Middle Eastern caftan, they came to Southeast Asia via maritime trade routes and were popular with women for their modest flair. “The kebaya holds a lot of significance within our multicultural community in Singapore and Southeast Asia,” says Ratianah Tahir, owner of Kebaya by Ratianah in Singapore. “It’s often worn at formal special events and weddings.”
(Learn about an ancient—and stylish—community still thriving in Singapore.)
Kebayas are fashioned in different shapes, silhouettes, and fabrics throughout Southeast Asia. In 2023, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand jointly nominated the traditional blouse to be included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage.
In Singapore, kebayas come in rainbow pastels, embroidered with flora and fauna motifs. Buy them at boutiques in the Katong, Joo Chiat, and Kampong Gelam neighborhoods. Though traditionally paired with matching sarongs, the blouses can be worn over a dress, skirt, or even with jeans. “This is our current generation’s way of appreciating and wearing the kebaya that is relevant and reflective of their lifestyle today,” says Raymond Wong, creative and fashion director of Rumah Kim Choo, a Singapore cultural center. “It’s a living culture.”
If you’re headed to a fiesta, wedding, or other party in Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, or South Florida, chances are you’ll see someone in a linen or cotton guayabera shirt. The button-downs have pointed collars, four patch pockets (two at the chest, two at the waist), and embroidered pleats or alforzas.
The crisp shirts were probably first seen in the 18th-century, but their exact origins are hazy. Was the first guayabera made for a farmer (those pockets seem ideal for seeds or tools), or did it evolve from a Spanish military uniform? Though the 1959 Cuban revolution temporarily stilled that island’s passion for the shirts, they immigrated to Florida with craftspeople like Ramón Puig, whose eponymous store and factory has been operating—first in Cuba, then in West Miami—since 1943.
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To learn more, see HistoryMiami Museum’s online exhibit The Guayabera: A Shirt’s Story, which details the anatomy of the shirt (lightweight, straight hem, decorative buttons) and how it got its name. (Some stories say that the pockets were meant to hold guayabas or guavas.) “The guayabera had humble beginnings, but it evolved into a fashion phenomenon,” says Michael Knoll, a curator at the museum.
The small town of Tekit in Mexico’s Yucatán state is known as the Capital of Guayabera. Many of its residents craft the shirts in family-run workshops and, each summer, the annual Guayabera Fair draws thousands of fashion conscious visitors.
Embroidered with flowers and scalloped leaves, colorful “San Antonino dresses” fill Historic Market Square in downtown San Antonio, Texas. Ubiquitous at Texas parties—especially San Antonio’s annual spring Fiesta, the frocks get their names from San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Mexico, the picturesque Oaxaca town where they are made.
“So many small details go into the dresses and blouses,” says Tressa Castro, owner of Nativa, a San Antonio, Texas, boutique that sells them. “Their nickname is hazme si puedes, or make me if you can, due to their intricacy.”
(See how young Oaxacans are making traditional clothing new.)
Travel to either San Antonio or Oaxaca, and you’ll see the dresses and blouses on tourists, locals, and even Day of the Dead dancers. “You shouldn’t have any reservations about wearing a San Antonino dress,” says Castro. “It helps preserve the work of the artisans.”
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