The Jenner sisters have a clothing brand, Kendall + Kylie. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
The INSIDER Summary:
Kendall and Kylie Jenner released a black-and-white plaid shirt through their clothing brand Kendall + Kylie.
Kendall + Kylie posted a now-deleted photo of the $145 shirt worn over a lace crop top with baggy pants and hoop earrings on Instagram.
The Shade Room captured a screenshot showing people's comments arguing that the way the shirt was styled appropriates Chola culture.
Flannel shirts are a big part of Chola style, which typically "relate[s] to a specific subculture of first- and second-generation Mexican American girls influenced by hip-hop," according to the Guardian.
The Jenners haven't addressed the accusations, and the shirt is still for sale.
One of the latest product releases from their clothing brand Kendall + Kylie — a black-and-white plaid shirt that retails for $145 — is no less controversial. Teen Vogue reports that some people claim the way the label styled the shirt appropriates Chola culture.
On August 27, Kendall + Kylie shared an Instagram photo of the shirt on a model with just the top two buttons done up, worn over a lace crop top paired with baggy black pants. The model's face is cropped out of the photo but her hoop earrings are visible.
Although the Instagram photo no longer appears on Kendall + Kylie's account, Teen Vogue points out that The Shade Room took a screenshot of the image as well as some angry comments from Instagram users.
A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on Aug 26, 2017 at 6:26pm PDTAug 26, 2017 at 6:26pm PDT
In the comments of Kendall + Kylie's original post, one person wrote: "NOW THEY'RE TRYING TO BE CHOLAS DO THEY EVER STOP CULTURAL APPROPRIATING." Another commented: "LMFAO WHAT ARE YOU TRYING SCAM OUTTA BROWN CULTURE," while someone else called the look "disrespectful."
While a few people commented on The Shade Room's post arguing that the plaid shirt isn't offensive, one person replied to point out that it's "not about the flannel" but rather "the way they styled [and] sell it" that is insensitive.
The social media user continued: "Wearing or selling a flannel = normal, wearing or selling a flannel with just one bottom closed, a crop top underneath, baggy pants & hoop earrings = clearly a chola culture knock off. This style was worn by people that were mostly poor and it is not ok for these white privileged girls to sell it for hundreds of $ and calling it their own design & that's the issue."
Teen Vogue points to a Guardian article describing the nuances of Chola style. The article's author Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Chola style typically "relate[s] to a specific subculture of first- and second-generation Mexican American girls influenced by hip-hop, enamoured with lowrider cars, and sometimes associated with gangs."
She explains that flannel shirts are a big part of the Chola look. "The chola look itself is geared around the hair, but extends to the following: dark lipliner with a lighter lipstick, cat-eye glasses, baggy Dickies denim or khakis, oversized flannels buttoned up to the top, gold chains with crucifixes or St Christopher medals dangling at the end and the aforementioned skyscraper bangs."
Though Kendall + Kylie appear to have removed their post of the shirt, the item is still available for people to buy on the website, which says it's low in stock.
As yet, the Jenners haven't addressed the accusations. In the past, they apologized for causing offense with their line of heavily criticized T-shirts on which they printed their faces over famous musicians.
Read the original article on INSIDER. Copyright 2017.
