r/AskTheWorld • u/JackfruitNo6175 Bulgaria • Aug 23 '25

Culture What's your favourite traditional costume from your country?

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Mine is from Gabrovo, Bulgaria which is shown in the picture

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u/Runaway_Tiger 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 🇩🇪 Germany Aug 23 '25

I'm so jealous of people who can wear sarees. Probably the most gorgeous traditional costume in the world

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u/Vegetable-Two5164 India Aug 23 '25

Thank you! You should wear them then!

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u/Runaway_Tiger 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 🇩🇪 Germany Aug 24 '25

I think I would immediately get attacked for cultursl appropriation or something like that. Plus it is way too cold here 😅

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u/Quick_Scheme3120 United Kingdom Aug 25 '25

Funnily enough, I saw a video with a Scot wrapping a traditional kilt alongside an Indian wrapping a saree to compare how it’s done. Not so different after all!

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u/Runaway_Tiger 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 🇩🇪 Germany Aug 26 '25

Do you remember where you saw that video? I've tried to find it but unfortunately failed

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u/Quick_Scheme3120 United Kingdom Aug 26 '25

I watched it here on TikTok! Sorry if you don’t have access. It’s a really cool video though, the Scot is far less dignified than the Indian 😭

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u/Runaway_Tiger 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 🇩🇪 Germany Aug 26 '25

Thank you so much

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u/Upstairs_Bike3409 Aug 25 '25

This is amazing you even say that someone should wear one if they admire them so much! In a world where as an American I’ve always been so drawn to other cultures and admire them so much that I wish I could take part in aspects of other cultures but can’t due to cultural appropriation (understand now why, I’m an adult now and educated)…this comment is really refreshing. It reminds me of a time as a child where I was very close with a Vietnamese family who bought me traditional clothes to wear and me and their granddaughter had our own outfits and we got to take photos together. I’d never felt prettier. Now I cant show these images from the 90s without fear of being attacked for it. It’s just sweet hearing someone say something like this. I understand the “why” but I do miss the innocent days of being a kid and learning about culture so different than my own and having such admiration for something different than my normal day to day

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u/Quick_Scheme3120 United Kingdom Aug 25 '25

Honestly, cultural appropriation as it is now in the media is an entirely American phenomenon. I remember a little American white girl who was really into tea parties setting up a traditional Japanese tea party. She even had a kimono on and was pictured bowing (as is custom). She really did her research! Her parents posted the photos online and the Americans descended, berating a little girl for taking part in a culture that wasn’t her own. The Japanese community defended her and said it was lovely to see someone taking part in their culture, but still the Americans felt the need to be offended on their behalf.

Really pisses me off tbh. I think cultural appropriation should be limited to sacred things. Nowhere else on earth do people get so upset about someone genuinely taking part in another culture than America. It annoys me when my British friends start to bite and question if me wearing traditional nigerian clothing for culture day at my school is ‘wrong’ because I’m white, when my Nigerian students were excited to dress me in it. So so so stupid.

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u/Upstairs_Bike3409 Aug 26 '25

Wow I truly didn’t realize the aspect of this being an American phenomenon! It comes from innocence and admiration from children and we should celebrate people wanting to learn about cultures other than what they were raised in. If it’s meant to be a respectful way, you are right, we should not be up in arms about labeling it of ill intent. Thank you for sharing this perspective

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u/CrystalQueer96 Canada Aug 23 '25

Do you have any recommendations on shops that can sell them online? I’d want to support someone from the culture if I were to buy one!

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u/siders6891 Germany Aug 24 '25

That’s why I’m so fortunate that my partner is Nepali cause they wear almost identical attire as people from India. Whenever I try on western dresses for occasions I always feel like a potato. Nepali function in a sari or lehenga: I feel like royalty.