Keffiyeh..yes or no?

[BAYsic]

They are indeed worn all around the Middle East/North Africa/South Asia.

Different colors have different political implications, the black/white print in Afghanistan tends to connote affiliation or support for the United Front/Northern Alliance.

Also, in in non-Arab countries they are not worn over the head as depicted in the above image. They are usually worn around the neck or draped over the shoulders.

 

[arsenik509]

yeah, if i was to wear one i definately wouldn't wear it over the head like arafat. i'd wear it more like the picture of reznor, just like another scarf.

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Originally Posted by BAYsic

Also, in in non-Arab countries they are not worn over the head as depicted in the above image. They are usually worn around the neck or draped over the shoulders.

In the United States they are worn by people who live in Silverlake, the Lower East Side, Williamsburgh and the Haight.

 

[globetrotter]

I used to wear one, going back 30 years or so, before there was such a strong political statement related to it. now I wear a headcovering from muscat as a scarf, it is basically a very fine wool kaffiyeh, with a flowering embrowdered patern. looks a little like a kaffiyeh, without the political issues.

I wouldn't recomend to anybody who wasn't an arab, or had very strong political views on the arab/israeli conflict to wear a keffiyeh, as it is a political statment.

 

[Arethusa]

We agree on a thing! This is rare.

 

[alliswell]

:tool: (what, no smiley?)

These were popular with thirteen year-olds when I was a kid. I'm glad to see the same mistakes repeated every generation or so.

/now get off my lawn

 

[tagutcow]

 This trend has thankfully never hit places like Greensboro, but when I do see pro-Palestine protests, people often have then folded diagonally and tied behind their heads, over their mouthes like an old-time train heist stick-up artist.

In the African grocery stores here around here, you can buy keffiyehs with Armani and Louis Vuitton logos screenprinted on them for 20 cents a pop.

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Arethusa

We agree on a thing! This is rare.

once every few years.....

 

[West24]

black and white is usually palestinian support, red and white is for jordan i think. either way i think most of the people wearing them dont even know what they stand for. i would never wear one considering im israeli.

 

[whacked]

Aestheticly, keffiyeh is about as attractive as Burberry's ubiquitious Nova check scarves IMHO. Not bad, but you can do better.

 

[redgrail]

No easy answer to this question. As previously said, different patterns are often associated with different political groupings. In Palestine, for example, black keffiyeh often means you're associated with Fatah while a red one typically signifies you have socialist leanings. Be aware of the political implications of wearing a keffiyeh. If you don't want to communicate that you sympathize with the Palestinian cause, stay away. The countless hipsters wearing keffiyehs and still very much supporting Israel and the "Israel lobby" in the US (some of them Jewish or even Israeli Jews) - it's a bit ridiculous to be honest. It's like wearing a leather biker jacket with a big Hells Angels patch while driving the kids to soccer practice in the minivan. Silly.

 

[tagutcow]

Originally Posted by redgrail

The countless hipsters wearing keffiyehs and still very much supporting Israel and the "Israel lobby" in the US (some of them Jewish or even Israeli Jews) - it's a bit ridiculous to be honest.

 Ironically, Leftist Jews form the backbone of American Pro-Palestinian movements.

 Wow, there's alot of capitalized words in that last sentence.

 

[Largo]

Huh, weird-but-timely topic. Here in good ole Thailand, the trend-calendar bounces around wildly insofar as what is in style at any given time. Some stuff trickles down from the rest of Asia and stays timely, and some things.....like say, the Keffiyeh have fairly recently arrived. They've been picking up momentum here lately, a few people, men or women in the trendier districts rock them, although there's been this strange upsurgence in skull-print tassled shawls (from Hong Kong apparently) that are reasonably popular as well, I suspect because of the um....'Keffiyeh movement'. I imagine both will only get more popular in the meanwhile.

That being said, the first few times I saw them, they were more or less presented as "Middle Eastern Scarf-Shawl Thing', and although I knew the good people of SF disliked them, the political connotations (at least past their origins) flew past me. I think they're a good versatile accessory with an interesting pattern! On the other hand, I am terrified of being seen as a huge tool, so will probably never buy one. If their political/cultural implications were a non-issue, would you still wear one?

 

[ctrlaltelite]

there are plenty of larger scarves that can be worn in the same manner as keffiyehs, i suppose right around now a nice houndstooth or buffalo check patterned scarf would be approriate considering the types of patterns that are prevalent.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by whacked

Aestheticly, keffiyeh is about as attractive as Burberry's ubiquitious Nova check scarves IMHO. Not bad, but you can do better.

Oooh, how about a nova-check keffiyeh? The best of both worlds!!!!