History Main / CultureEqualsCostume

* [[MemeticMutation We're a Culture Not a Costume]]. The purpose of the poster-ad campaign was to discourage people from wearing culturally insensitive Halloween costumes. [[{{Parody}} The internet]] has had [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141022075332/http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190776-were-a-culture-not-a-costume a bit of]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150221160944/http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190777-were-a-culture-not-a-costume fun with]] [[https://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/191/080/mummy_culture.jpg this.]] Other people found it to be [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160405193311/http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/31/missed-representations-part-one-%E2%80%9Ci%E2%80%99m-a-culture-not-a-costume%E2%80%9D-campaign/ not as much "fun".]]. They were in turn mocked for this.

* {{Wrestling/Aliyah}} initially wore a BellyDancer inspired attire with a bejewelled headband and coins dangling from her belt, but later switched to more standard wrestling gear.

* ''Anime/ADogOfFlanders1975'' has an amusing example: Alois is Belgian, but because the showrunners got Netherlands and Belgium confused, the traditional clothes she wears (her white sling and apron) are ''Dutch''. The anime itself also insists it takes place in Belgium in spite of the background's windmills and tulips. To a lesser extent, Nello wears clogs.
* ''Anime/HelloSandybell'': The one note character of the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandybel.png Arab painting buyer]] dresses in stereotypical Middle Eastern sun-resistant clothes and wears a keffiieyh held together with a red cord. As per PhenotypeStereotype, he has dark skin and a thick beard.

* ''Anime/PersiaTheMagicFairy'': Whatever [[AfricaIsACountry African]] "culture" Persia grew up in involves her dressing like a caveman, with tattered yellow loincloths that barely cover her form.

* ''Anime/HelloSandybell'': The one note character of the Arab painting buyer dresses in stereotypical Middle Eastern sun-blocking clothes and wears a keffieyh held together by red cord.

** UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan} switched quickly away from Western-style uniforms and trappings during the pre-war buildup, as it can be seen in the portraits of Admiral Yamamoto in [[http://hirasaki.net/Family_Stories/Kishi_Colony/Pictures/Yamamoto5.gif 1919]] and [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Yamamoto_h63430.jpg 1941]].

* As noted, there are countries and cultures in which traditional clothes are still commonly worn. The best-known example would have to be the UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}ese, where the ''kimono'' and all those other variants mistaken for ''kimonos'' have been pretty much integrated into contemporary culture.

* [[{{UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan}} Imperial Japan]] switched quickly away from Western-style uniforms and trappings during the pre-war buildup, as it can be seen in the portraits of Admiral Yamamoto in [[http://hirasaki.net/Family_Stories/Kishi_Colony/Pictures/Yamamoto5.gif 1919]] and [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Yamamoto_h63430.jpg 1941]].

* Although most South Pacific islands have it bad, the media portrayal of the island of Papua New Guinea is just... Bad. Documentaries and the like have a tendency to show the people in loincloths, face paint, and headdresses, often conducting tribal rituals. In reality, western clothes are universally worn, and since almost the entire country is Christian, people mostly wear traditional dress to perform at province festivals. Though [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBLAIZYW0AIo5Ry?format=jpg&name=medium a delegate did visit the UN in traditional dress]], presumably to make a statement.
* [[MemeticMutation We're a Culture Not a Costume.]] The purpose of the poster-ad campaign was to discourage people from wearing culturally insensitive Halloween costumes. [[{{Parody}} The internet]] has had [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141022075332/http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190776-were-a-culture-not-a-costume a bit of]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150221160944/http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190777-were-a-culture-not-a-costume fun with]] [[https://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/191/080/mummy_culture.jpg this.]] Other people found it to be [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160405193311/http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/31/missed-representations-part-one-%E2%80%9Ci%E2%80%99m-a-culture-not-a-costume%E2%80%9D-campaign/ not as much "fun".]]. They were in turn mocked for this.

* As noted, there are countries and cultures in which traditional clothes are still commonly worn. The best-known example would have to be the Japanese, where the ''kimono'' and all those other variants mistaken for ''kimonos'' have been pretty much integrated into contemporary culture.

* The Miss France pageant has an obligatory section where every regional Miss has to wear a traditional costume from the ''[[UsefulNotes/DepartementalIssues région]]'' she's from.
* The Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam almost always wore Western suits, but when receiving his Nobel Prize wore a traditional achkan, shalwar, and turban -- especially significant as he was the first Pakistani and the first Muslim laureate (although some Muslims view Ahmadiyyas (of which Salam was one) as heretics).
* An interesting trend with Muslims is that they tend to dress up far more traditionally when they move to a Western country than they did back home. This has got to do with the culture shock and certain ethnic pride, as faced with discrimination they want to show that they are not intimidated by it. As such Western tourists visiting the Middle-East can find that many places look remarkably Westernized compared to the exotic-looking immigrants back at home.
* Iranian former President Mohammad Khatami, who, as a Muslim cleric, usually wore a mullah's uniform (black robe and black turban) during public appearances, when interviewed by Italian TV station donned a ''completely'' black Western-style suit including the shirt, necktie, and shoes... plus turban.

* A lot of Russians really do wear ushankas. [[JustifiedTrope Russian climate leaves few other choices]].

* A number of British officers in the nineteenth century thought old-style red coats had advantages over khaki in making a psychological impression on their enemies in colonial warfare.
* Each one of China's 55 officially recognized minorities has its own official costume, and they are so well characterized that they are not so much costumes and more uniforms (it is common for a member of a minority to show up to state functions in their ethnic costume, like how a Scotsman generally goes to Buckingham Palace in a kilt).
* In Texas and other parts of the west, cowhands do still dress like movie cowboys. Even in the cities, some people integrate cowboy flare into either their everyday clothes or more commonly dress outfits.
* Jews have their own subtrope: GratuitousUseOfTheTallit. As noted there, it's generally not worn except during prayer, but Haredi or Ultra-Orthodox Jews do have a distinctive way of dressing, in black coats and hats (of several different styles) with beards and sidelocks.

** Though not everything is Chinese-influenced. As an alternative, Majin Buu's character was inspired by Middle Eastern jinn and ''Literature/ArabianNights'', and was given clothes with a more vaguely Arabic aesthetic. The [[DestroyerDeity Destroyer Dieties]] even invoke the popular look of ancient Egyptian monarchs, which coincidentally fits twins Beerus and Champa, being actual [[CatsAreSuperior cat gods]].

* Muhammad Hassan wore a kaffiyeh during his short run in WWE (despite being from Detroit, Michigan).

See Analysis.CultureEqualsCostume for specific variations. This trope is an important part in the portrayal of most countries featured in the HollywoodAtlas. Compare OverlyStereotypicalDisguise.

* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', one of the Boss' new allies is Asha Odekar, a snarky [=MI6=] agent of Indian descent. As part of the game, you can carry out a loyalty mission for Asha, which, if completed, sees you unlock superpowers for her in the computer simulation that most of the game takes place in. Once Asha gains superpowers, she also replaces her [=MI6=] jumpsuit with a nice purple [[BareYourMidriff midriff-baring]] sari.

* ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'' had the Russian astronaut wear an ushanka hat and ''Born in USSR'' t-shirt. On a space station. To be honest, he ''was'' called a little weird.

* The Singaporean talk show ''It's A Small World'', done entirely in Mandarin, involves several foreigners now living in Singapore, going from honing their Mandarin in the first season to discussing their culture after that. All the 'students' dress in outfits unique to their culture in order to distinguish them (the season 3 finale has the Israeli Amit Gilboa complain that he's been mistaken for the ''Romanian'' Adrian Rusu), which works out okay in some cases (the Japanese Yasui Akemi in a ''kimono'' and both Korean ladies in ''hanboks''), but some overly stereotypical ones include the American Michael Blanding as a cowboy, even though he's actually [[BigApplesauce a New Yorker]], and PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy.

* Spoofed in a ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' installment of "100 Worst Things About...", with this one being "100 Worst Things About Sports." They complain about how stereotypical regional mascots can be, usually to the point of depicting [[SeldomSeenSpecies some unusual native animal that wouldn't ever be seen otherwise]], and joke that if Paraguay ever hosted the Olympics, they'd probably have a character named "Sammy the Sloth" in the international parade.

** Some of the Japanese characters get the same treatment. Soun and Genma ([[BalefulPolymorph when he's human anyway]]) are normally seen wearing martial arts ''gi'', and Nodoka is normally seen wearing a kimono to show how traditional she is.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' takes this UpToEleven by showing a televised national beauty pageant in which all of the girls are costumed in a way that stereotypically references their home state (so that Miss Indiana, for instance, is wearing a Hot Wheels race track as a belt).

** Angela Takatsukasa wears a {{qipao}} constantly, contrasted by Tsubasa, who just wants to be normal and refuses to wear anything that doesn't let her pretend to be so.

** Both of Hay Lin's Guardian outfits and the one worn by Yan Lin are based on Chinese clothing: the traditional {{Qipao}} for Hay Lin (with the second being as close as possible to one while still making it a two-piece) and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangzhuang tangzhuang]] for her grandmother (who was actually born in China and lived there for a while).

A SubTrope of HollywoodDressCode which applies to ethnic and cultural backgrounds, occurring when works of fiction choose to put characters in the traditional (or stereotypical) costumes of their culture even when it would be rather unusual in RealLife. In some countries, people do indeed wear traditional clothes on a day-to-day basis, and in others, they may wear traditional clothes in certain circumstances, but some characters regularly show up wearing traditional clothes in situations where this is not applicable.

* Although most South Pacific islands have it bad, the media portrayal of the island of Papua New Guinea is just... Bad. Documentaries and the like have a tendency to show the people in loincloths, face paint, and headdresses, often conducting tribal rituals. In reality, western clothes are universally worn, and since almost the entire country is Christian, people mostly wear traditional dress to perform at province festivals.
* [[MemeticMutation We're a Culture Not a Costume.]] The purpose of the poster-ad campaign was to discourage people from wearing culturally insensitive Halloween costumes. [[{{Parody}} The internet]] has had [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190776-were-a-culture-not-a-costume a bit of]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/190777-were-a-culture-not-a-costume fun with]] [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/191080-were-a-culture-not-a-costume this.]] Other people found it to be [[http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/31/missed-representations-part-one-%E2%80%9Ci%E2%80%99m-a-culture-not-a-costume%E2%80%9D-campaign/ not as much "fun".]]. They were in turn mocked for this.

* A strange subversion was Mr. Fuji, who during his managing days dressed like a stereotypical Englishman (probably as a nod to [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Oddjob]]).