Gypsy Fashion

In mainstream, western society, gypsies have been considered a landless people who are always on the move. Many gypsies do not like to divulge their origins, but most likely, their origins can be traced to Northern India despite some claims they came from Egypt. Gypsies have undergone harsh persecution in European society, being labeled as sneak-thieves, lazy and disloyal. Much of the persecution of gypsies stems from their allegiance to no state or particular culture in Europe. Because of this, they were considered foreign and untrustworthy. The Jews have also undergone harsh discrimination because of perceived allegiance to no particular state and like the Jews they have been victims of the holocaust during World War Two. The only ethnic groups in Europe that have not underwent mass discrimination were the Cossacks in Russian history mostly because they were loyal to the Czar and remained in Eastern Europe instead of spreading around the rest of the European continent.

Because of widespread discrimination, gypsies have traditionally kept to themselves and were always on the move. Gypsy clothing is not the same in every gypsy circle, but things that bind gypsy clothing are color, beads, headbands and headwraps and the layering and folds of skirts. Within gypsy circles, they developed their own customs and fashions, but gypsy fashion has come to influence modern fashion around the world.

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