Kim Kardashian’s woven braids spark hilarious ‘Founding Father’ comparisons
Kim Kardashian’s latest hairstyle has seemingly taken inspiration from America’s Founding Fathers, according to fans.
The Skims founder, 43, took to Instagram on June 23 to debut a new look. In a carousel of photos, Kardashian’s platinum blonde hair was woven into basket braid pigtails. The reality TV star went makeup free in the photos, pairing her braided hairstyle with a sheer tank top and nude leggings.
While the Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum has been known to wear some avante-garde and futuristic ensembles, some fans believed her newest look resembled a powdered wig from the 18th century.
“What in the constitution is going on here?” one Instagram user commented under the post.
“Ok George Washington,” another fan joked.
“It’s giving… Founding Father,” said someone else, while another person quipped: “She getting ready to write the Declaration of Independence.”
Kardashian’s woven braids were crafted by her longtime hairstylist Chris Appleton, who she tagged in her Instagram post. Appleton posted photos of the entrepreneur’s basket braids to his own Instagram, simply captioning his post with three silver chain link emojis.
This isn’t the first time the mother of four has shocked fans with a dramatic hair transformation. In 2015, Kardashian debuted her now-signature bleach blonde hair for the first time at Paris Fashion Week. The Kardashians star went back to her natural dark brown locks on-and-off for several years, before undergoing a 14-hour hair transformation to channel Marilyn Monroe at the 2022 Met Gala.
For the annual fashion event, where the theme was “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” Kardashian wore the iconic glittering gown that Monroe donned in 1962 to serenade President John F Kennedy on his 45th birthday. In order to fully embrace Monroe’s look, it took Kardashian 14 hours to dye her hair from black to bleach blonde.
“I’m spending the whole day just dyeing my hair, 14 hours straight,” she told Vogue on the Met Gala red carpet.
In September last year, Kardashian also showed off a buzzed head and thin eyebrows for the cover of CR Fashion Book’s 2023 issue.
However, the SKKN by Kim founder has also faced backlash in the past for some of her hairstyle choices. In 2020, Kardashian was accused of cultural appropriation after sharing photos of herself wearing Fulani braids. She faced similar accusations just two years prior for wearing her hair in braids at the MTV Movie and TV Awards.
Kardashian defended her decision to wear braids during an interview with Bustle in 2018. While the reality star said she understood the significance of Fulani braids, which originated in West Africa, she explained that she wore them to match her eldest daughter, North West.
“I actually didn’t see backlash,” she said at the time. “I actually did that look because North said she wanted braids and asked if I would do them with her. So we braided her hair and then we braided my hair.
“But I obviously know they’re called Fulani braids and I know the origin of where they came from and I’m totally respectful of that. I’m not tone deaf to where I don’t get it. I do get it.”
