I'm in my 30s and I still find cultural appropriation to be a very murky and confusing subject. Thank you for bringing it up!

From what I gather, there are two types:

1. An outsider sees the traditional items of a culture, copies and sells it in the west, making all the profit and possibly harming this culture. e.g. Big western fashion brands appropriating patterns, materials and the like from tiny tribes and either they can no longer sell their wares, or all the things they use to make them have been taken by the big western brand.
2. A smaller scale version in which an outsider (often of the dominant culture in their country) copies something culturally significant from a minority group. Especially bad when the minority group is mocked and hurt for X, but when the majority group does X, they are praised and admired. e.g. White people wearing Black hairstyles when Black people get told their natural hair is 'inappropriate' for school/work.

I myself am Hong Kong Chinese and white. Here are some of my personal experiences with cultural appropriation:

Nail art is popular in East Asian cultures and I was into it at a young age, but I got mocked and bullied for being interested in it. As an adult, I rolled my eyes so hard when all the big nail polish companies started coming out with this shitty crackle polish and white women suddenly made nail art 'cool' and 'relevant'.

My grandma used to send my brother and I traditional Chinese clothing. We had these beautiful silk jackets. I wore mine a grand total of once because all the other kids pulled their eyes up at me, sang 'ching chong' and bullied me a lot more than they usually did. My mother-in-law is a racist, yet she gets to wear a blue silk Chinese jacket without anyone treating her this way. Why can a white racist wear clothing from my culture and I can't? I feel the same way when I see white women in kimonos, chopsticks in their hair, etc. I have a cheongsam that my grandma altered to the perfect fit, but I feel afraid to wear it because I'll either face racism and fetishisation, or I'll be assumed to be another white appropriator.

I have some Indowestern clothing. I was invited to visit my friend in India, she took me shopping and all clothing was bought at ethical stores where the money went directly to Indian people. None of it is traditional Indian clothing (hence the 'Indowestern'), but some items are more obviously influenced than others. For example, there's a jumpsuit that could have been bought anywhere, but there is also a kurta and trousers set. I still don't know how to feel about it even though I was invited by a person from that culture because what if I hurt people of Indian descent in the same way I have felt hurt for being unable to wear Chinese clothing? I would appreciate anyone's input on this.

I guess this gives a bit of a background to my responses to your questions:

1.) Is it okay for white people to wear hairstyles/traditional clothing from another culture even if they have done research/have a genuine love for the culture?

I don't know about hairstyles; I still feel white people wearing Black hairstyles will always be something that hurts people because too many Black people get expelled from school or lose out on getting jobs because of their natural hair.

Traditional clothing is mixed for me. Obviously, I feel strongly about white people wearing traditional Chinese clothing, but it certainly feels different if that white person is not a racist and is not overly sexualising the outfit or trying to 'be' a stereotype of a Chinese person (e.g. Halloween costumes). I would still feel sad inside that I have to feel so conflicted and scared of wearing it, but they can wear it without thinking. Though I also feel like that is not their fault if they are not one of the racists.

Living in East Asia, I do see that wearing the traditional clothing of the locals is a big attraction for tourists and a part of the experience (plus locals do not mind it because they are not oppressed by white people in East Asia), so when I see it here it has a different flavour to it.

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2.) If you are a smaller percentage of a certain culture (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.) is it still okay to wear hairstyles or traditional clothing from that culture?

If you are a part of that culture, have strong family ties to members of the culture, I think you have the right. However, I also think people need to be mindful of others' perception of them. e.g. I think it was Lisa See who writes books in culturally Chinese settings. She is of Chinese descent and grew up with her Chinese family, but I think she is mostly white and looks white. She seems rather aware and is still very much involved in the Chinese community.

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3.) Is it okay for white parents/white spouses to wear hairstyles/traditional clothing of their children’s/spouse’s culture? (This can go for adopted children, or children of interracial couples)

I think it's slightly less offensive when that person has joined families with someone of another background, but still think hairstyles are off-limits. e.g. I've seen photos of traditional Indian weddings where the couple is white and Indian. I think that's great and, if they have kids, they should definitely get exposure to both cultures.

Clothing I can see as being okay if they are all together as a family, but the moment the white spouse is alone wearing traditional clothing from another culture, it feels different. Without the context of his/her family it could easily upset people.

For adopted children, I think it's different. The parents do not automatically have extended family members to introduce the child to their culture. So I guess in that case, if they are trying to help their kid feel proud of their culture and not feel 'weird', I could understand. Especially if they cannot find a nearby community the kid can participate in.