| Abstrakt: |
Articles of clothing have a shared meaning that can be used by the wearer to communicate something (e.g., identity) to others. Scholars have found that behavior is motivated by a desire to evoke certain reactions from others, and that, with regard to fashion, this is possible through the shared meaning of clothing. However, across studies, a gap emerges in our understanding of whether or not the process of using clothing to communicate identity breaks-down in the absence of shared meaning, and what factors affect the intensity of the shared meaning. Existing research literature has focused more on the general idea that clothing has symbolic meaning and is used for communicating than on first-hand accounts of how women utilize clothing. The purpose of this study is to elucidate how fashion is used to communicate one's identity, addressing the ideas of impression management, the shared meaning of clothing, and the reasons why people wear things. The study uses an experimental design to explore if individuals hold shared meanings of various fashion items, the factors that contribute to that shared meaning, and how women use clothing as an impression management strategy. Based on existing research we expect to find that (a) the wearer and/or brand of specific fashion items positively moderates the influence of the shared meaning of that fashion item (i.e. the degree to which an item can create a certain impression of the wearer), and that (b) women do use fashion to communicate their identity. The results of this study are considered within the framework of the symbolic interactionist tradition, and will deepen sociological understandings of fashion. Beyond the discipline of sociology, this work has important implications for women as consumers of fashion, who are interested in effective self-presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
