fashion identity formation
TRANSCRIPT
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Karpovtsev 1
Dasha Karpovtsev
Professor Launier
English 1102
April 2012
Identity Formation by the Means of Fashion:
The Social and Psychological Motives Behind College Students and their
Fashion Behavior
I have always been very interested in pursuing a career in ashion! whether it was
wor"ing as as a #ournalist for a ashion $aga%ine! or interning as as a &tylist at 'ogue( Entering
)ollege! it beca*e evident of the various differences a*ong students and their fashion styles!
creating an insight into both their personalities and inclusive individuality( +ut I then began to
sur*ise at the idea of clothing and the general disparate influences it *ay foreshadow within
individuals! and reali%ed the ,uestionable role clothing truly has within our college co**unity(
It then beco*es interesting to analy%e! how does an individual-s personal style see* to reflect
identify for*ation within a )ollege )o**unity and how do other college students perceive one
another according to both social and psychological factors. In a sense! it is contradicting to state
that we use clothing as a way to confor* within our society! because our sense of fashion has
always been identified as a personal aesthetic piece! a way of illustrating our distinct originality
and character( /hat I-* trying to in,uire in *ore detail is! can the way we dress actually reflect
our overall social life along the lines of our career paths and even personality characteristics
through ele*ents such as clothing color! design and its- general funda*ental purpose. Individual
develop*ent can be foreseen throughout the college years! and clothing *ight #ust be one of
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those "ey characteristics that will provide so*e sort of perceptions in the way we #udge
individuals by their clothing( +y eploring the underlying ele*ents that eists in both our
character develop*ent as well as overall personal identity! we will be able to co*prehend the
role that fashion has in our social environ*ent and the effects it *ay have on our social life and
general relationships( hrough *y pri*ary research consisting of a two part survey and focus
group! I will hope to achieve results that will suggest a relationship between clothing color!
personality traits*oods! and the effects on social friendships! a*alga*ating both psychological
and social factors within )ollege &tudents(
Review of iterature
/hen we first thin" of clothing and style! we begin to differentiate auto*atically between
the aspect of confor*ing or individuali%ing according to specific standards( 3ne of the "ey
characteristics that I thin" is i*portant to review according to the research topic would definitely
have to be individuality! and therefore the article!Fashion "ictims: #n the
Individuali$ing and %e&Individuali$ing Powers of Fashion'! by B(orn Schiermer
would play a *a#or role within eplaining *y overall conceptions( 3n a day to day basis! we
find ourselves "nowing the ti*es when we can dress in our own individualistic ways! while on
other for*al occasions we are forced to eradicate our personal style! and acco**odate ourselves
with specific guidelines( his article provides an insight onto the societal factors that affect the
way we as students *ay present ourselves throughout school! and the reasoning behind both our
rational decisions and co*prehensive #udging on other individuals(After reading &chier*er-s
article! I then began to ,uestion on what eact characteristics could actually influence our
decision on that precise day on what we-re going to wear and do differences eist along the lines
of *ales and fe*ales( he article ) The Influence of the Perce*tion of Mood and Self&
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Consciousness on the Selection of Clothing+by 5oon67ee Kwon provides a deep
eplanation on the general concept of individuality and fashion! as he further eplores the
divergent facets of fashion such as eogenous and endogenous factors( Eogenous factors
include weather conditions! social and physical activities! and wardrobe resources! while
endogenous factors include *ood! orientation toward clothing and personality di*ensions
8 Kwon! 19:;! 19::
how all these concepts are intertwined with one another according to our fashion sense(
+ut have we ever considered the reasoning behind the way our fashion preferences have
epanded are due to historical evolution. I a* not referring to the gradual advance*ent of
hu*ans fro* apes as you *ay suppose! but I a* actually trying to point our the significance that
history *ight of had on our uni,ue fashion styles( he article !The Birth of Power
%ressing'! by ,lin-a Rublac-see*s to eplain the historical evolution of our clothing
attire! relating bac" to the *ost pro*inent contributions in the =enaissance Era where the
concepts of luury! accessories! and color were introduced 8=ublac"
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As stated before! a college student-s identity develop*ent can be interpreted by the
*eans of fashion and the article !The ST./ Im*erative'! by 0ara /stroff Marano
provides concrete eplanations and support in order for us to eplore the different *otives
behind our style i*perative( he article epresses the idea hat fashion truly foreshadows
individuality! and ta"es into consideration the *ind! spirit! and character within a person! and
interprets it as a wor" of art 8$orano
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has been worn has evolved for *ultifarious reasons! and now new categories have been created!
ranging fro* luury aspects! econo*ic statuses! and overall individual achieve*ents( +ut the
idea that fashion *ight seriously participate in the i*portant visual *odernity of art! not #ust in
the *oral and econo*ic life of *odern society! is itself *odern! and ,uite revolutionary
87ollander 2;
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Methods
In ter*s of conducting *y Pri*ary =esearch! I would li"e to create a focus group of
twelve students as well as conduct a two page survey! ,uestioning on the psychological and
social aspects of clothing that elaborate on the concepts of colors! *oods! and personality traits
8=efer to Appendi A and
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how do different concepts such as mood, color and personality traits intertwine with one another
as stated earlier. After each student fills out his personal views on the influences of clothing on
friendships, I will then collect all the surveys and begin to distinguish the different connections
and relationships among each characteristic. I believe that because of the timing and general
information inquiry needed for this experiment, both the survey and focus group with both strong
methods to use, in order to receive both individual evaluation and opinions from twelve college
students. The weaknesses to these surveys and focus group is that it may lack variety, in a sense
that by only interviewing twelve students, my results might not represent an overall conclusive
result, only a small portion of a student population, skewing the specific outcomes. But because I
tried to choose students with different majors and comprehensive fashion outlooks, I will hope to
achieve results that will foreshadow a general perception of College students and exemplify the
relationships between identity formation and their fashion behavior.
Now you may wonder, if I am already conducting a Survey, what is the point of creating a
focus group? After I collect all the surveys, I would like to have a group discussion where the
students and I would all try and analyze the motives behind our clothing style, and the reasoning
that exists when it comes to college social life and individuality. It is important to gain a personal
feel in the discussion, in order for students to be able to relate with one another and discuss the
different standards and notions that have been set according to societys implications and the
effects it may have on our identity formation.Within the group discussion, I will have students
examine one another and see if they can create a relationship between the colors of certain
clothing and try and guess that persons mood and some personality characteristics. What we will
be trying to achieve is actually using that information that was explicated within the survey, and
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manipulate it in realistic situations. I can then begin to see how my results are actually used
within college students and the effects it begins to portray using social and psychological factors,
and if statistical and fixed motives truly exist for the way we dress.
Results
he first part of *y &urvey consisted of eleven ,uestions that supported *y clai* on the
i*portance of clothing when it ca*e to identity for*ation and foreshadowing our overall
behavior and personality traits( Each ,uestion as"ed the role that clothing plays in each of the
student-s lives! pertaining bac" to the aspects of friendships! career paths and individuality(
=ating each ,uestion 16B! one being least true and five being *ost true! the twelve students were
evaluated on their opinions of individual character along with social and psychological factors
and here were the results fro* the first eleven ,uestions 8=efer to Appendi A<
BF of the &tudents listed ?B@
;F of the &tudents listed ?>@
F of the &tudents listed ?4@
F of the &tudents listed ?2@
F of the &tudents listed ?1@
4> of the &tudents ee*plified the
relationship between clothing and thei
overall social life
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he net Data table reflected the colors those chosen by the students for Personality
raits using the sa*e *ethod as I used in the able 1 for $oods 8=efer to Appendi +
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After the &tudents had co*pleted the first part of the second survey! their net ,uestion
was ?/hat is your $a#or@( I thought that this would be a very i*portant characteristic to "now
through this Pri*ary =esearch! because right off the batt! the students individuality is lin"ed with
their profession! creating an insight into their interests and general bac"ground( 7ere are the
results of the different percentages of $a#ors represented by the twelve students
6Psychology see*ed to be the *ost popular *a#or throughout the
twelve students! co*ing in at 2BF
6 Gursing and AdvertisingPublic relations were both the average
$a#ors! being 1;F of the &tudents! having two students per each of
the $a#ors(
6here was an e,ual tie between the *a#ors at :F of +usiness!
Photography! Engineering! 7u*anities! and English with only having
1 individual have each *a#or(
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3n the last part of *y &urvey! I as"ed four ,uestions that pertained bac" to for*ing
friendships with individuals who *ay not share the sa*e fashion approach or behavior as you!
and the effects it *ight have on for*ing relationships( here were ,uestions that also presented
the concepts of clothing colors once again! and what the students would prefer to wear according
to their general *oods! in order to either ?blend in@ or ?stand out@(
n a day where Students felt in a )good+ mood7 over 89 of them agreed
that they would li-ely ta-e both fashion ris-s and wear bright colors'
6#n a day where the
Students felt e;hausted or in a )bad+ mood7 they were as-ed to write if they
would try and wear attention grabbing clothing such as bright colors and
Conclusively, over 65% of the
students portrayed insecurities when
it came to their fashion outlook,
because of the psychological effects
of being either exhausted or in a
generally bad mood.
-It seems that with good a mood,confidence begins to flourish,
affecting both our fashion risks an
clothing colors.
-Over 84% of the students answer
that they would seek both attentio
and risk when it came to their fash
sense, just because they mood wa
positive and heightened.
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*atterns7 or try and wear dar- colored clothing in order to )hide+ and blend
in
6The students were as-ed on7 how li-ely would they become friends with a
grou* of individuals if their fashion a**roach and behavior was the total
o**osite of theirs7 and here were the results:
-What these results mean, is that
over half of the students who wouldnot become friends with individuals
dressed polar opposite of them,
inferred that it would be, because of
not being able to share certain
characteristics in common, as well as
not being able to click with their
personalities.
-I find it interesting to see the way
these students already createdjudgements on individuals that do not
dress like them, perceiving the ideas
of them already having different
personalities and overall attitudes.
- The concepts of stereotypes and
judgment are then introduced
Over 3/4 of the students
believed that just by the way
a student dresses, they
could interpret in a sense, if
that individual could be their
friend or not?
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& astly7 to the Individuals who answered ),nli-ely to become friends with
them+ the main reasons for that res*onse were:
%iscussion
/hen I first began this study! I already had so*e general epectations on both the student
survey and focus group outco*es! along with a co*prehensive idea on the effects of fashion
behavior within )ollege( +ut to *y surprise! I did not reali%e the full etent that fashion see*ed
to illustrate throughout the ca*pus co**unity! affecting the concepts of individuality!
friendships! as well as overall personality traits( hrough *y results! I will be able to analy%e
these three *ain concepts! and distinguish a relationship between the way college students dress
and their assi*ilation of both the social and psychological factors involved in their social life(
Individuality
hrough the first part of the survey! the results reflected that *ore than ;BF of the
student-s responses on the ,uestions were listed as a ?B@ which *eant that they found it to be
H*ost true-( he reason why this is an i*portant aspect! is! because *ost of the ,uestions were
related to the ideas and conceptions of clothing and individuality! and if clothing reflects any sort
of personal feeling! along the lines of attention and distinct character( hose ,uestions
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foreshadowed the perception that through our clothing! we are able to illustrate our sense of
character disposition! and creating an insight into who we *ight be as individuals( Gow! of
course other psychological and social factors such as personality traits and the choosing of
friends e*erges! but that will be discussed further on! for now the notion of general individuality
is proposed through the ,uestion outco*es( &o therefore! along the lines the earlier article
!Fashion "ictims: #n the Individuali$ing and %e&Individuali$ing Powers of
Fashion'! by B(orn Schiermer7 these results see* to suggest that we do use clothing as a
tool of individuali%ation as we are able to reflect ourselves with #ewelry! accessories! hair! and
now clothing( )ollege students ee*plify their distinct taste and fashion behaviors! and because
*ost of the students wrote down ?*ost true@ for nearly all of the ,uestions that indicated the
portrayal and awareness through individuali%ation as well as originality! we can infer that
clothing is not #ust a functional piece of cloth! but an actual perspicacity of independent
depiction(
Personality Traits
3n the second part of *y survey! students were as"ed to write in the color of clothing that
they would thin" relates in accordance to the different types of personality traits and *oods that
were listed! and the ending results were very diverse in a sense( According to the two data tables!
*any of the positive personality traits and *oods such as happy! ecited! and outgoing! were
viewed as to have very bright colors( hese colors consisted of yellow and red as the do*inant
colors! which is very interesting because for ea*ple! the color red was also associated with
being angry! outspo"en and even flirty( /ould we be able to prospect at all these personalities
and *oods being positive as well. +eing loud and aggressive in *y opinion! would not always
see* to be a very positive reinforce*ent! therefore why would the students intertwine the color
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red with two different personality types! yet both portraying the sa*e idealistic clothing clothing(
Another ea*ple of the sa*e situation was having blac" as a do*inant color for the personality
and *ood behaviors of depressiveisolated and reservedserious( I understand the results for
being depressiveisolated as for one of the personality traits since the color blac" has always
depicted very dar" and gothic roots! but of course has revolutioni%ed to be a very diverse color
for any sort of setting( +ut it still see*s a bit peculiar that being assertive and outspo"en can
reflect the sa*e characteristics as being depressive and isolated! according to the blac" do*inant
color outco*e( ro* these two charts! I was beginning to apprehend the i*pact and power that
clothing appeared to have along the lines of in depth portray of personality traits and everyday
*oods( 3ther clothes such as blue and grey were used in order to illustrate sadness! shyness!
nervousness! ehaustion! and even cal*ness( /hats interesting to fatho*! is that when the
students wanted to either ?hide@ or go throughout the day unnoticeable! they choose dar"er
colors in order to not stand out as *uch! and in general confor* throughout the college
environ*ent( 3n the other hand! students who yearned for attention and felt that they wanted to
ta"e so*e fashion ris"s including color and patters! were generally in very good *oods! ranging
fro* happy! ecited! outgoing and even flirty( here evidently see*s to be a relationship
between a student-s overall in,uiry for attention as well as their co*prehensive *ood state!
along with personality traits attributes(
Social /nvironment< Friendshi*s
3ne of the last concepts that were concluded throughout *y pri*ary research! were the
general aspects of social environ*ent and friendships( /hat I-ve found out is that! college
students are both #udg*ental and stereotypical in a sense when it co*es to individuals and their
clothing( Gow don-t get *e wrong! I a* not pin pointing college students as being these very
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rude and #udging individuals who will ridicule you for not dressing a certain way! but through
*y research! I have co*e to understand the way students- *inds perceive one another based on
their fashion behavior( According to *y two different charts along the lines of friendships! over
;BF of the students stated that they would unli"ely beco*e friend with other students who do
not share the sa*e fashion approach and style as the*! in other words ?co*plete opposites@( I
was a*a%ed at how easily the students could conclude in their *ind that #ust because a student
does not share their *eans of fashion! that they auto*atically could not even beco*e ac,uainted
with the*( After analy%ing these statistics! I wanted to "now the reasoning behind these results
and what eactly could be inferred( he students that answered ?unli"ely to beco*e friends@
were as"ed to eplicate their views and over half of the* agreed that they could not see
the*selves being friends with individuals who did not share their fashion sense due to both
different personalities as well as lac" of co**on personal interests( It see*s that the students
believe that our fashion behavior can provide an insight into specific ?co**on interests@ such as
etra curricular activities! hobbies! and even personality traits as *entioned before( herefore! a
college student-s social life is i*pacted *ore by clothing than I necessarily suspected! and our
clothing sense *ay actually reflect *any i*portant aspects that can be used to base off *any pre
conceived notions( /hat we can deduce based upon these characteristics! is that college
friendship for*ations are heavily i*pacted by the way student-s portray the*selves through the
use of clothing! and can i*pact their social life on *any levels(
Student Ma(ors
Even though the student-s *a#ors were not part of *y overall three *ain concepts of
discussion! I still wanted to point out so*e unepected bias that could have e*erged throughout
*y results( 3ut of the twelve students! Psychology was one of the do*inant *a#ors! even though
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the general ratios of the eight different *a#ors were pretty widespread( I tried to find students
with all different types of *a#ors in order to create a *uch *ore diverse and assorted group of
individuals! in order to have the *ost valid conclusive results( +ut still! Psychology ca*e in at
2BF of the overall student group! and therefore I ,uestion if this characteristic could of s"ewed
the results in a sense! because as stated in the beginning of the survey! over ;BF of the students
responded with a B of ?*ost true@ between their clothing and general personalitysocial life! yet
there were a couple of students who did not agree( hese students were *a#oring in Engineering!
AdvertisingPublic =elations! and +usiness which contain *uch *ore *athe*atical fiations!
logic! and functional dyna*ics which are eactly opposite in *any ways fro* those of
Psychology! 7u*anities! and Photography( herefore I begin to ,uestion! if I had a bigger group
of students and an eact e,ual nu*ber ratio of different *a#ors! could I have had *uch *ore
disparate results! due to the fluctuations in personalities. +ut then again! we are loo"ing at
individuals with contrasting personalities! which was one of the i*portant goal within this study!
hence the results would not be s"ewed. It #ust see*s that because there are *ore students within
the group that are *a#oring in *ore art li"e and philosophical disciplines! this group *ight be
*ore accusto*ed to the aesthetic nature of clothing! depicting *ore psychological levels of
epertise when it co*es to fashion behavior( All these ,uestions co*e into *ind! but on one
note! I a* positive that by having this diverse group of *a#oring students! we were able to
visually see the differences in both personality traits and social perceptions! aspects that are
essentially needed throughout this study(
Conclusion
? I thin" that we for* friendships with people that we share a lot in co**on with!
especially our clothing style@ said &a*i $illowit%(
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hrough this study! *y entire purpose was to find a relationship! if it even eisted!
between the social and psychological factors of clothing color! personality traits and *oods! and
of course overall relationship for*ation( As college students! we for* individual identities
throughout the following years! and by entering the *ind of a group of individuals that are
affected by fashion behavior on a daily basis! this creates an insight into the true co*pleity of
clothing and the i*pacts it *ay render along the lines of sociability( /ho ever "new that #ust by
the way we dress! we would be able to analy%e individuals on what *oods they *ay be in! or
their "ey personality traits that see* to stand out a*ongst other students( +ut when would we
"now if that student is portraying #ust their ?bad *ood@ or if he or she is actually a very shy
individual that wants to eradicate the need for attention by wearing dar" and seldo* colors. hat
is where the world beco*es infinite! and we *ay never actually understand the true
co*plications of this world without entering an Asylu*( +ut fro* the results eplicated
throughout the pri*ary research! we are able to distinguish a relationship between the clothing
colors and styles that we wear! foreshadowing both personality traits and *oods within each
individual(
? 3ur clothing represents us as individuals I thin"! and #ust by the way we-re dressed and
the colors we wear! I-* sure that other people can already have a sense of our personality
and *aybe even what *ood in((($aybe(((@ stated Aly ru*bach
+y eploring the underlying ele*ents that eist in both our character develop*ent as well as
overall personal identity! we will be able to co*prehend the i*portant role that fashion has in
our college environ*ent and the effects it *ay have on our social and general relationships( It is
evident that reflection of individuality will always be conveyed throughout our clothing!
therefore why not ,uestion and research the funda*ental aspects of fashion. It will only benefit
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us in the end( As we are now able to distinctly appreciate the true power that our fashion
behavior has on our social environ*ent! the *ost i*portant ,uestion then beco*es(((
/hat color will you be wearing today.
/or"s )ited
ronow! Ju""a( aste and ashion he &ocial unction of ashion and &tyle( Acta
&ociologica 8aylor rancis Ltd< 4C(2 81994 819921(B 8200:
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Shelby H. McIntyre, and Christopher M. Miller. "Social Utility and Fashion Behavior."
Marketing Letters 3.4 (1992): pp. 371-382.
Appendi A Survey =uestions Part 3
Please =ate 816B< 1 being least true and B being *ost true
1( he way we dress reflects our individuality as )ollege students(
3 5 > 9 ?2( 3ur ashion &ense can actually reveal different Personality characteristics about us(
3 5 > 9 ?4( he colors that we wear can portray an insight into our overall *ood of that day(
3 5 > 9 ?>( /e so*eti*es choose friends according to si*ilarities between their clothing and your
clothing
3 5 > 9 ?B( /e #udge individuals by their clothing! and already co*e up with preconceived notions about
their personality and behavior
3 5 > 9 ?6. )lothing plays a *a#or role within social groups and gatherings! and helps us distinguish
between people who *ight share the sa*e interestsas us
3 5 > 9 ?;( &o*eti*es you #udge individuals #ust by their clothing and have an idea of their econo*ic
level
3 5 > 9 ?:( 5ou epress your uni,ue individuality through clothing on a daily basis
3 5 > 9 ?9( 7onestly! clothing is #ust a functional characteristic within our &ociety and really does not
co*e off as a ?big deal@
3 5 > 9 ?10( )lothing is an aesthetic piece
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3 5 > 9 ?11( here are psychological and social factors behind the way we dress! as well as *athe*atical
reasoning(
3 5 > 9 ?
Appendi + Survey =uestions Part 5
Please fill in the different clothing colors that co*e to *ind when you view both the *oods and
personality traits in relation to yourself(
Moods Personality Traits
7appy 3ut oing: _____________
Sad:____________ &hy: _______________
Ecited: ___________ lirty: ______________
Gervous__________ DepressiveIsolated____________
Ehausted___________ =eserved and &erious: ____________
Angryurious__________ Assertive3utspo"en____________
)al*=elaed: ____________ LoudAggressive: ___________
/hat is your $a#or
=eflection Muestions Please place a chec"*ar" net to the answer you choose
1< 7ow li"ely are you to wear bright colors and ta"e fashion ris"s when you are in a ood
$ood.
Li"ely Nnli"ely
2< /hen you feel that you are not at your best! whether you *ight be ehausted or in a bad
*ood! what colors would you prefer to wear on that day.
+right )olors and Patterns to enhance yourself Dar" )olors to try and blend in
4< /hen you *eet a group of people that have a *uch different approach and fashion taste thenyou! how li"ely would you try and for* friendships with those people.
Li"ely Nnli"ely
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>< If you chose Nnli"ely for Muestion Q4! which would be one of the best reasons for that
answer.
Different Personalities $ight not share anything in co**on +oth