‘Fashioning Identity’: Exploring psychologic and social implications of wearing fashion in a Grounded Theory analysis of five female "Fashionistas" 

By Giuppy d’Aura 

Introduction

This research investigates the psychological aspects of wearing fashionable clothes in self-proclaimed "Fashionistas" within the London area. For the purposes of this study, I define the term “Fashionista” as a woman with self-declared fashion interests. 

Whilst definitions of fashion vary, this study views fashion as a system of production and consumption of clothes and accessories based on change. This definition is derived from the theorisations of sociologist Georg Simmel (1957) and anthropologist Ted Polhemus (2011). Both identify constant change as a pivotal characteristic of fashion. Furthermore, for both scholars, this trait distinguishes fashion from other approaches to clothes, such as traditional, subcultural or religious dress. This explains why fashion is inseparable from the ever-changing cycle of trends central to its market (d’Aura, 2020). Formulating a working definition is vital to the present study as it determines the perimeter of the questions and concepts on which the interviews and subsequent analysis will focus. 

Fashion Consumers and Fashionistas

As Fred Davis put it, fashion is not a code-like language but a “quasi-code”, which leaves too much room for the receiver’s interpretation (Davis, 1994; d’Aura, 2024). It can be argued that different Fashionistas may wish to communicate several messages through clothes. Still, the only signified that always remains present in their practices is “fashion” itself (for a more extensive discussion, see d’Aura, 2023). 

The primary aim of this study, however, is not to provide a definition of the Fashionista but, consistent with the qualitative approach chosen, to delve into the psychological implications of wearing fashion in women who identify as Fashionistas — that is, women who acknowledge an increased awareness and passion for what they put on. 

Joanne Finkelstein proposes an interesting perspective regarding the social implications of wearing fashion in The Fashioned Self (2013). The scholar stresses how a fundamental aim of many fashion wearers is to mark gender differences and enhance attractiveness. This aspect may be an essential reason the average consumer wears fashion. However, such motivations did not emerge as prominent in this study. The primary motivation behind the choices of Fashionistas here is not the pursuit of sexiness or the need to appear more feminine, but rather the need to assert independence from the average fashion consumer. This is not because they did not care about fashion, but because they saw themselves as trendsetters rather than followers. 

In her account, Finkelstein discusses the complex and contradictory nature of fashion consumption; for instance, the fact that on the one hand, fashion promises to “enlarge the self”, while on the other, it relegates the Fashionista to focus on the surface (p.150). Following Simmel, she also stresses the importance fashion enthusiasts give to eliciting envy and admiration in others. This element was also detected in my interviews, confirming its prominence among the motivations of Fashionistas. Overall, Finkelstein's suggestions explain certain mechanisms pertaining to the social negotiations involved in fashion consumption rather well. This study, however, will focus on the psychological and individual impacts of wearing fashion, such as the reasons for wearing fashion in private, far from other people’s gazes, or using fashion as a mood enhancer. 

LONDON AS A CONTEXT AND A FASHION CAPITAL 

It is essential to specify that this study analyzed a context-specific type of Fashionista: the London-based one. As one of the four Fashion Capitals, London presents a particular identity, both geographical and symbolic. The path towards forming this identity started long before the inauguration of London Fashion Week (LFW) and reflects the complexity of the history and demographic makeup of the English capital. Breward (2003) pointed out that London’s fashion identity appears at first as contradictory as it represents a balance between two opposite forces: a tradition of tailoring and class distinction versus a tension towards constant innovation driven by youth cultures and subcultures mainly emerging from the working classes. Another element that Breward highlights is the impact of the multiracial fabric of London’s population on its creative environment. The scholar suggests that it would be impossible to understand the innovative and varied style of the city without considering the migration to England from the Caribbeans, Asia or other parts of Europe. Some of these aspects emerged in the present study as all participants were immigrants to London from elsewhere in Europe or Asia.

Drawing from ethnography and sociology, Entwistle and Rocamora (2006) have analyzed the importance of rituals, such as LFW, to produce and reproduce the fashion discourse and, more crucially, to establish hierarchies amongst fashion professionals. Drawing from Bourdieu’s idea of boundaries, the two scholars suggested the importance of relationships, spaces and social rituals to create distinctions between inside and outside fashion. 

The two scholars explored the dynamics through which a kind of fashion capital is accrued by the insiders. Although the present study focuses on individual psychologies, some parallels exist with Entwistle and Rocamora’s suggestions. 

IDENTITY FORMATION, CONSUMPTION, AND FASHION 

The most prolific approach to studying and reflecting on fashion within psychology is arguably the field of consumer and marketing psychology (see Boujbel & d'Astous, 2015; Galak, Gray, Elbert & Strohminger, 2016; Prentice & Loureiro, 2018; Wang & Griskevicius, 2014) The reason why such an approach is so fertile is to be found in the intrinsically consumeristic nature of fashion; in other words, it is a highly profitable business, with a turnover of 1.5 trillion dollars in the US alone (Smith, 2023). These studies must be credited for providing evidence to previously theorized concepts. One such study by Galak et al. (2016). examines the transformation of the patterns of consumption of shoes in 2007 female subjects when they moved to a new area. One merit of this study is that the volume of transactions analyzed (N=16,236) provided a solid overview of consumer behaviours. The authors demonstrated a robust correlation between the height of the heels and the socio-economic status of the participant's new area. Women who moved to wealthier neighbourhoods tended to buy shoes with higher heels. This upward conformity is in line with Simmel's (1957) and Veblen's (1973) theory of trickle-down, according to which the taste of a given society is originated by the elites and then copied by the lower strata. 

Galak et al. (2016) proposed an updated definition of the Optimal Distinctiveness Theory (ODT). In its initial formulation (Brewer, 1991), ODT described how individuals balance their need for uniqueness with their need for conformity. According to Brewer, albeit seemingly contradictory, these two tensions are equally important in forming social identities, and individuals tend to strive for the perfect equilibrium between these two tensions. There have been several adaptations and modifications of the ODT since (see Timmor & Katz-Navon, 2008; Leonardelli, Pickett, & Brewer, 2010; Zhao & Glynn, 2022); however, the interpretation proposed by Galak et al. (2016) is to read the opposing needs of distinctiveness and conformity in relation to the socio-economic status of the group that surrounds the subject. According to the authors, high socio-economic status stimulates conformity, whilst individuals who move to a neighbourhood with lower socio-economic status tend to seek uniqueness. This theory is relevant for understanding fashion not only because it provides evidence for the trickle-down theory but also because it elucidates the psychological processes behind this phenomenon. 

Another interesting contribution to understanding consumer psychology regarding fashion came from Boujbel and d'Astous (2015). The authors investigated the motivations underpinning consumption and revealed two key aspects: 

1) Fashion is consumed to assert the uniqueness of the individual. 

2) The items consumed can reveal what consumers aspire to become. 

The authors also conclude that aspirations, rather than needs, move people towards consumption. 

This point has an antecedent in a study by Guy and Banim (2000). This research extensively investigates the psychological implications of clothes for women. Following a mixed qualitative methodology (personal account, clothing diary, and interviews about participants' wardrobes), the authors identified the achievement of an "ideal self", which they called "the woman I want to be", as one of the key motives for fashion consumption (Guy & Banim, 2000, p.316). This pertains to the realms of aspirations and echoes the suggestion by Boujbel and d'Astous (2015). The ideas regarding fashion consumption are novel as they are understudied. The present research aims to investigate if and, above all, how the aspirational nature of fashion emerges. 

The existing literature on the psychological aspects of wearing fashion is primarily nomothetical, hence lacking the level of analysis that is best reached with deep qualitative studies. There has been, however, a precious production of qualitative analysis of fashion consumption by sociologically oriented fashion scholars (e.g., Woodward, 2007; Barry and Martin, 2015, 2016; Cole, 2023). Two notable exceptions of such studies, specifically from within the discipline of psychology, are the relatively recent publications by Masuch and Hefferon (2014) and Smith and Yates (2018), which I will discuss in the following section. 

FASHION AS LIVED EXPERIENCE: IDEOGRAPHIC APPROACHES 

The study by Masuch and Hefferon (2014) is particularly relevant to the present study because it employed Grounded Theory (GT). The study was interested in investigating the links between fashion and positive psychology. For this reason, it focused on the positive relationship that individuals entertain with their wardrobes. One of the most exciting suggestions by Masuch and Hefferon was that fashion is used to regulate mood and reduce anxiety. This finding is of particular importance because the psychological research of fashion in recent years has been more concerned with the negative psychological implications of fashion consumption. The main limitation of Masuch and Hefferon's study (2014) is that, despite explicitly intending to investigate the use of fashion, it does not always distinguish between fashion and other clothing practices. This limitation is also reflected in the study's methodology, as only some participants were reportedly fashion lovers or even interested in the clothes they wore. Therefore, the present study will pay particular attention to such distinction and specifically focus on self-identified Fashionistas. This will make the sample more homogeneous and the findings more grounded in this particular aspect. 

In a subsequent study by Smith and Yates, the authors conducted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of six subjects to investigate their experience of wearing fashion. Smith and Yates' findings were strikingly similar to Masuch and Hefferon's (2014). Like Masuch and Hefferon, Smith and Yates also focused on the positive aspects of wearing fashion (“happy outfits”, as the authors called them), and both studies trod the path of positive psychology from a theoretical standpoint (2018). One of the most interesting suggestions by Smith and Yates (2018) was that intentionally managing one's identity through clothes is akin to the strategies required to "flourish" as postulated by the PERMA scheme (Positive, Emotion, Relationships, Managing and Achievement). All six participants recruited by the authors had a substantial interest in fashion, and one of the inclusion criteria was the acknowledgement that their outfits "made them happy" (Smith & Yates, 2018, p.9). The authors had a precise idea about the type of findings and orientation that the analysis would generate. In contrast, the present study will remain open to all types of findings, including potentially negative emotions in relation to clothes should they emerge. The purpose of this study is not to investigate the positive or the negative aspects of fashion regarding identity formation and well-being, but to make sense of the way in which fashion is used and construed by Fashionistas. Positive as well as negative impacts of clothes will be equally considered. 

Methodology

This is an under-researched and under-theorized topic; hence, the instruments provided by Grounded Theory (GT) represented a unique asset to begin filling this gap. GT was first devised to produce contextualised theories regarding social processes, and since fashion has profound psychological implications but is also a social phenomenon (Willig, 2008), this methodology represents a very important tool to its understanding. This research followed the techniques and procedures that Strauss and Corbin (1998) indicated in their seminal text, albeit these were flexibly modified to fit the specific case at hand. Another text used to inform this study's methodological approach was Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis by Kathy Charmaz (2006). 

PARTICIPANTS 

Being female[1], living in London, identifying with the term "Fashionista", and being either a Millennial or Generation-Z were the inclusion criteria for this study. I posted a message on social media platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn, and several people commented on and shared the post. A sample of participants was selected (N = 5). Although this may seem small compared to the number of individuals needed in quantitative approaches, it must be specified that it is consistent with this type of qualitative study. Consistent with GT and other approaches to qualitative analysis in psychology, the sample chosen had a high degree of homogeneity. This is because, unlike in nomothetical studies, idiographic investigations such as GT do not aim to draw general theories but rather localised ones specific to the type of situation being studied. Furthermore, given the focus on the psychological implications of wearing fashion, it was essential to obtain self-selected participants who voluntarily identified with the word “Fashionista” so that I, the researcher, would not impose this category on them, as this may have biased the conclusions drawn. All participants were women and belonged to either Generation-Z or Millennials (all participants were born between 1984 and 1998). 

Participants were of mixed nationalities but lived stably in London for several years (M = 8.8). Additionally, all five participants worked in the fashion industry in various capacities; this was not an inclusion criterion for participating in this study, and it happened by pure chance. This fact should not be taken as a de facto implication that only people who work in the fashion industry can be Fashionistas. 

As previously indicated, one of the inclusion criteria for this study entailed voluntarily contacting me and identifying as a Fashionista. This, however, yielded a peculiar sample: British women are underrepresented (all participants in this study are immigrants), and only one participant is a person of colour. Although I acknowledge the cardinal importance of including diverse racial backgrounds in research like this, changing the sample's demographics would have meant actively seeking participants with different backgrounds, thus defying one of the inclusion criteria decided in advance. Thus, my aim is to conduct additional studies in the future that address the gaps left by this one. 

Table 1

Demographic data

interview process

Interviews ranged from approximately 45 to 65 minutes (M = 53.8). The initial plan was to obtain 30-minute interviews from all participants, but it became clear from the very first that they needed to be longer (see Table 1 for details). All interviews began with two broad and general questions. They shed light on some general themes (i.e., "What does it mean for you to be a Fashionista?") and set the mood. The following questions delved progressively into more specific themes or aspects. All questions were written in advance and several prompts were also prepared to facilitate the process in case the interviewee stopped speaking. After asking the questions, participants were given time to answer extensively, and the following question (or prompt) arrived only after they finished speaking. 

The interview process left room for flexibility regarding the questions, and some were slightly adapted. Sticking to an overly rigid schedule would have been detrimental to this study, as the area being investigated is exceptionally varied and diverse, with specific concepts potentially holding radically different meanings for each individual. One of the features of GT (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) is that the researcher gathers some data, analyzes it, and goes back to the field to gather more data. This allows the emerging theory to take shape progressively. The settings of the interviews also varied to meet the availability and comfort of participants. 

PROCESS OF CODING, CATEGORIZING AND ANALYZING 

A defining feature of GT is that the theory generated must be tightly rooted in empirical data and guided by it. Throughout this study, I tried to use this methodology flexibly, as Strauss and Corbin suggested (1998, p. 29-30). I always remembered the importance of grounding my emerging theory in the data derived from the interviews. 

Following each interview, I wrote a reflection with immediate thoughts, apparent patterns, and unexpected directions embraced by the interview. This reflection was beneficial as it allowed me to consider and address the power imbalance intrinsic in the interview process and make sure that the participant's experience remained the focus of my analysis (Hunter et al., 2011). This practice has also allowed me to address my inevitable preconceptions over this subject (I am a Fashion Theory lecturer by profession) and helped to separate what I was expecting to find from what was effectively found. 

After this step, I proceeded to transcribe the interviews and began line-by-line coding. This process was vital as it minimised my own preconceptions and allowed the codes to be rooted in the data. The vast body of codes yielded by each interview was subsequently grouped into discrete categories with specific properties and dimensions. Once an exhaustive number of categories was generated, they were analyzed in relation to each other and to those cases that eschewed the existing categories (negative cases). A core category was identified in each interview. This type of category is critical in Straussian GT as it is related to all other categories and has explanatory power (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). 

It is vital to note that GT consists of a reduction of complexity: the hundreds of codes generated are progressively reduced to fewer categories, and this process eventually leads to the formation of a more-or-less elaborated theory that can explain a phenomenon in a given situation. 

Analysis

diagram 1

Diagram showing the key categories identified: fashion as identity stabilizer; fashion as a fantasy; sheltering fashion; and independence from fashion.

FASHION AS AN IDENTITY STABILIZER

The central category that emerged from the analysis of the five interviews was ‘Fashion as an identity stabilizer’. This category was chosen because it has explanatory power over the other main categories, namely ‘Independence from Fashion’, ‘Sheltering Fashion’, and ‘Fashion as Fantasy’ (See Diagram 1). All these categories contribute to stabilizing Fashionistas' social and personal identities. An essential property of this category is that the stability of identity is often context-dependent, and fashion supports this flexibility because of its nature, which is based on change. 

The data shows how pivotal the need to find emotional and social stability through one’s fashion choices was to all Fashionistas. For example, some participants described systematic ritualization of the outfit preparation— nothing is left to chance, and creating an outfit is taken as a decision of cardinal importance because of the cascading effect this choice can have on happiness, balance, and mood. Consistency in one's choices is also reassuring for the subject, and fashion is often employed to trace and validate it: 

"I'm pretty consistent with my fashion choices, but with my other choices, that's very mood dependent." (Diana, lines 505-506) 

The stability of identity requires a balance between one's psychological consistency and the necessary contextual adaptations. 

DIMENSION: “FEEL” — “LOOK” 

Very often, when discussing their clothing choices, participants use the words “feel" and “look”, which reveal the two ends of a dimensional spectrum where “feel” is an ego-directed word whilst “look” is a word that implies social implications. That is to say, the gaze and validation are provided by someone else: 

"I put something together just because I want to feel good or look good or it's different. Especially feel good." (Anna Lines 24-25) 

INDEPENDENCE FROM FASHION 

Interestingly, all participants claimed independence from the fashion industry and fashion trends, and most of them stressed their uniqueness instead: 

"I'm not necessarily always interested in fashion trends. I'm more interested in products I can buy and in 20 years still feel good about them." (Carla, lines 68-9) 

When participants claimed independence from fashion, they often also mentioned independence from the judgements of other people, particularly mainstream consumers. This aspect is important as it sheds light on the deeply social and relational nature of fashion: 

"I try not to be affected as much by others' opinions or trends or all those things." (Anna, line 74) 

AMBIVALENCE

Before any other consideration, it is essential to acknowledge that the word “tribe” can carry problematic colonial associations. However, it has been previously used in scientific literature beyond anthropology, including within fashion studies. One such example is Maffesoli’s The Time of Tribes (1996), where the scholar uses the term not to define fixed and long-lasting groups in an anthropological sense, but to indicate how masses in postmodern times are often fragmented into small interest-based groups such as fashion victims or political groups. This use of the word within fashion studies has also been adopted by Evans (1997) and the more recent Style Tribes: The Fashion of Subcultures (Young, 2016). My use of the word tribe aims to follow their lead. 

External validation represents another property that emerged regarding this category. Even when participants refused to call themselves “Fashionistas”, this definition was not entirely rejected but used to describe how other people see them: 

"I sometimes don't know if I am, like, a Fashionista per se. You know, I almost don't want to be called a Fashionista, even though, like, friends do call me that.” (Betty, lines 39-44) 

The data revealed the importance of “feeling” a certain way, though this sensation was often generated or strengthened by the circle of friends or similarly-minded people surrounding the Fashionista— what we have come to define as “the tribe”. 

DIMENSIONS: FITTING IN VS. BEING DIFFERENT 

The dimensions of the category ‘Independence from Fashion’ were found in the degree to which participants claimed to be independent from fashion trends or admitted to following them. Despite implicitly identifying with the word "Fashionista" (it was one of the inclusion criteria), all participants in this study distanced themselves from fashion and trends, even claiming that trend-centric fashion has become "passé" (Diana). Claiming independence helps Fashionistas preserve and strengthen their uniqueness: 

"So, I'm not very sexy type, so I will always follow kind of how I feel. That's why I don't go after trends." (Eva, lines 76-77) 

This independence from the mainstream is often the first step towards identifying with a smaller niche. Arguably, this fulfils the need for belonging to a more cohesive and smaller group. Tribes and niches can gather around values (for example, sustainability) or brands perceived as different from the mainstream. 

From the data gathered, it is impossible to infer whether the need for uniqueness is stronger than the need to conform or vice versa. What emerged is that the positioning of participants along the dimensional spectrum is fluid as participant’s answers gave focus to both fitting in and being unique at different moments during the same interview. It is, therefore, possible to infer that these two needs are both equally strong but emerge as a result of different contexts or prompts. 

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE ADAPTATION 

Fitting in results from very different influences, such as the city where one lives, a specific group of friends or "tribe" or a work environment. Since none of the participants were born in England, they described the impact of moving to London on their wardrobes: 

"I've always had my style, but here [in London], yeah. Maybe less social pressure." (Anna, line 119) 

Another participant described the changes in her wardrobe when moving to London as follows: 

“[My style] completely changed. I was very much a Russian-aesthetic consumer […] I was wearing very high heels, very tight clothes, very sexy maybe. Yes, sexy. But also, you know, in Russia, women's sexuality is very much, I think, around the concept of what men find hot. […]. And I think I saw it is not how people dress here.” (Carla, lines 397-402) 

We have identified two different modalities embraced by Fashionistas to pursue conformity. The first, ‘active’ adaptation, is the direct result of abiding by received rules. This can be the effect of a specific work environment or cities where a particular dress code is valued. ‘Passive’ adaptation, on the contrary, refers to the Fashionista surrendering to an environment with fewer rules or where less focus is given to a specific dress code. For example, several participants claimed that moving to London from a different city determined a relaxation of their previous style. Another agent of ‘passive’ adaptation was identified in the COVID-19 lockdowns, often described as a split wherein comfort became prioritised over the aesthetics of an outfit. It is important to specify that neither active or passive adaptation was perceived as an imposition but rather as a set of rules that the Fashionista willingly and slowly conformed to. 

THE MOTIVES BEHIND INDEPENDENCE 

The tensions between being independent from fashion while being fascinated by it, and between fitting in with a group and being different, may seem contradictory; however, they are instrumental in placing the subject as an originator of trends instead of a follower. This perspective aligns with another element that constantly emerges throughout the interviews: when the five participants claimed independence from fashion, they only referred to "mainstream" fashion and popular brands. At the same time, they claimed affiliation with smaller "tribes" of similarly minded people and expressed appreciation for brands considered particularly sophisticated (e.g., Prada). 

SHELTERING FASHION 

This category has many properties and dimensions, all of which serve the same general purpose: fashion provides balance or protection to the individual. The fashion preferences of participants in this study were highly varied; from the militant minimalism of Diana, Eva and Betty to the maximalism of Anna to the penchant for deconstructed shapes declared by Carla. The same variety was noticed in the pattern and frequency of consumption. However, all participants tended to attribute to garments the same "sheltering" function. 

DIMENSIONS: MOOD DETECTOR — MOOD ENHANCER 

A relationship that participants often mentioned was that between clothes and mood. Most participants described fashion as a reliable mood detector (outfits reveal the mood of their wearer). This revealing power of fashion, however, has a dimensional counterpart. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we find that fashion can be actively used by Fashionistas as a mood enhancer: 

"It's not, ‘I'm sad, then I'm going to pick something black.’ It's the other way around." (Anna, lines 136-137). 

THERAPEUTIC USE OF FASHION 

This is a fundamental property of this category. The therapeutic use of clothes is often obtained by mixing neon colours, or so-called “dopamine dressing” (Anna). Importantly, this element emerged across interviews, even by participants with very different styles. We defined this property as "therapeutic" because clothes are not only used to appear in a certain way but to “feel” in a certain way; more specifically, to leverage mood. 

Figure 2

An example of "dopamine dressing" as styled by a London-based Fashionista. Ph. Ines Maximo. 

DIMENSION: FASHION AS A SHIELD – FASHION AS A CONFIDENCE BOOSTER 

Sheltering fashion contains another important dimension: using fashion as a form of social or emotional protection or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, using it to explore new aspects of identity when the Fashionista feels inherently safe and confident already. 

The comforting properties of clothes do not only reside in their colours. Clothes can also become comforting shields because of their physical properties. Viewed through the prism of this category, colours and materials occupy the same structural position. In both cases, they bring comfort and other good feelings. The protecting function of clothes adapts to the culture and style of the Fashionista. For example, cashmere, bright colours or leather jackets provide protection for some, while for others it is as simple as wearing a cotton pyjama: 

"I love comfortable clothes, which are basically pyjamas. And actually, it's ironic for someone who worked for… eight years in tailoring. My favourite sort of outfit is actually a jersey pyjama and not a suit." (Betty, lines 65-67) 

Crucially, the data revealed that gendered clothes play an important role in protecting the subject from unwanted attention. For a woman, adopting a masculine attire can strengthen the perception of safety: 

"I try not to dress too sexy because I am… I am not comfortable, and that's a personal thing that I'm not comfortable with men sort of looking at me. Mm. Too much like a sexual object." (Betty, lines 193-196) 

Playing with masculinity, in this case, is a performative and deliberate choice consciously made by the Fashionista to protect her from the male gaze. This can be said because, throughout the same interview, these participants also claimed to adopt very feminine garments to enhance their sexiness and confidence; this represents the opposite end of the dimensional spectrum. 

When issues of safety or discomfort are averted, clothes can be used to boost confidence and femininity. At this end of the dimensional spectrum, the use of fashion trends is not ego-directed but carries a social component: 

"I also have a pair of very short leather shorts […]. Because I think I have a good body and it looked good in them, but usually I feel, like, very… I'm not sure, but when I'm with perhaps with good friends that I feel safe with, I would dress however I want.” (Betty, lines 254-263) 

In the quotation above, we note the use of the word “look” to reference the garments worn to convey an image of herself to others, and the reference to “good friends” who made her feel “safe”. These are set as the precondition for using garments as confidence boosters. 

When a Fashionista identifies a piece of clothing that can boost confidence in a public situation such as a date or a job interview, that item is likely to become "safe", or, as Diana put it, a "lucky charm”. 

SAFETY 

A final point to be made regarding the category that we called ‘Sheltering Fashion’ is the issue of safety. From the data, it emerges that 2023 London is not perceived as a judgemental city, and flamboyancy is not socially sanctioned; however, several participants mentioned that one element that limits their boldness and creativity as female Fashionistas is a perception of potential lack of safety: 

"I love to go out at night festivals and things like that. If something is too sexy or too naked, that's one thing, but about being too flamboyant, [I don’t really care]." (Anna, lines 92-93). 

The perception of being unsafe is not only relative to potential sexual harassment but also to other reasons, such as drugs and eco-vandalism: 

"I feel sometimes fashion practice puts me like on the margins of society. Look, for example, since I cut my hair, I keep being offered to buy drugs on the street all the time. I almost find it a bit offensive because to really think, like, I'm not looking for that, I think it comes across in the eyes of some people in a very wrong way […] You know, today when I was passing by my station, I was thinking about my coat, and I thought, like, there were some people with some banners and I [thought they] were going to throw paint at me." (Carla, lines 375-378) 

Despite acknowledging a perceived lack of safety, Carla declared not to change her style choices, pointing to the centrality that fashion occupies in her life. In other words, safety is an important element but not always a crucial factor in determining one’s fashion choices. Finally, it must be noticed that if fashion can boost confidence and provide safety when used wisely, the opposite is also true. Unwise use of garments can attract unwanted attention and diminish the perception of safety and confidence. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

‘Sheltering Fashion’ is a category that accommodates several uses of garments and fashion, all of which contribute to balancing self-confidence, anxiety levels, external validation and feelings of protection. This echoes the complex organization of the previous category analyzed, where the sense of belonging was constantly balanced with a need for uniqueness. 

FASHION AS FANTASY 

This category explains those instances in which participants use fashion as a space to express their fantasies, ambitions, and wishes. 

FOUNDATION MYTH

All participants in this study traced the genesis of their interest in fashion back to their childhood. This construction of a foundation myth is an essential property of this category. This spanned from those who narrated fashion as an innate interest or a vocation, often ostracised or misunderstood by their parents, to other participants who claimed that this early interest was nurtured by their parents. Early memories of fashion consistently entailed fictionality and play (such as wearing outfits to pretend to be a princess or a pirate). 

Fashionistas’ early memories are often consistent with their current style; if they claim to have fantasized about being a princess during childhood, they retain a feminine style in the present, or masculine if they fantasized about being a pirate. 

This could be because creating a continuum between their early memories and the present style increases their confidence and validates their current choices. Early memories become the scaffolding that underpins their approach to fashion as adults. The importance of early stylistic choices in identity formation has been studied, with one notable example being Martin (1998), where the author links several social practices, including clothing, as essential elements in the development of gendered behaviour and identity. 

NARRATING FASHION

It is important to observe the ways in which the foundation myth is narrated by Fashionistas. A negative case identified in this regard is represented by the account of one participant, Diana, who differed from all other accounts. In her case, the first memories of fashion were not described as an active interest in fashion but as an indirect interest. Unlike other participants, the interest in fashion here is expressed purely vicariously and experienced by watching TV or dressing dolls instead of wanting to wear specific garments herself. Even this negative case demonstrates the centrality of the dimensions of fantasy and play for Fashionistas, as these are the only constants across all interviews. In other words, not all participants exhibited an active interest in fashion, but all participants linked fashion to fantasy and play. 

In this context, it is imperative to keep in mind that how the foundation myth is narrated by Fashionistas may only partially explain how they construed fashion during their childhood or use it in their daily life as adults. Each foundation myth reveals what matters to the Fashionista, namely, not a historical or material truth but a psychological truth. 

FULFILLING A FANTASY 

An element of creativity, play, and fantasy survives in how most Fashionistas engage with fashion as adults. For example, consuming fashion can reduce the chasm between one’s material reality and the ideal. One participant claimed to love fashion because it brings her closer to the beauty of Renaissance paintings she appreciates: 

"When I go to National Gallery, and I look at paintings, everyone is dressed well, especially if it's a great painting. […] And I think when I dress myself, I feel I'm closer to his paintings. I feel closer to things I find aesthetically pleasing. This is, for me, my experience of fashion." (Carla, lines 53-65) 

The same mechanism of fulfilling an ideal through fashion can also apply to the social media influencers followed by Fashionistas. In this case, consuming a specific fashion style can bring the wearer closer to their idol and to the idea of lifestyle promoted in the influencer’s social media accounts. 

Fashion occupies not only an actual physical space but also a symbolic one; the fantasy that underpins a marked interest in fashion. This element also explains the centrality of influencer marketing for the fashion business. By partnering with influencers, brands offer Fashionistas countless fantasies to live vicariously through clothes. 

THE PROCESS OF BUILDING A FANTASY 

Diagram 2

Diagram showing the process of building a fantasy.

The data analysis revealed a critical point concerning this category: building a fantasy is a process consistently found across interviews. 

One particularly striking element noticed throughout the interview is the contradiction between how participants construe fashion when asked direct questions such as, "What does it mean for you to be a Fashionista?", and their actual use of fashion, which sometimes runs contrary to their declared values and ambitions. One of the most visible examples of this appears in the following segment: 

“[A Fashionista is] someone that is just interested in expressing themselves with clothes […] I try not to be affected as much by others' opinions or trends or all those things. Um, and yeah, I'm not sure. I have a very specific style." (Anna, Lines 15-17 and 74-75) 

However, she also states how important it is for her to be different from people dressed boringly on the Tube, implicitly acknowledging that she is influenced— albeit in a contrary way— by what the masses wear. This external influence also emerges when she discusses how her style transformed after moving to London and slowly adapting to the higher standards she was exposed to. 

Another participant insisted on how central good materials, luxury, and exclusivity are for her and specified that she places the utmost importance upon the material and quality of her garments. She also distanced herself from the H&M consumer with her fashion choices. Notwithstanding, when asked to show and discuss the last item she bought, this participant says: 

"I feel like it was a jumper. […] H&M, actually, which I really liked. And oddly enough, I was looking for a jumper like that forever because Jennifer Aniston wore something very similar in The Morning Show, and I was like, I love it." (Diana, lines 194-198) 

In this case, it is crucial to notice that even when buying H&M, she kept aspiring to an ideal, in this case, Jennifer Aniston's understated luxury in The Morning Show. 

Another participant for whom sustainability occupies a central value admitted to buying fast fashion occasionally if she cannot find the same item from a more sustainable source. While maintaining that sustainability for her is of absolute importance, in some instances, it is subordinated to the “look”. These examples are a good representation of the psychological function fulfilled by the apparent contradictions found across interviews. The process of building a fantasy (see Diagram 2) contains two key elements: the ideal to which the Fashionista aspires, and her material behaviour and patterns of consumption. The first is explicitly declared, whilst the second emerges against the grain or is only implicitly acknowledged. Focusing on the fantasy even when it contradicts the material behaviour generates a sort of ego-directed suspension of disbelief, a seemingly contradictory thought whereby the Fashionista knows that her fantasy is not entirely real but narrates it as if it were. This grants the Fashionista a certain level of fulfilment, bringing her closer to her ideal. 

Discussion

This study investigated the full spectrum of emotions triggered by wearing fashionable clothes. Furthermore, it considered both individual and social implications of wearing fashion. For this reason, it represents a progression regarding previous attempts as it focused on a more specific demographic (female Fashionistas) and also because it did not seek only to analyze positive aspects of wearing clothes or intra-psychic phenomena as previously done by Smith & Yates (2018) and Masuch and Hefferon (2014). 

In addition, because the sample chosen was more homogeneous than all previous attempts, it allowed the generation of a new theory that explains not only how fashion is worn but also construed by Fashionistas in their speech. 

STABILIZING IDENTITY 

In the introduction, I discussed Finkelstein's (2013) observation of the contradictory nature of fashion. However, it can be argued that everything pertaining to human activity and identity is doomed to have such inconsistencies. My main findings confirm Finkelstein's intuition and explain why the use of clothes is so varied and, at times, contradictory. The data revealed that Fashionistas use fashion as an ‘identity stabilizer’ from a social and psychological standpoint. This core category can be seen as an umbrella that contains all the other categories, each of which explains a different aspect and psychological implication of wearing clothes. All categories found in this study must be seen as dynamic, as the same individual can swing across the dimensional lines of every category. This dynamic quality of the categories allows Fashionistas to find the context-specific stability that their identity calls for. Thus, the contradictions identified by Finkelstein are not accidental. On the contrary, they should be considered necessary for the Fashionista since identity balance shifts constantly when exposed to different contextual prompts. Fashion offers consumers a powerful tool to achieve this precisely because the fashion system is characterised by constant change (Polhemus, 2011). 

Independence

One element that the study has found ample evidence for is the tension between independence and belonging that Fashionistas demonstrate while navigating the world of fashion. This aligns with ODT, as theorized by Brewer (1991) and Galak et al. (2016). The qualitative nature of this study, however, has highlighted how and when Fashionistas may choose to conform. The data has revealed that adaptation can be of two kinds: active (when the Fashionista willingly embraces specific rules); or passive (when the individual surrenders to a lack of rules). Abiding by rules should also not be seen as a painful process, as Fashionistas, in some cases, are fascinated by rules more than they are by their absence. The rules in question participate in stabilizing the social identity that is so central to individuals. 

An element that facilitated the analysis of the shifting balance between conformity and independence in the present research was that all participants were foreigners, and all were exposed to different cultural customs or constraints (China, Poland, Hungary, Portugal and Russia). This serendipitous occurrence (being born British was not amongst the exclusion criteria) allowed me to investigate if and how the stylistic choices of the participants shifted when they came to London. What emerged was that the participants held dearly to some elements and discarded others. A future study may expand on this particular aspect of the fashion choices of migrants. 

As this study revealed, self-proclaimed independence is usually claimed in relation to a "mainstream" group. Simultaneously, Fashionistas cherish the idea of belonging to a “tribe”; a smaller group considered to possess a refined and specific taste in fashion. This finding has important implications for fashion practitioners as it demonstrates how Fashionistas do not seek products with mass appeal but prefer smaller collections with a defined identity. Therefore, brands appealing to Fashionistas with a high-quality niche product can be more effective than with an omnipresent and popular item. 

This study has also highlighted how Fashionistas use fashion in a way that places them at the top of the fashion pyramid as trendsetters. However, as Galak et al. (2016) demonstrated in their study, everything that occupies a niche position among trendsetters is more likely to trickle down to the masses eventually. The tension between dressing to identify with a group while differing from the mass echoes the “exclusionary” social rituals Entwistle and Rocamora (2006) noticed in their ethnographic research at LFW. This finding can therefore support fashion marketers and media in optimizing their collections and communications to target and satisfy different echelons of their markets. 

protection

Despite the omnipresent claim that fashion is a means of "self-expression", our data revealed that the need for self-expression is neither the only nor the most critical force in determining the choices of Fashionistas. Sometimes, clothes are not used to express the self but to "create" it (for an extensive reflection on the various potential uses of fashion, see Entwistle, 2023). However, clothes are also used for the opposite purpose: to hide the self, and this is the case for those Fashionistas who crave modest and understated looks. In other words, fashion can function as a shelter against anxiety, a comfort provider, and a mood enhancer (Entwistle, 2023). In their study, Smith & Yates (2018) discussed the positive effects of using garments on an individual's morale. The present study, however, expanded this finding as it found that clothes can also decrease social anxiety and stress. Not only does fashion improve mood, but it also shields the Fashionista from negative emotions or prevents uncomfortable social situations. Particularly interesting is the role of gender in this equation. Finkelste’s suggestion (2013) that fashion is often used to intensify one’s gender appearance does not seem to describe how Fashionistas (individuals highly interested and competent in putting together an outfit) get dressed. Participants, although all identifying as cisgender women, testified to play with various presentations of gender identity to increase their confidence and shelter themselves from the male gaze; this is consistent with Joanne Entwistle’s (2023) suggestions on the relationships between the consumption of fashion and gender. 

Fantasy

In addition to confirming the findings by Guy & Banim (2000) and Boujbel and d'Astous (2015), this study explained the modalities through which fantasy enters Fashionistas' individual and social negotiation. When discussing fashion in this study, participants generally kept together two opposing ideas: one was consciously and verbally expressed and coincided with their values and aspirations; the other was not verbally expressed but was detected via their behaviours. The two elements coexist peacefully while appearing to an external eye as a contradiction. Fashion becomes a space where consumers can make their fantasies, ambitions, and wishes come true. Satisfying one's desires in either a direct or vicarious way grants stability and increases optimism. 

These two contemporary threats call for a reduction in consumption; hence, favouring access to fantasy can be vital to those fashion consumers who struggle to satisfy the direct experience of expensive and exclusive products. 

Further Developments

This study revealed two elements not seen in past research, the first being the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on fashion choices. The younger participants in this study identified the pandemic as the moment their fashion sense "matured". They became more concerned with comfort and quality. As a result, fashion turned into an increasingly ego-directed pleasure. Although this element can be partly explained by the category ‘Sheltering Fashion’ that this study has identified, this represents a fertile area of investigation for future studies. Two areas that remained unanswered by the present study and could be expanded in the future are: 1) How the pandemic has changed Fashionistas' habits; and 2) Whether these changes were temporary or destined to last. 

The second novel element that emerged was the issue of safety. All participants in this study were women, and most raised the issue of perceived physical safety as a factor determining some of their fashion choices. Expanding into this unforeseen finding would have brought this research astray; hence, I decided not to pursue this path. However, the persistence of this element in the data suggests that the question of perceived safety has significant cascading effects on Fashionistas' styling choices, and it is a phenomenon worthy of further investigation. 

Acknowledgements and Notes

It is my duty to thank Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon for her invaluable guidance, and it was an honour to hear her suggestions and opinions regarding this research. 

The use of the images was kindly allowed by their author, Ines Maximo, while the diagrams /table are my own creations. 

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Author Bio

Article Citation

d’Aura, Giuppy. “'Fashioning Identity’: Exploring Psychologic and Social Implications of Wearing Fashion in a Grounded Theory Analysis of Five Female “Fashionistas”. Fashion Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, 2024, 1-30, https://www.fashionstudies.ca/fashioningidentity/, https://doi.org/10.38055/FS050202.