This project outline will briefly cover the issue of societal perceptions based on an individual’s attire, the research methodology deployed in order to unearth and test this hypothesis, and what particular impact my own intervention will have on society at large. Finally, an overarching conclusion with compelling arguments will be presented at the end.
Introduction:
It is well known that clothing is a strong indicator of one’s class and societal position. However, this is not always true, as some may go against the grain and wear polarising attires. For instance, the Sapeurs of Congo are known for dressing to the nines, with some outfits costing thousands of pounds. This contrasts sharply against their poor living conditions. If one were to see a Sapeur on the street, they would falsely assume that they are well off financially, and likely part of the upper class. Thus, many people choose their daily attire based on the perception they emanate on others, hoping to leave a positive, lasting impression. In the Western world, suits are associated with power and competence, and are therefore the standard for white-collar jobs. A person choosing to wear casual attire in such an environment will be ostracised. This, among many others, is an example of the powerful perceptual effect of fashion.
Question:
Whilst researching this issue at large, multiple questions were seeping in my mind. First, if a person who wears a particular style on a daily basis suddenly changed to a completely opposing style, will this person experience dramatic psychological changes? If so, will this change be positive, or negative? Finally, what can I do to create a positive impact on such people?
Research methodology:
Most of my research has been extracted from scientific papers, due to their particular focus on creating conditions that lead to persistent and reliable data. Online journals and news articles were also used, as these tend to be an amalgamation of various sources of information, and are presented in a structure that is easier to digest than scientific papers.
Research:
There is a concept within cognitive psychology known as “enclothed cognition”. In a controlled environment, an individual was given a lab coat, which increased their performance on tasks that required undivided attention. When this individual was informed that the coat was a doctors coat, rather than a painter’s, it further enhanced their cognitive ability.
Clothing can also be an indicator of one’s political stance. Many of those in the lower classes, such as chavs, choose to wear athletic clothing, and scoff at the thought of wearing fancy suits, as it is an indicator of being white collar and “bourgeoisie”. Thus, those who take a more liberal approach to politics may avoid wearing clothing that would put them under the same label as those in the lower classes. This can create further division and conflict among the population.
Intervention:
My intervention will focus on finding an individual’s ideal fashion style via a process of elimination; the main purpose being to inform and reveal to people which individualistic style has the biggest positive change on their life. Each subject will be offered a “style pack”, which will include an attire that drastically differs from what they would normally wear. I have chosen this method because it is, in my personal view, an effective way of assessing the most suitable style for a particular person.
Also, I invited a fashion designer to give a brief interview. She expressed her views on the relationship between fashion and class. She believes that people from the lower class often like to buy flashy clothes, such as those with big brand logos. Higher class people like to buy clothes that look low-key and subtle, but they are of high quality and expensive.
Audience:
A sample size of 3-5 people will be given a particular set of clothing, and will then be interviewed on whether their perception of themselves is influenced by their current attire. These test subjects come from various cultural, class, ethnic, linguistic, and financial backgrounds, which will result in fairer conclusions. I have invited four interviewees for this experiment: a Russian, Greek, and Canadian male, and a Chinese female.
The Russian student, who would normally dress street casual (jeans and hoodies), was given a choice between formal clothing (suit and tie) and business casual. After a 4-week testing period, the subject picked business casual as the attire with the strongest positive impact on their behaviour, stating that it made him make more sound decisions in his daily life.
The Canadian doctor would usually wear overalls with simple and conservative clothes, but he chose to wear street sportswear this time. He said that when he changed into sportswear after work, he felt very excited and became more outgoing and friendly, releasing his inner emotions.
The Chinese daughter and Greek taxi driver are just the opposite. She chose a sexy vest and skirt as her new attire. Out of protection, she hardly goes out at night, so she wants to see what nightlife culture is all about. The Greek driver normally has little rest time, sometimes even going to work in his home clothes. He was saving money for his children’s school and hardly bought new clothes, so he chose an expensive custom velvet three piece suit. He wanted to take this opportunity to experience the feeling of upper class society.
Conclusion:
This project required conducting in-depth analysis and in-field experimentation, in order to show definite proof for my hypothesis. One weak point of the project is that an individual’s state of mind fluctuates daily, meaning that an attire might seem ideal on one day, and perhaps not as ideal on another. On the other hand, this can still serve as a general guidance to the perceptual effects fashion choices have on others. As can been seen above, individuals perception of themselves changes drastically based on attire.
Bibliography& hyperlinks:
Hajo Adam, Adam D. Galinsky, Enclothed cognition, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Volume 48, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 918-925, ISSN 0022-1031
Miller, J. Fashion and Democratic Relationships. Polity 37, 3–23 (2005)
Kim, S. S., & Kim, Y. S. (2015, June). Androgyny in deconstructive fashion. In 2015 Global Fashion Management Conference at Florence. 610-611.
Mind What You Wear: The Psychology of Fashion; ASIN: B00KBTB3NS
Owen J. chavs: the demonization of the working class, 2012, ISBN10: 1844678644 / ISBN13: 9781844678648