The more comfortable you feel, the more power you have : A study on modest style consumption among young women

Abstract: As clothing is the most visible type of consumption, what we wear often says a lot about who we are. We buy what we consider in line with our identity and avoid what we consider as not. Our consumption is influenced by a number of factors, whether internal or external and throughout the years we adopt a certain way of style. As our style evolves, on it depended fashion consumption is also going through a major change. In this master thesis, we present a study of young women from Generation Y, which adopted a style based on their personal needs, desires, and reflections on own body, and decided not to show their femininity in a predictable manner. Opinions on what is considered feminine vary across regions but in this research, we take an interest in Western culture consumers born and located in Europe. By adopting the modest style, women interviewed for the purpose of this study are perceived as challenging the stereotypical views of the female body, which is in the contemporary society and media often shown as an object of male desire, by wearing unisex, oversized, loose fit, deconstructed and even menswear garments. By the method of personal interviews, we asked nine young women about their opinions and reflections on their fashion consumption and views on communicating their self-identity and femininity through their individual take on the modest style. The research has, in addition to literature introducing symbolic consumption and the concept of the self, its foundation in framework discussing feminine identity and relation of the dress and the body. Based on the findings, the thesis presents an analysis of young women’s construction of feminine identity through modest style and reasons and clues influencing their fashion consumption. Through adaptation of modest style, young women purchase garments closely in line with their values and needs and are rarely influenced by opinions of their social groups. By dressing modestly, they demonstrate their femininity in an alternative way and priority in their fashion consumption is given to durable and timeless garments of high quality. In conclusion, we can see that participants are not only modest in their style, but also in the way they consume. Abandoning the presumption that Generation Y was “born to shop”, they are likely to invest in brand concepts with added value in form of appealing brand aesthetics, inspiring retail environment, outstanding personal approach or sustainable production of garments. By repairing or reselling their garments, buying them in second hand or from brands that produce their garments in an ethical way, today’s young women show that they are aware of environmental and political impacts of fashion, and their motivation to buy certain products is highly influenced by individual preferences and deeply rooted in their self-identity.