fashion research paper

Fashion Research Paper Topics: History, Consumer Behavior and Industry Trends

Table of contents

1 How to Choose a Research Paper Topic On Fashion
2.1 Fast Fashion Research Questions
2.2 Sustainable Fashion Topics To Write About
2.3 Ethical Fashion Essay Topics
2.4 Topics about Fashion Designers
2.5 Fashion Brands
2.6 Business of Fashion
2.7 History of Fashion Topics to Research

Fashion is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, blending creativity, culture, and commerce uniquely and captivating. It is an expression of personal style and a mirror reflecting societal changes, technological advancements, and varying aesthetic preferences across different eras and regions. Delving into fashion research opens a world of exploration, from the dazzling allure of high fashion and iconic designers to the critical issues of sustainability and ethical production practices.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive list of fashion research topics, encompassing this complex industry’s diverse and vibrant aspects. It also covers a wide range of subjects, from the impact of cultural shifts on fashion trends to the evolving landscape of fashion marketing and retail. These topics offer a rich terrain for in-depth study and analysis.

How to Choose a Research Paper Topic On Fashion

Choosing the right research topics about fashion is a critical step that sets the tone for your entire study. It’s a delicate balance of aligning personal interest with academic value.

Start by pinpointing your area of passion within the broad spectrum of fashion. It could be anything from the intricacies of design and the rich tapestry of fashion history, to the pressing issues of ethics and the evolving dynamics of the fashion business of fashion articles.
Next, immerse yourself in current trends and pressing issues within the fashion world to carve out a unique and relevant angle for your research.
Availability of resources and existing literature is paramount. Ensure sufficient material and data are available to underpin your study with credible information.
Selecting a topic for a fast fashion argumentative essay that resonates with current discussions and contributes a fresh perspective or addresses market research in fashion is advantageous.
Striking the right balance between specificity and breadth is key; your topic should be focused enough to provide clear direction for your study, yet broad enough to encompass comprehensive exploration and analysis.

This approach guarantees a more manageable research process and enhances the potential for meaningful and engaging contributions to the field of fashion studies.

List of Research Topics On Fashion

Dive into the fascinating world of fashion with these compelling research topics. Covering everything from the glitz of designer brands to the pressing issues of sustainability, each topic offers a unique perspective on the multifaceted fashion industry.

Fast Fashion Research Questions

Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion. Investigating the ecological footprint of rapid production cycles in the fashion industry.
Consumer Perception and Fast Fashion. Understanding how consumer attitudes towards sustainability affect fast fashion.
Economic Viability of Fast Fashion Models. Analyzing the long-term economic sustainability of the fast fashion business model.
Social Implications of Fast Fashion. Examining the social consequences, including labor practices, of fast fashion.
Innovative Solutions to Fast Fashion Problems. Exploring new technologies and business models to mitigate fast fashion issues.
Globalization and Fast Fashion. Assessing the impact of globalization on the spread and practices of fast fashion.
Fast Fashion and Waste Management. Investigating waste generation and management in the fast fashion cycle.
Consumer Behavior in Fast Fashion. Analyzing how consumer buying patterns contribute to fast fashion.
Marketing Strategies in Fast Fashion. Understanding the role of marketing in promoting fast fashion trends.
Ethical Challenges in Fast Fashion. Examining the ethical dilemmas posed by fast fashion.
Fast Fashion and Cultural Appropriation. Investigating instances and impacts of cultural appropriation in fast fashion.
The Role of Media in Fast Fashion. Exploring how the media influences the fast fashion industry and consumer choices.
Fast Fashion and Its Impact on Traditional Retail. Analyzing how fast fashion is affecting traditional retail models.
Sustainability Initiatives in Fast Fashion. Examining efforts by fast fashion brands to become more sustainable.
Future Trends in Fast Fashion. Predicting future developments and changes in the fast fashion industry.

Sustainable Fashion Topics To Write About

Sustainable Materials in Fashion. Exploring eco-friendly materials used in sustainable fashion.
The Lifecycle of Sustainable Fashion Products. Understanding the production, use, and disposal of sustainable fashion items.
Consumer Awareness of Sustainable Fashion. Assessing how consumer knowledge impacts sustainable fashion choices.
Challenges to Sustainable Fashion Manufacturing. Investigating barriers to adopting sustainable practices in fashion production.
Innovations in Sustainable Fashion Technology. Examining technological advancements in creating sustainable fashion.
Sustainable Fashion and Global Supply Chains. Analyzing the role of global supply chains sustainably.
Marketing of Sustainable Fashion Brands. Strategies for marketing sustainable fashion to a wider audience.
Economic Aspects of Sustainable Fashion. Understanding the economic implications and viability of sustainable fashion.
Policy and Regulation in Sustainable Fashion. Examining the role of policy in promoting sustainable fashion practices.
Social Responsibility in Sustainable Fashion. Exploring the social impact of sustainable fashion on communities and workers.
Sustainable Fashion and Consumer Behavior. Investigating how sustainable fashion influences consumer buying habits.
The Role of Designers in Sustainable Fashion. Examining how designers can drive sustainability in fashion.
Upcycling and Recycling in Fashion. Exploring the role of upcycling and recycling in sustainable fashion.
Sustainable Fashion and Cultural Shifts. Assessing how cultural changes are affecting sustainable fashion trends.
Case Studies of Successful Sustainable Fashion Brands. Analyzing successful examples of sustainable fashion brands.

Ethical Fashion Essay Topics

Defining Ethical Fashion Topics. Understanding what constitutes ethical practices in the fashion industry.
Transparency in Fashion Supply Chains. Examining the importance of transparency for ethical fashion.
Consumer Role in Promoting Ethical Fashion. Exploring how consumers can influence ethical practices in fashion.
Ethical Fashion and Labor Rights. Investigating the intersection of fashion production and labor rights.
The Impact of Ethical Fashion on the Environment. Assessing the environmental benefits of ethical fashion practices.
Challenges in Implementing Ethical Fashion. Understanding the obstacles to adopting ethical practices in fashion.
Ethical Fashion and Cultural Sensitivity. Examining the importance of cultural sensitivity in an ethical fashion.
The Business Case for Ethical Fashion. Analyzing the economic benefits of adopting ethical practices in fashion.
Ethical Fashion and Consumer Trust. Investigating how ethical practices influence consumer trust in brands.
Innovations in Ethical Fashion. Exploring new developments and practices in an ethical fashion.
Ethical Fashion and Globalization. Assessing the impact of globalization on ethical fashion practices.
Marketing Strategies for Ethical Fashion. Understanding how to market ethical fashion effectively.
The Role of Governments in Ethical Fashion. Examining the role of policy and regulation in promoting ethical fashion.
Ethical Fashion and Social Media Influence. Exploring the impact of social media on ethical fashion trends.
Case Studies of Ethical Fashion Initiatives. Analyzing successful examples of ethical fashion initiatives.

Topics about Fashion Designers

Influence of Iconic Fashion Designers. Exploring how legendary designers have shaped fashion trends.
Biographies of Renowned Fashion Designers. Investigating the life stories and career paths of famous designers.
Emerging Fashion Designers and Industry Impact. Examining the influence of emerging designers on the fashion industry.
Fashion Designers and Brand Identity. Analyzing how designers shape and define brand identities.
Collaborations between Fashion Designers and Brands. Exploring successful collaborations and their outcomes.
Fashion Designers and Cultural Influences. Investigating how cultural backgrounds influence designers’ work.
Sustainability Focus of Fashion Designers. Examining designers’ approaches to sustainable fashion.
Fashion Designers and Technology Integration. Analyzing how designers are incorporating technology into fashion.
Fashion Designers and Political Statements. Exploring how designers use fashion to make political statements.
Innovations by Fashion Designers. Investigating groundbreaking innovations introduced by fashion designers.
Fashion Designers and Celebrity Influence. Assessing the impact of celebrity endorsements on designers’ work.
Design Philosophy and Techniques of Fashion Designers. Examining the unique design philosophies and techniques of designers.
Fashion Designers and Global Trends. Analyzing how designers respond to and shape global fashion trends.
Fashion Designers and Ethical Practices. Investigating how designers are incorporating ethical practices into their work.
Fashion Designers’ Role in Fashion Education. Exploring the involvement of designers in fashion education and mentorship.

Fashion Brands

History and Evolution of Major Fashion Brands. Tracing the development and growth of leading fashion brands.
Branding Strategies in Fashion. Analyzing effective branding strategies used by fashion companies.
Consumer Perception of Fashion Brands. Understanding how consumers view and interact with different fashion brands.
Luxury Fashion Brands and Market Positioning. Investigating the strategies of luxury brands in the fashion market.
Sustainability Initiatives of Fashion Brands. Examining how brands are incorporating sustainability into their operations.
Fashion Brands and Global Expansion. Analyzing how brands are expanding and adapting to global markets.
Collaborations between Fashion Brands and Designers. Exploring the impact of collaborative projects.
Fashion Brands and Technology Integration. Investigating how brands are utilizing technology in fashion design and retail.
Marketing and Advertising Strategies of Fashion Brands. Analyzing the marketing approaches of successful fashion brands.
Fashion Brands and Consumer Engagement. Understanding how brands engage with their customers.
Fashion Brands and Social Responsibility. Examining the social and ethical responsibilities of fashion brands.
Innovations in Fashion Branding. Exploring innovative branding techniques in the fashion industry.
Fashion Brands and Cultural Impact. Assessing the cultural influence of prominent fashion brands.
Challenges Facing Fashion Brands Today. Investigating current challenges and how brands are addressing them.
Case Studies of Successful Fashion Brand Revivals. Analyzing how struggling brands successfully reinvented themselves.

Business of Fashion

Globalization and Its Impact on Fashion Business. Examining how globalization has transformed the fashion industry.
Fashion Retailing Strategies. Analyzing effective retailing strategies in the fashion industry.
Fashion E-Commerce Trends and Challenges. Investigating the rise of online fashion retailing and associated challenges.
Business Models in the Fashion Industry . Exploring different business models and their effectiveness in fashion.
Marketing and Promotion in Fashion. Analyzing marketing techniques and promotional strategies in fashion.
Fashion Industry Supply Chain Management. Examining supply chain dynamics in the fashion industry.
Fashion Brand Management and Development. Investigating strategies for managing and developing fashion brands.
Consumer Behavior Analysis in Fashion. Understanding consumer purchasing patterns and preferences in fashion.
Fashion Business and Sustainability. Analyzing the integration of sustainable practices in fashion business operations.
Innovations in Fashion Business Models. Exploring innovative approaches to fashion business and retail.
Fashion Industry Economic Analysis. Examining the economic aspects and impacts of the fashion industry.
Fashion Business and Global Market Trends. Assessing global market trends and their influence on fashion businesses.
Fashion Startups and Entrepreneurship. Investigating the rise and challenges of fashion startups.
Fashion Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Examining ethical considerations and social responsibilities in the fashion business.
Case Studies of Successful Fashion Business Strategies. Analyzing successful strategies implemented by fashion businesses.

History of Fashion Topics to Research

The Evolution of Fashion from Ancient Civilizations. Exploring fashion trends and their significance in ancient societies like Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Medieval Fashion and Social Hierarchies. Analyzing how fashion in the medieval era reflected societal structures and class distinctions.
Renaissance Fashion and Artistic Influence. Investigating the influence of Renaissance art and culture on fashion trends of the era.
17th Century Baroque Fashion. Examining the opulence and extravagance of Baroque fashion and its reflection on the socio-political climate.
18th Century Rococo Style and Femininity. Discussing the Rococo style’s emphasis on ornamentation and its impact on the perception of femininity.
Fashion During the Industrial Revolution. Understanding how technological advancements in the 19th century transformed the fashion industry.
The Birth of Haute Couture in the 19th Century. Tracing the origins of haute couture and its founding designers like Charles Frederick Worth.
Fashion in the Victorian Era. Exploring the fashion trends and social norms that characterized the Victorian period.
The Roaring Twenties and Flapper Fashion. Delving into the revolutionary changes in women’s fashion during the 1920s.
Fashion During World War II. Investigating how wartime restrictions influenced fashion, introducing utility clothing and fabric rationing.
The Post-War Fashion Boom and the New Look. Analyzing the impact of Dior’s New Look in shaping post-WWII fashion.
Swinging Sixties and Youth Culture. Examining how 1960s fashion was influenced by and influenced youth culture and social movements.
Punk Fashion and Subculture in the 1970s. Exploring the emergence of punk fashion and its challenge to mainstream norms.
The Influence of Pop and Celebrity Culture on 1980s Fashion. Discuss how pop culture icons and music influenced 1980s fashion trends.
Fashion in the Digital Age. Understanding how the advent of the internet and digital media in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has transformed fashion consumption and trends.

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

The Science of Style: In Fashion, Colors Should Match Only Moderately

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America

Affiliation Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America

Affiliation Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Kurt Gray,
Peter Schmitt,
Nina Strohminger,
Karim S. Kassam

Published: July 17, 2014
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772
Reader Comments

Fashion is an essential part of human experience and an industry worth over $1.7 trillion. Important choices such as hiring or dating someone are often based on the clothing people wear, and yet we understand almost nothing about the objective features that make an outfit fashionable. In this study, we provide an empirical approach to this key aesthetic domain, examining the link between color coordination and fashionableness. Studies reveal a robust quadratic effect, such that that maximum fashionableness is attained when outfits are neither too coordinated nor too different. In other words, fashionable outfits are those that are moderately matched, not those that are ultra-matched (“matchy-matchy”) or zero-matched (“clashing”). This balance of extremes supports a broader hypothesis regarding aesthetic preferences–the Goldilocks principle–that seeks to balance simplicity and complexity.

Citation: Gray K, Schmitt P, Strohminger N, Kassam KS (2014) The Science of Style: In Fashion, Colors Should Match Only Moderately. PLoS ONE 9(7): e102772. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772

Editor: Brock Bastian, University of New South Wales, Australia

Received: January 16, 2014; Accepted: June 23, 2014; Published: July 17, 2014

Copyright: © 2014 Gray et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: This study was funded by departmental funds at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Every day, people ask themselves the question: “What to wear?” People want outfits that are maximally fashionable, and this isn’t mere vanity: clothing influences perceived and signaled social identity [1] , employment outcomes [2] , romantic success [3] , and even cognitive processes [4] . Despite its universal human importance and vast financial worth–the fashion industry is valued at $1.7 trillion (more than double the entire U.S. federal science budget) –there is little empirical psychological research on the objective features which make something fashionable. In this study, we provide an empirical approach to fashionableness, through judgments of color combinations. We uncover practical implications for daily life, and in doing so speak to a broader theory in aesthetics and human preferences–the Goldilocks Principle.

The Goldilocks Principle represents a tradition of philosophical thought stretching back millennia: Aristotle’s Golden mean, Buddha’s middle way, and Confucius’ Doctrine of the Mean all represent a balance between two extremes. The Goldilocks Principle has psychological support in a variety of domains, as infants prefer looking at visual sequences that are neither too complex, nor too simple [5] , and optimum psychological well-being–i.e., flow–is achieved when experiences balance simplicity and complexity [6] . The optimal distinctiveness model of social identity suggests that when developing a sense of self, we strive to strike a harmonious balance between similarity with others and individual distinctiveness [7] . Furthermore, judgments of facial attractiveness across cultures are predicted by averageness [8] [9] , suggesting that the aesthetic ideal is found not at the extremes, but rather in balance.

In terms of fashion, there are two popular approaches to style that represent “extremes.” On one hand, we often speak as if the most fashionable outfits are those that fully coordinate or “match” [10] . This suggests that pairing the same or similar colors with each other may be the key to fashion. On the other hand, fashion is often about being noticed, and so we might want color combinations that maximally differ from each other and “pop” [11] . Between these two extremes, the Goldilocks Principle suggests that the best color combinations are those that are neither too similar (“matchy-matchy”) nor too different (“clashing”).

In this paper, we investigate whether the Goldilocks Principle predicts fashionableness across diverse color combinations in both men’s and women’s outfits. Support for the principle would be illustrated by a “peak” in ratings, such that any linear trends between coordination and fashionableness should be qualified by a quadratic effect such that maximum fashionableness is achieved by moderate color coordination.

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. All participants provided written informed consent prior to completing the study and were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (mTurk). A total of 239 mTurk participants (69% women, M age = 35.4, SD age = 12.9) each saw 30 different color combinations, in one of four color palettes. Palettes 1 and 2 were in women’s clothing, and palettes 3 and 4 were in men’s clothing. Each palette included 4 colors, illustrated in Figure 1 . Out of 256 possible color combinations within each set, we selected combinations quasi-randomly to represent a range of coordination, from all matching to all different (see Figure 1 for sample outfits, Table S1 for all outfit combinations, Figure S1 for screen shots of fashionableness, and Figure S2 for screen shots of coordination judgments).

PPT PowerPoint slide
PNG larger image
TIFF original image

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.g001

Fashionableness Judgments

Participants rated clothing sets on how fashionable, good, and liked they were on five point Likert scales. Ratings were aggregated across participants to yield an overall fashionableness rating for each combination (all αs >.95), which were Z-scored within each palette.

Coordination Calculations

Rather than solicit global ratings of coordination, participants rated the coordination of all possible pairs of color swatches within each palette through 3 items–coordinated, matching and similar–answered on five point Likert scales (α’s >.81). These pairwise judgments were aggregated for each outfit, and Z-scored within each palette, to create an overall coordination score. Thus, combinations with all similar or highly coordinated colors (e.g., only shades of green) received high scores whereas those with very different colors (e.g., red, blue, black, grey) received low scores (see Materials and Methods S1 for additional detail on these calculations).

Curve estimation was used to assess linear and quadratic effects of coordination on fashionableness. Women’s and men’s clothing were analyzed separately.

Women’s Clothing

Analyses revealed a significant linear trend, R 2 = .18, F (1, 58) = 13.04, p = .001, such that more coordination was linked to more fashionableness, consistent with the general importance of matching. Importantly, however, this linear trend was qualified by the predicted quadratic effect, R 2 = .44, F (2, 57) = 22.23, p <.001, such that peak fashionableness was achieved by moderately coordinated combinations. This quadratic effect accounted for twice as much variance as the linear effect.

Men’s Clothing

Analyses did not reveal a significant linear trend, F <1, but did reveal the predicted quadratic trend, R 2 = .28, F (2, 57) = 11.18, p <.001, such that peak fashionableness was again achieved by moderately coordinated combinations.

These data suggest a simple answer to the question “what to wear?” Select a color combination that is neither completely uniform, nor completely different. Certainly, moderate matching is not the only key to fashion, which varies across time and culture and depends upon many factors including cut, design, and trendiness. However, these studies reveal that, with all other factors held constant, the Goldilocks principle predicted judgments across four different color palettes in both men’s and women’s clothing. To examine the external validity of these findings, future research should test this idea in naturalistic settings, such as in magazines and runway shows.

These results are consistent with both centuries of philosophical thought and more recent psychological studies on the importance of “the middle way.” The Goldilocks principle may also explain aesthetic judgments beyond fashion, reflecting a basic principle of human preference that seeks to balance simplicity and complexity, order and disorder. Indeed, people prefer music that balances melodic simplicity and complexity [12] . This quantitative analysis of fashion is only a first step in empirical aesthetics, but it highlights the utility of bringing science to art; psychological science can help explain the important but often invisible judgments of daily life.

Supporting Information

Rating a sample outfit combination.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s001

Rating a sample color pair.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s002

Clothing combinations by color palette.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s003

Cronbach’s Alphas for scales used.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s004

Materials and Methods S1.

Extended materials & methods.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s005

Results S1.

Extended results.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102772.s006

Acknowledgments

We thank Adam Waytz for helpful comments.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: KG PS NS KK. Performed the experiments: KG PS. Analyzed the data: KG PS. Wrote the paper: KG PS NS KK.

View Article
Google Scholar
6. Csikszentmihalyi M (1990) Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.
10. Patel N (2013) Wear the trend: monochrome. Vogue India. Available: http://www.vogue.in/content/wear-trend-monochrome-springsummer-2013 . Accessed 2013 Dec 4.
11. Espinoza J (2011) Spanish fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada practices staying in bed. Wall Str J. Available: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704709304576124012375977474.html . Accessed 2013 Dec 17.
12. Huron D (2006) Sweet anticipation: music and the psychology of expectation. Cambridge, Mass. u.a.: MIT Press.

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117 Awesome Fashion Research Topics: Inspirational Ideas List

Finding some decent fashion research topics that you can use for your next papers is not easy nowadays. You want something new, something original. Your classmates are probably scouring the Internet as we speak, so why are you still wasting time? Take a look at our long list of 117 exceptional fashion research topics and choose the best one right now.

What makes our topics different, you ask? Our experts are constantly updating the list and adding new ideas. This means you will always be able to find an original idea here on this page. We will soon be adding new topics for 2023, so stay tuned!

What Is The Fashion Research Paper?

Keep in mind that finding some great fashion topics to write about is not enough. You need to be able to create a well-organized, concise research paper. To help you do just that, we will show you the 8 main parts of a research paper:

Title page (or cover page) Start with a hook to catch the attention of your readers, then talk a bit about the background of the problem and present your thesis. Literature review. Here, you will need to demonstrate that you have analyzed the literature related to the topic and that there is a gap in knowledge that needs to be addressed. Research In this section, you will explain in great detail all the methods you have used to gather the data. Be as specific as possible. Data analysis. This is the section where you present and analyze the data. Be objective and avoid discussing the results. This is the section where you can discuss your findings and prove how your research results back your thesis. Don’t forget to acknowledge the limitations of your research. Restate your thesis and summarize your research and findings. Show your readers how your findings answer the research questions. References page. This is where you list all the resources you have used to write your research Make sure you don’t miss any.

Now that you know the overall structure of a research paper, it’s time to give you some excellent topics to write about:

Brand New Fashion Research Paper Topics

We will start our list with the brand new fashion research paper topics. These have been added to the list recently, so you can pick one right now knowing that it’s original:

Fashion in Ancient Rome
The impact of Jane Austen on the world of fashion
Swimwear in the 1980s
Using bizarre colors in fashion
The rise and fall of the jeans
Peer pressure related to fashion trends
Social networking and fashion
The life and work of Giorgio Armani
Talk about hippie fashion
Fashion in Islamic religions

Interesting Fashion Topics To Write About

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, we have a long list of interesting fashion topics to write about. Take a look at the following ideas:

The rise of the Chanel brand
Does price reflect quality?
Fashion in Ancient Egypt
The sense of fashion in women
The link between art and fashion
Discuss ethics in fashion
The relationship between style and money
The role of clothes in your culture
Interesting fashion hacks

Fashion Research Topics 2023

In the fashion research topics 2023, you can find topics that were greatly appreciated in 2023. These may or may not be as appreciated in 2024 though:

Fashion in developing countries
Research smart casual fashion
Compare Asian fashion with American fashion
Fashion and aesthetics
Marketing a new brand of clothes
Fashion in vlogging
What are cycles in fashion?
The rise of the Versace empire
Fashion in Paris

Advanced Fashion Topics To Discuss

We also have a list of more advanced fashion topics to discuss. Just keep in mind that the following topics are not easy to write about. But as an option, you can buy a dissertation on any topic.

Negative effects of fashion on the environment
Forecasting new trends in 2023
Celebrities and fashion
Negative effects of fashion on the human psychology
Influencer marketing of fashion products
Fashion from a religious standpoint
The place of leather in fashion in 2023
Largest fashion shows in the world
The importance of Fashion Weeks in Eastern Europe

Fun Research Topics On Fashion

Who said a research paper can’t be fun? Choose one of these fun research topics on fashion and start writing the perfect paper today:

Fashion in 1990s media
Funny fashion mishaps
Men in fashion advertisements/commercials
Fashion in medieval times
Crossover fashion in 2023
Can you start a fashion business?
Fashion in the royal family (the UK)
Fashion and school uniforms

Important People In Fashion

One of the easiest ways to write a research paper in the field of fashion is to research an icon. Here are some important people in a fashion that you can talk about:

Karl Lagerfeld
Stella McCartney
Audrey Hepburn
David Bowie
Princess Diana
Charles Frederick Worth
Harry Styles
Kim Taehyung
Coco Chanel
Designer Paul Poiret

Fashion Research Paper Topics For High School

If you are a high school student, you need some easier topics to write on. Check out these fashion research paper topics for high school and pick the one you like:

Fashion in Ancient Egyptian times
Michael Jackson’s fashion
Fashion in Western Europe
Fashion at the workplace
Fashion in schools in the UK
Discuss fashion in North Korea
Luxury products and the human brain
Fashion trends and the science that explains them

Captivating Fashion Design Research Paper Topics

In case you want to discuss fashion design, we have a nice list of captivating fashion design research paper topics right here. All these topics are, of course, 100% free to use:

Fashion in the LGBTQ community
Fashion in Nazi Germany
Fun facts about beachwear
The role of Versace in fashion
New York as a fashion center
Effects of Tik-Tok on fashion
The origins of ethnic clothing
Mixing 3 styles the right way
Fashion and sexism in 2023

Fast Fashion Research Paper Topics

Don’t want to spend a lot of time working on that research paper? No problem! Simply choose one of these fast fashion research paper topics:

The role of politics in fashion in the United States
Talk about wedding ceremony fashion
Talk about trends in baby clothing in the United Kingdom
The role celebrities play in fashion marketing
Talk about 3 iconic fashion characters
An in-depth look at fashion in the punk world

Fashion Topics To Research In 2023

It’s time to think about the topics that should work great in 2023. In fact, our experts have already compiled a list of fashion topics to research in 2023:

Talk about the notion of “invisible branding” in fashion
Research women’s fashion in the 1980s
The role played by art in fashion trends
Research 3 major fashion companies
Talk about the low rise fashion trend
Discuss the women’s oversized bomber jackets trend

Fashion And Marketing Research Topics

As you probably know, fashion and marketing go hand in hand. Take a look at our latest and most interesting fashion and marketing research topics right here:

Fashion marketing on social media
Fashion marketing in the 1960s
Effective marketing strategies for luxury products
Style vs. functionality in marketing
Marketing and fashion cycles
The role of fashion in TV commercials

Fashion Ideas For College Students

College students should research topics that are more complex in nature. Don’t worry though; we have more than enough fashion ideas for college students:

Research the hoodies under blazers fashion trend
Compare Asian and European fashion
Research Jane Austen’s style
A closer look at minimalist fashion
The beginning of the Haute Couture
Fashion and the Internet

Unique Ideas Related To Fashion

This list of topics has been revised recently to make sure all ideas are unique. So, if you’re looking for unique ideas related to fashion, you have definitely arrived at the right place:

Analyze the cropped cardigans trend
Research the plus-size fashion industry in Indonesia
The impact of feminism on fashion
Social issues caused by fashion
Fashion and cheap labor
Effects of religion on fashion

Easy Fashion Essay Topics

If you want to make sure you ace that research paper, you should find an easy topic to talk about. Take a look at these easy fashion essay topics and pick one today:

Discuss the notion of “color blocking”
Fashion trends during World War II
The evolution of men’s suits over the last 100 years
Fashion and child labor
What is organic clothing?
Talk about the rise of wig fashion

Creative Fashion Research Questions

Professors really appreciate creativity, so you should definitely go through this list of creative fashion research questions:

A closer look at the puff sleeves trend
The Kardashian family’s impact on fashion
How did Chanel rise to fame?
Sustainability in the fashion industry
Fashion and body types
Interesting fashion trends in Dubai
Talk about fashion in the armed forces

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Tips on How to Choose Interesting Research Paper Topics about Fashion

Here are our topic recommendations of how to choose the topic that will be appealing for you:

Define a specific niche. Narrow down your search by defining whether you’ll be writing about stylistic trends for kids, teenagers, adults or seniors. Besides, you might be focusing on modern fashion or on some particular period.
Design an engaging title. The subject itself allows you to be as creative as possible. Try to engage a reader right from the title of your paper.
Make a prior research. Google the topic you’re interested in, look for some sources you can use to support your ideas in the college library. Search for some celebrities’ examples and pictures you can add to enhance your writing.
Think about the main message of your research. Every new writing should bear some value. Think about the main statement of your work. Is there any new approach you would like to share with your readers? Each essay should have its own unique idea.

To help you choose some nice options for your research, we’ve composed a list of 110 paper topic ideas dedicated to style for you to get inspired. College students who are into fashion and want to analyze some of the newest trends will have no trouble finding a compelling topic to write about from the list below. Feel free to modify those you find the most suitable to make them more precise and personalized.

We’ve made sure that all topics from the list you’ll find below are relevant for those who have connected majors. The ideas we share are either somehow connected to present trends or serve as an analysis of stylistical ideas from the past. Those old ones are essential for understanding modern culture as well, as they can change our modern-day perceptions and views. Besides, all trends have a tendency to reappear from time to time due to the fact fashion is cyclical.

What should be included in fashion research?

A student who starts writing on the task is expected to have an academic approach in developing the topic and rely on historical facts and information worthy of inclusion in the research paper. Prior writing, we recommend analyzing recent trends in clothes and connecting them to history, business, science, or art. This step will help to choose some relevant research paper topics on fashion. Exploring fashion research paper topics can be fascinating, but if you need specialized assistance for your healthcare-related assignments, seeking nursing paper help can ensure your nursing papers are thorough and well-crafted.

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Historical and Cultural Perspectives Topics

Want to write a research paper on the subject but lack the proper title? Here’s a list of creative fashion research topics for you to get inspired.

The evolution of fashion from the 1920s to the present.
The impact of royal figures on fashion trends throughout history.
Cross-cultural influences in fashion: East meets West.
The role of fashion in the feminist movement.
Fashion during the Renaissance: A symbol of status and power.
The influence of punk culture on mainstream fashion.
Traditional costumes around the world and their modern interpretations.
The history of haute couture and its relevance today.
Fashion icons of the 20th century and their legacy.
The evolution of men's fashion: From formal to casual.
The impact of war on fashion design and materials.
African textiles and their influence on global fashion.
The kimono: From traditional wear to fashion statement.
The flapper dress: Symbolizing women's liberation in the 1920s.
The history and significance of the fashion show.
Fashion in the Victorian era: Constraints and extravagance.
The rise and fall of the corset: A historical perspective.
The influence of cinema on fashion trends.
The globalization of fashion: A historical overview.
Fashion and identity among indigenous cultures.

Fashion Industry and Business

The economics of the fashion industry: Challenges and opportunities.
The role of fashion weeks in shaping industry trends.
Sustainable fashion: Strategies for a greener industry.
The impact of fast fashion on the environment and labor markets.
Luxury brands and their marketing strategies.
The rise of e-commerce in the fashion industry.
Fashion merchandising: Principles and practices.
The psychology behind consumer behavior in fashion.
The role of fashion influencers in digital marketing.
Ethical considerations in the fashion supply chain.
Brand collaborations: A strategy for innovation and reach.
The future of retail: Physical stores vs. online shopping.
The impact of technology on fashion design and production.
Fashion entrepreneurship: Starting a brand from scratch.
The role of intellectual property rights in fashion.
Consumer trends shaping the future of fashion.
The challenges of size inclusivity in fashion.
The impact of social media on fashion brands.
Fashion and luxury goods counterfeiting: Impacts and solutions.
The role of fashion editors and magazines in the industry.

Fashion Design and Technology

The intersection of fashion design and wearable technology.
3D printing in fashion: Opportunities and challenges.
The role of computer-aided design (CAD) in fashion.
Smart textiles and their applications in modern apparel.
The future of virtual reality (VR) in fashion design and retail.
Sustainable materials and innovations in textile production.
The evolution of fabric dyeing techniques and their environmental impact.
The influence of architecture on fashion design.
The science of pattern making and garment construction.
The role of color theory in fashion design.
Adaptive fashion for people with disabilities.
The impact of biomimicry on textile innovation.
The resurgence of artisanal and handcrafted fashion.
The role of costume design in film and theater.
Gender-neutral and unisex design in contemporary fashion.
The psychology of fashion design: Color, form, and function.
The influence of technology on fashion illustration.
Upcycling and repurposing in fashion design.
The future of bespoke and made-to-measure fashion.
The role of textiles in fashion: From natural to synthetic fibers.

Fashion Trends and Styles

The cycle of fashion trends: How old becomes new again.
Streetwear: Origins, evolution, and influence.
The impact of celebrity culture on fashion trends.
Athleisure: Blurring the lines between sportswear and casual wear.
The role of subcultures in shaping fashion trends.
Minimalism in fashion: Aesthetic and philosophy.
The revival of vintage and retro styles in contemporary fashion.
The influence of music genres on fashion.
Eco-fashion: Trends promoting sustainability and ethics.
The role of accessories in completing a look.
The impact of global travel on fashion trends.
Seasonal trends vs. timeless style.
The influence of art movements on fashion design.
The role of gender fluidity in contemporary fashion trends.
The impact of social movements on fashion statements.
The evolution of swimwear: From modesty to fashion statement.
The significance of the little black dress in fashion history.
The influence of youth culture on fashion innovation.
The role of bridal wear in fashion design.
The impact of social media trends on fast fashion.

Fashion and Society

Fashion as a form of self-expression and identity.
The role of fashion in social status and class distinction.
The impact of fashion on body image and self-esteem.
Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation in fashion.
The influence of fashion on gender norms and expectations.
Fashion activism: Using style to make a statement.
The psychology behind fashion choices and personal style.
The role of uniforms in society: Schools, military, and corporations.
Fashion and age: Challenging stereotypes and expectations.
The significance of dress codes in different cultural contexts.
The impact of fashion on LGBTQ+ identity and visibility.
The role of fashion in religious and cultural practices.
Fashion and disability: Inclusivity and adaptive design.
The influence of political events on fashion trends.
The role of fashion in historical and cultural preservation.
Fashion as a tool for social change and empowerment.
The impact of globalization on local fashion and traditions.
The role of fashion in celebrity culture and fandom.
Fashion and the representation of race and ethnicity.
The ethics of beauty standards imposed by the fashion industry.

Fashion Photography and Media

The evolution of fashion photography: From magazines to digital platforms.
The role of fashion photographers in shaping brand image.
The impact of social media on fashion photography trends.
The intersection of fashion and art in editorial photography.
The influence of digital retouching on perceptions of beauty.
Behind the scenes: The making of iconic fashion campaigns.
The role of fashion films in storytelling and branding.
The impact of fashion bloggers and influencers on industry trends.
The evolution of fashion magazines and their role in culture.
The significance of cover shoots in fashion media.
Ethical considerations in fashion photography.
The role of street style photography in capturing trends.
The impact of celebrity endorsements in fashion media.
The challenges of representing diversity in fashion photography.
The influence of technology on fashion film production.
The role of visual merchandising in fashion retail.
The impact of fashion advertising on consumer behavior.
The role of fashion editors in curating content.
The significance of fashion exhibitions and retrospectives.
The future of fashion media in the digital age.

Sustainable Fashion and Ethics

The principles of sustainable fashion: Reducing environmental impact.
The role of upcycling in promoting sustainable fashion.
The impact of fast fashion on the environment and labor practices.
Innovations in eco-friendly materials and textiles.
The challenges and opportunities of ethical fashion branding.
Consumer responsibility in promoting sustainable fashion.
The role of certifications and standards in ethical fashion.
The impact of water usage and pollution in textile production.
Strategies for reducing waste in the fashion industry.
The role of technology in creating sustainable fashion solutions.
The economics of sustainable fashion: Cost vs. benefit.
The impact of second-hand and vintage markets on sustainability.
Ethical issues in animal-derived materials: Leather, fur, and wool.
The role of fashion education in promoting sustainability.
Collaborations between environmental organizations and fashion brands.
The challenges of transparency and traceability in the supply chain.
The role of government and policy in supporting sustainable fashion.
Consumer trends and demand for ethical fashion products.
The future of sustainable fashion: Innovations and predictions.

Fashion and Globalization

The impact of globalization on traditional dress and fashion.
The role of global fashion brands in shaping consumer culture.
The influence of global fashion weeks on international trends.
The challenges of maintaining cultural identity in global fashion.
The impact of trade agreements on the fashion industry.
The role of global sourcing and manufacturing in fashion.
The influence of global celebrities and icons on fashion trends.
The impact of global economic shifts on fashion markets.
The role of digital platforms in globalizing fashion retail.
The challenges and benefits of cross-cultural fashion collaborations.
The impact of migration and diaspora on fashion innovation.
The role of global fashion media in shaping trends.
The challenges of ethical production in a globalized industry.
The influence of global tourism on fashion consumption.
The role of international fashion exhibitions and fairs.
The impact of cultural exchange programs on fashion education.
The challenges of language and communication in global fashion.
The role of international fashion awards in promoting designers.
The impact of global environmental concerns on fashion sustainability.
The future of fashion in a globalized world: Trends and predictions.

This extensive list of fashion research paper topics, divided into eight categories, offers a wide range of subjects for exploration, from historical and cultural perspectives to sustainability and globalization. Each category provides a unique lens through which to examine the multifaceted world of fashion, encouraging in-depth research and critical analysis.

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International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research

Open access
Published: 22 November 2014

Dress, body and self: research in the social psychology of dress

Kim Johnson 1 ,
Sharron J Lennon 2 &
Nancy Rudd 3

Fashion and Textiles volume 1 , Article number: 20 ( 2014 ) Cite this article

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The purpose of this research was to provide a critical review of key research areas within the social psychology of dress. The review addresses published research in two broad areas: (1) dress as a stimulus and its influence on (a) attributions by others, attributions about self, and on one's behavior and (2) relationships between dress, the body, and the self. We identify theoretical approaches used in conducting research in these areas, provide an abbreviated background of research in these areas highlighting key findings, and identify future research directions and possibilities. The subject matter presented features developing topics within the social psychology of dress and is useful for undergraduate students who want an overview of the content area. It is also useful for graduate students (1) who want to learn about the major scholars in these key areas of inquiry who have moved the field forward, or (2) who are looking for ideas for their own thesis or dissertation research. Finally, information in this paper is useful for professors who research or teach the social psychology of dress.

Introduction

A few social scientists in the 19 th Century studied dress as related to culture, individuals, and social groups, but it was not until the middle of the 20 th Century that home economists began to pursue a scholarly interest in social science aspects of dress (Roach-Higgins 1993 ). Dress is defined as “an assemblage of modifications of the body and/or supplements to the body” (Roach-Higgins & Eicher 1992 , p. 1). Body modifications include cosmetic use, suntanning, piercing, tattooing, dieting, exercising, and cosmetic surgery among others. Body supplements include, but are not limited to, accessories, clothing, hearing aids, and glasses. By the 1950s social science theories from economics, psychology, social psychology, and sociology were being used to study dress and human behavior (Rudd 1991 , p. 24).

A range of topics might be included under the phrase social psychology of dress but we use it to refer to research that attempts to answer questions concerned with how an individual’s dress-related beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by others and one’s self. The social psychology of dress is concerned with how an individual’s dress affects the behavior of self as well as the behavior of others toward the self (Johnson & Lennon 2014 ).

Among several topics that could be included in a critical review of research addressing the social psychology of dress, we focused our work on a review of published research in two broad areas: (1) dress as a stimulus and its influence on (a) attributions by others, attributions about self, and on one’s own behavior and (2) relationships between dress, the body, and the self. Our goal was to identify theoretical approaches used in conducting research in these areas, provide an abbreviated background of research in these areas highlighting key findings, and to identify future research directions and possibilities. The content presented features developing topics within the social psychology of dress and is useful for undergraduate students who want an overview of the content area. It is also useful for graduate students (1) who want to learn about the major scholars in these key areas of inquiry who have moved the field forward, or (2) who are looking for ideas for their own thesis or dissertation research. Finally, information in this paper is useful for professors who research or teach the social psychology of dress.

Body supplements as stimulus variables

In studying the social psychology of dress, researchers have often focused on dress as a stimulus variable; for example, the effects of dress on impression formation, attributions, and social perception (see Lennon & Davis 1989 ) or the effects of dress on behaviors (see Johnson et al. 2008 ). The context within which dress is perceived (Damhorst 1984-85 ) as well as characteristics of perceivers of clothed individuals (Burns & Lennon 1993 ) also has a profound effect on what is perceived about others. In the remainder of this section we focus on three research streams that center on dress (i.e., body supplements) as stimuli.

Provocative dress as stimuli

In the 1980s researchers were interested in women’s provocative (revealing, sexy) dress and the extent to which men and women attributed the same meaning to it. For example, both Edmonds and Cahoon ( 1986 ) and Cahoon and Edmonds ( 1987 ) found ratings of women who wore provocative dress were more negative than ratings of women who wore non-provocative dress. No specific theory was identified by these authors as guiding their research. Overall, when wearing provocative dress a model was rated more sexually appealing, more attractive, less faithful in marriage, more likely to engage in sexual teasing, more likely to use sex for personal gain, more likely to be sexually experienced, and more likely to be raped than when wearing conservative dress. Cahoon and Edmonds found that men and women made similar judgments, although men’s were more extreme than women’s. Abbey et al. ( 1987 ) studied whether women’s sexual intent and interest as conveyed by revealing dress was misinterpreted by men. The authors developed two dress conditions: revealing (slit skirt, low cut blouse, high heeled shoes) and non-revealing (skirt without a slit, blouse buttoned to neck, boots). Participants rated the stimulus person on a series of adjective traits. As compared to when wearing the non-revealing clothing, when wearing the revealing clothing the stimulus person was rated significantly more flirtatious, sexy, seductive, promiscuous, sophisticated, assertive, and less sincere and considerate. This research was not guided by theory.

Taking this research another step forward, in the 1990s dress researchers began to investigate how women’s provocative (revealing, sexy) dress was implicated in attributions of responsibility for their own sexual assaults (Lewis & Johnson 1989 ; Workman & Freeburg 1999 ; Workman & Orr 1996 ) and sexual harassment (Johnson & Workman 1992 , 1994 ; Workman & Johnson 1991 ). These researchers tended to use attribution theories (McLeod, 2010 ) to guide their research. Their results showed that provocative, skimpy, see-through, or short items of dress, as well as use of heavy makeup (body modification), were cues used to assign responsibility to women for their sexual assaults and experiences of sexual harassment. For example, Johnson and Workman ( 1992 ) studied likelihood of sexual harassment as a function of women’s provocative dress. A model was photographed wearing a dark suit jacket, above-the-knee skirt, a low-cut blouse, dark hose, and high heels (provocative condition) or wearing a dark suit jacket, below-the-knee skirt, high-cut blouse, neutral hose, and moderate heels (non-provocative condition). As compared to when wearing non-provocative dress, when wearing provocative dress the model was rated as significantly more likely to provoke sexual harassment and to be sexually harassed.

Recently, researchers have resurrected the topic of provocative (revealing, sexy) dress. However, their interest is in determining the extent to which women and girls are depicted in provocative dress in the media (in magazines, in online retail stores) and the potential consequences of those depictions, such as objectification. These researchers have often used objectification theory to guide their research. According to objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts 1997 ) women living in sexually saturated cultures are looked at, evaluated, and potentially objectified and treated as objects valued for their use by others. Objectification theory focuses on sexual objectification as a function of objectifying gaze, which is experienced in actual social encounters, media depictions of social encounters, and media depictions that focus on bodies and body parts. The theory explains that objectifying gaze evokes an objectified state of consciousness which influences self-perceptions. This objectified state of consciousness has consequences such as habitual body and appearance monitoring and requires cognitive effort that can result in difficulty with task performance (Szymanski et al. 2011 ). In such an environment, women may perceive their bodies from a third-person perspective, treating themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated.

Self-objectification occurs when people perceive and describe their bodies as a function of appearance instead of accomplishments (Harrison & Fredrickson 2003 ). Experimental research shows that self-objectification in women can be induced by revealing clothing manipulations such as asking women to try on and evaluate the fit of a swimsuit as compared to a bulky sweater (Fredrickson et al. 1998 ).

To examine changes in sexualizing (provocative) characteristics with which girls are portrayed in the media, researchers have content analyzed girls’ clothing in two magazines (Graff et al. 2013 ). Clothing was coded as having sexualizing characteristics (e.g., tightness, bare midriffs, high-heeled shoes) and childlike characteristics (e.g., frills, childlike print, pigtail hair styles). The researchers found an increase in sexualized aspects of dress in depictions of girls from 1971 through 2011. To determine the extent of sexualization in girls’ clothing, researchers have content analyzed girls’ clothing available on 15 retailer websites (Goodin et al. 2011 ). Every girl’s clothing item on each of the retailer websites was coded for sexualizing aspects; 4% was coded as definitely sexualizing. Ambiguously sexualizing clothing (25%) had both sexualizing and childlike characteristics. Abercrombie Kids’ clothing had a higher percentage of sexualizing characteristics than all the other stores (44% versus 4%). These two studies document that girls are increasingly depicted in sexualizing clothing in U.S. media and that they are offered sexualized clothing by major retailers via their websites.

Since girls are increasingly sexualized, to determine if sexualized dress affects how girls are perceived by others Graff et al. ( 2012 ) designed an experiment wherein they manipulated the sexualizing aspects of the clothing of a 5 th grade girl. There were three clothing conditions: childlike (a grey t-shirt, jeans, and black Mary Jane shoes), ambiguously sexualized (leopard print dress of moderate length), highly sexualized (short dress, leopard print cardigan, purse). In the definitely sexualized condition, undergraduate students rated the girl as less moral, self-respecting, capable, determined, competent, and intelligent than when she was depicted in either the childlike or the ambiguously sexualized conditions. Thus, wearing sexualized clothing can affect how girls are perceived by others, so it is possible that sexualized clothing could lead to self-objectification in girls just as in the case of women (Tiggemann & Andrew 2012 ).

Objectification theory has been useful in identifying probable processes underlying the association between women’s provocative dress and negative inferences. In a study using adult stimuli, Gurung and Chrouser ( 2007 ) presented photos of female Olympic athletes in uniform and in provocative (defined as minimal) dress. College women rated the photos and when provocatively dressed, as compared to the uniform condition, the women were rated as more attractive, more feminine, more sexually experienced, more desirable, but also less capable, less strong, less determined, less intelligent, and as having less self-respect. These results are similar to what had previously been found by researchers in the 1980s (Abbey et al. 1987 ; Cahoon & Edmonds 1987 ; Edmonds & Cahoon 1986 ). This outcome is considered objectifying because the overall impression is negative and sexist. Thus, this line of research does more than demonstrate that provocative dress evokes inferences, it suggests the process by which that occurs: provocative dress leads to objectification of the woman so dressed and it is the objectification that leads to the inferences.

In a more direct assessment of the relationship between provocative dress and objectification of others, Holland and Haslam ( 2013 ) manipulated the dress (provocative or plain clothing) of two models (thin or overweight) who were rated equally attractive in facial attractiveness. Since objectification involves inspecting the body, the authors measured participants’ attention to the models’ bodies. Objectification also involves denying human qualities to the objectified person. Two such qualities are perceived agency (e.g., ability to think and form intentions) and moral agency (e.g., capacity to engage in moral or immoral actions). Several findings are relevant to the research on provocative dress. As compared to models wearing plain clothing, models wearing provocative clothing were attributed less perceived agency (e.g., ability to reason, ability to choose) and less moral agency [e.g., “how intentional do you believe the woman’s behavior is?” (p. 463)]. Results showed that more objectified gaze was directed toward the bodies of the models when they were dressed in provocative clothing as compared to when dressed in plain clothing. This outcome is considered objectifying because the models’ bodies were inspected more when wearing provocative dress, and because in that condition they were perceived as having less of the qualities normally attributed to humans.

In an experimental study guided by objectification theory, Tiggemann and Andrew ( 2012 ) studied the effects of clothing on self-perceptions of state self-objectification, state body shame, state body dissatisfaction, and negative mood. However, unlike studies (e.g., Fredrickson et al. 1998 ) in which participants were asked to try on and evaluate either a bathing suit or a sweater, Tiggemann and Andrew instructed their participants to “imagine what you would be seeing, feeling, and thinking” (p. 648) in scenarios. There were four scenarios: thinking about wearing a bathing suit in public, thinking about wearing a bathing suit in a dressing room, thinking about wearing a sweater in public, and thinking about wearing a sweater in a dressing room. The researchers found main effects for clothing such that as compared to thinking about wearing a sweater, thinking about wearing a bathing suit resulted in higher state self-objectification, higher state body shame, higher state body dissatisfaction, and greater negative mood. The fact that the manipulation only involved thinking about wearing clothing, rather than actually wearing such clothing, demonstrates the power of revealing (provocative, sexy) dress in that we only have to think about wearing it to have it affect our self-perceptions.

Taking extant research into account we encourage researchers to continue to investigate the topic of provocative (sexy, revealing) dress for both men and women to replicate the results for women and to determine if revealing dress for men might evoke the kinds of inferences evoked by women wearing revealing dress. Furthermore, research that delineates the role of objectification in the process by which this association between dress and inferences occurs would be useful. Although it would not be ethical to use the experimental strategy used by previous researchers (Fredrickson et al. 1998 ) with children, it is possible that researchers could devise correlational studies to investigate the extent to which wearing and/or viewing sexualized clothing might lead to self- and other-objectification in girls.

Research on red dress

Researchers who study the social psychology of dress have seldom focused on dress color. However, in the 1980s and 1990s a few researchers investigated color in the context of retail color analysis systems that focused on personal coloring (Abramov 1985 ; Francis & Evans 1987 ; Hilliker & Rogers 1988 ; Radeloff 1991 ). For example, Francis and Evans found that stimulus persons were actually perceived positively when not wearing their recommended personal colors. Hilliker and Rogers surveyed managers of apparel stores about the use of color analysis systems and found some impact on the marketplace, but disagreement among the managers on the value of the systems. Abramov critiqued color analysis for being unclear, ambiguous, and for the inability to substantiate claims. Most of these studies were not guided by a psychological theory of color.

Since the 1990s, researchers have developed a theory of color psychology (Elliot & Maier 2007 ) called color-in-context theory. Like other variables that affect social perception, the theory explains that color also conveys meaning which varies as a function of the context in which the color is perceived. Accordingly, the meanings of colors are learned over time through repeated pairings with a particular experience or message (e.g., red stop light and danger) or with biological tendencies to respond to color in certain contexts. For example, female non-human primates display red on parts of their bodies when nearing ovulation; hence red is associated with lust, fertility, and sexuality (Guéguen and Jacob 2013 ). As a function of these associations between colors and experiences, messages, or biological tendencies, people either display approach responses or avoidance responses but are largely unaware of how color affects them. In this section we review studies that examine the effects of red in relational contexts such as interpersonal attraction. However, there is evidence that red is detrimental in achievement (i.e., academic or hiring) contexts (e.g., Maier et al. 2013 ) and that red signals dominance and affects outcomes in competitive sporting contests (e.g., Feltman and Elliot 2011 ; Hagemann et al. 2008 ).

Recently researchers have used color-in-context theory to study the effects of red dress (shirts, dresses) on impressions related to sexual intent, attractiveness, dominance, and competence. Some of these studies were guided by color-in-context theory. Guéguen ( 2012 ) studied men’s perceptions of women’s sexual intent and attractiveness as a function of shirt color. Male participants viewed a photo of a woman wearing a t-shirt that varied in color. When wearing a red t-shirt as compared to the other colors, the woman was judged to be more attractive and to have greater sexual intent. Pazda et al. ( 2014a , [ b ]) conducted an experiment designed to determine why men perceive women who wear red to be more attractive than those who wear other colors. They argued that red is associated with sexual receptivity due to cultural pairings of red and female sexuality (e.g., red light district, sexy red lingerie). Men participated in an online experiment in which they were exposed to a woman wearing either a red, black, or white dress. When wearing the red dress the woman was rated as more sexually receptive than when wearing either the white or the black dresses. The woman was also rated on attractiveness and by performing a mediation analysis the researchers determined that when wearing the red dress, the ratings of her attractiveness as a function of red were no longer significant; in other words, the reason she was rated as more attractive when wearing the red dress was due to the fact that she was also perceived as more sexually receptive.

Pazda et al. ( 2014a , [ b ]), interested in women’s perceptions of other women as a function of their clothing color, conducted a series of experiments. They reasoned that like men, women would also make the connection between a woman’s red dress and her sexual receptivity and perceive her to be a sexual competitor. In their first experiment they found that women rated the stimulus woman as more sexually receptive when wearing a red dress as compared to when she was wearing a white dress. In a second experiment the woman wearing a red dress was not only rated more sexually receptive, she was also derogated more since ratings of her sexual fidelity were lower when wearing a red dress as compared to a white dress. Finally, in a third experiment the stimulus woman was again rated more sexually receptive; this time when she wore a red shirt as compared to when she wore a green shirt. The authors assessed the likelihood that their respondents would introduce the stimulus person to their boyfriends and the likelihood that they would let their boyfriends spend time with the stimulus person. Participants in the red shirt condition were more likely to keep their boyfriends from interacting with the stimulus person than participants in the green shirt condition. Thus, both men and women indicated women wearing red are sexually receptive.

Also interested in color, Roberts et al. ( 2010 ) were interested in determining whether clothing color affects the wearer of the clothing (e.g., do women act provocatively when wearing red clothing?) or does clothing color affect the perceiver of the person wearing the colored clothing. To answer this question, they devised a complicated series of experiments. In the first study, male and female models (ten of each) were photographed wearing each of six different colors of t-shirts. Undergraduates of the opposite sex rated the photographed models on attractiveness. Both male and female models were rated most attractive when wearing red and black t-shirts. In study two the same photos were used, but the t-shirts were masked by a gray rectangle. Compared to when they wore white t-shirts, male models were judged to be more attractive by both men and women when they wore the red t-shirts, even though the red color was not visible. In the third study the t-shirt colors in the photos were digitally altered, so that images could be compared in which red or white t-shirts were worn with those in which red had been altered to white and white had been altered to red. Male models wearing red were rated more attractive than male models wearing white that had been altered to appear red. Also male models wearing red shirts digitally altered to appear white were rated more attractive than male models actually photographed in white. These effects did not occur for female models. The authors reasoned that if clothing color only affected perceivers, then the results should be the same when a model is photographed in red as well as when the model is photographed in white which is subsequently altered to appear red. Since this did not happen, the authors concluded that clothing color affects both the wearer and the perceiver.

In addition, the effects of red dress on impressions also extend to behaviors. Kayser et al. ( 2010 ) conducted a series of experiments. For experiment one, a female stimulus person was photographed in either a red t-shirt or a green one. Male participants were shown a photo of the woman and given a list of questions from which to choose five to ask her. Because women wearing red are perceived to be more sexually receptive and to have greater sexual intent than when wearing other colors, the researchers expected the men who saw the woman in the red dress to select intimate questions to ask and this is what they found. In a second experiment, the female stimulus person wore either a red or a blue t-shirt. After seeing her picture the male participants were told that they would be interacting with her, where she would be sitting, and that they could place their chairs wherever they wished to sit. The men expecting to interact with the red-shirted woman placed their chairs significantly closer to her chair than when they expected to interact with a blue-shirted woman.

In a field experiment (Guéguen 2012 ), five female confederates wore t-shirts of red or other colors and stood by the side of a road to hitchhike. The t-shirt color did not affect women drivers, but significantly more men stopped to pick up the female confederates when they wore the red t-shirts as compared to all the other colors. In a similar study researchers (Guéguen & Jacob 2013 ) altered the color of a woman’s clothing on an online meeting site so that the woman was shown wearing red or several other colors. The women received significantly more contacts when her clothing had been altered to be red than any of the other t-shirt colors.

Researchers should continue conducting research about the color of dress items using color-in-context theory. One context important to consider in this research stream is the cultural context within which the research is conducted. To begin, other colors in addition to red should be studied for their meanings within and across cultural contexts. Since red is associated with sexual receptivity, red clothing should be investigated in the context of the research on provocative dress. For example, would women wearing red revealing dress be judged more provocative than women wearing the same clothing in different colors? Also researchers interested in girls’ and women’s depictions in the media, could investigate the effects of red dress on perceptions of sexual intent and objectification.

Effects of dress on the behavior of the wearer

Several researchers studying the social psychology of dress have reviewed the research literature (Davis 1984 ; Lennon and Davis 1989 ) and some have analyzed that research (see Damhorst 1990 ; Hutton 1984 ; Johnson et al. 2008 for reviews). In these reviews, Damhorst and Hutton focused on the effect of dress on person perception or impression formation. Johnson et al., however, focused their analysis on behaviors evoked by dress. An emerging line of research focuses on the effects of dress on the behavior of the wearer (Adam and Galinsky 2012 ; Frank and Galinsky 1988 ; Fredrickson et al. 1998 ; Gino et al. 2010 ; Hebl et al. 2004 ; Kouchaki et al. 2014 ; Martins et al. 2007 ).

Fredrickson et al. ( 1998 ), Hebl et al. ( 2004 ), and Martins et al. ( 2007 ) all used objectification theory to guide experiments about women’s and men’s body image experience. They were interested in the extent to which wearing revealing dress could trigger self-objectification. The theory predicts that self-objectification manifests in performance detriments on a task subsequent to a self-objectifying experience. Frederickson et al. had participants complete a shopping task. They entered a dressing room, tried on either a one piece swimsuit or a bulky sweater, and evaluated the fit in a mirror as they would if buying the garment. Then they completed a math performance test. The women who wore a swimsuit performed more poorly on the math test than women wearing a sweater; no such effects were found for men. A few years later Hebl et al. ( 2004 ) used the same procedure to study ethnic differences in self-objectification. Participants were Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American undergraduate men and women. Participants completed the same shopping task and math test. Participants who tried on the swimsuits performed worse on the math test than participants who tried on the sweater and these results held for both men and women of all ethnicities.

Martins et al. ( 2007 ) used the same shopping task as Frederickson et al. ( 1998 ) and Hebl et al. ( 2004 ), but employed a different behavioral measure. Their participants were gay and heterosexual men and the garment they tried on was either Speedo men’s briefs or a turtleneck sweater. After the shopping task the men were given the opportunity to sample and evaluate a snack and the amount eaten was measured. Wearing the Speedo affected eating for the gay men, but not the heterosexual men, such that gay men in the Speedo condition ate significantly less of the snack than gay men in the sweater condition. Taken together these studies demonstrate that a nominal clothing manipulation can have effects on the behavior of the wearer.

In one of the first studies to demonstrate the effects of clothing on the wearer, Frank and Gilovich ( 1988 ) noted that the color black is associated with evil and death in many cultures. They studied the extent to which players wearing black uniforms were judged more evil and aggressive than players wearing uniforms of other colors. They analyzed penalties awarded for aggressive behavior in football and ice hockey players. Players who wore black uniforms received more penalties for their aggressive behavior than those who wore other uniform colors. Since the penalty results could be due to biased refereeing, the authors videotaped a staged football game in which the defensive team wore either black or white uniforms. The same events were depicted in each version of the videotape. Participants watched short videos and rated the plays as more aggressive when the team members wore black as compared to white uniforms. In another part of the study, participants were assigned to wear either black or white uniform shirts. While wearing the shirts they were asked the type of games they would like to play; the black-shirted participants selected more aggressive games than the white-shirted participants. The authors interpreted the results of all the studies to mean that players wearing black are aggressive. Yet, when the level of aggressiveness was held constant in the staged football game, referees still perceived black-uniformed players to be more aggressive than white-uniformed players. The authors concluded that the color of the black uniform affects the wearer and the perceiver. This study’s results are similar to those of the researchers studying red dress who found that the color red is associated with a cultural meaning that affects both the wearer and the perceiver of the red dress (Roberts et al. 2010 ).

In a similar way, Adam and Galinsky ( 2012 ) determined that when clothing has symbolic meaning for the wearer, it also affects the wearer’s behavior. The researchers found that a white lab coat was associated with traits related to attentiveness. Then they conducted an experiment in which one group wore a white lab coat described as a painter’s coat and another group wore the same lab coat which was described as a medical doctor’s lab coat. A third group saw, but did not wear, a lab coat described as a medical doctor’s lab coat. Participants then performed an experimental task that required selective attention. The group that wore the coat described as a medical doctor’s lab coat outperformed both of the other two groups.

Gino et al. ( 2010 ) studied the effects of wearing designer sunglasses that were described either as counterfeit or authentic Chloe sunglasses on one’s own behaviors and perceptions of others. Although counterfeits convey status to others, they also mean that the wearers are pretending to be something they are not (i.e., wealthy enough to purchase authentic sunglasses). Participants who thought they were wearing fake sunglasses cheated significantly more on two experimental tasks than those who thought they were wearing authentic sunglasses. In a second experiment, the researchers showed that participants who believed they were wearing counterfeit sunglasses perceived others’ behaviors as more dishonest, less truthful, and more likely to be unethical than those wearing authentic sunglasses. In a third experiment the researchers showed that the effect for wearing counterfeit sunglasses on one’s own behavior was due to the meaning of inauthenticity attributed to the counterfeit sunglasses. Consistent with Adam and Galinsky ( 2012 ) and Frank and Gilovich (1988), in Gino et al. the effect of dress on one’s own behavior was due to the meaning of the dress cue in a context relevant to the meaning of that dress cue. While none of these three studies articulated a specific theory to guide their research, Adams and Galinsky outlined an enclothed cognition framework, which explained that dress affects wearers due to the symbolic meaning of the dress and the physical experience of wearing that dress item.

To summarize the research on the effects of dress on the behavior of the wearer, each of these studies reported research focused on a dress cue associated with cultural meaning. Some of the researchers had to first determine that meaning. The manipulations were designed so that the meaning of the dress cues was salient for the context of the manipulation. For example, in the objectification studies the revealingness of dress was varied in the context of a dressing room mirror where the revealing nature of the cue would be relevant. So to extend the enclothed cognition framework, we suggest that for dress to affect the wearer, the context of the experimental task needs to be such that the meaning of the dress item is salient.

Future researchers may continue to pursue the effects of dress on the wearer. The extended enclothed cognition framework could be applied to school uniforms. A possible research question could be that if school uniforms are associated with powerlessness among schoolchildren, would wearing school uniforms affect the level of effort children expend to solve homework problems or write papers?

It is interesting that previous researchers who examined the effect of school uniforms on various tasks did not ask children what associations uniforms had for them (e.g., Behling 1994 , 1995 ; Behling and Williams 1991 ). This question is clearly an avenue for renewed research in this area. Another situation to which the extended enclothed cognition framework might be investigated is in the context of professional sports. Since wearing a sweatshirt or cap with a professional team’s logo is associated with being a fan of that team, would people wearing those items evaluate that team’s performance higher than people wearing another team’s logos? Would they provide more excuses for their team than fans not wearing the team’s logos? We encourage researchers to continue to investigate the effects of dress on one’s own behaviors utilizing a range of dress cues (e.g., cosmetics, tattoos, and piercings).

Dress and the self

An ongoing area of research within the social psychology of dress is relationships between dress and the self. Although some researchers use the terms identity and self interchangeably, it is our position that they are not the same concepts but are related. We begin our discussion of the self with research on the body.

The physical body and the self

Whereas the first section of our review focused on body supplements (i.e., the clothed body), this section focuses on body modifications or how the body is altered. Within this discussion, the two research directions that we include are (1) body modifications that carry some risk, as opposed to routine modifications that typically do not, and (2) the influence of body talk and social comparison as variables influencing body image.

Body modifications that carry some risk

Societal standards of attractiveness in the Western world often focus on a thin appearance for women and a mesomorphic but muscular appearance for men (Karazia et al. 2013 ). Internalization of societal standards presented through various media outlets is widely recognized as a primary predictor of body dissatisfaction and risky appearance management behaviors including eating pathology among women (Cafri et al. 2005a , [ b ]), muscle enhancement and disordered eating behaviors in men (Tylka 2011 ), tattooing among young adults (Mun et al. 2012 ), and tanning among adolescents (Prior et al. 2014 ; Yoo & Kim, 2014 ). While there are several other risky appearance management behaviors in the early stages of investigation (e.g., extreme body makeovers, cosmetic procedures on male and female private parts, multiple cosmetic procedures), we isolate just a few behaviors to illustrate the impact of changing standards of attractiveness on widespread appearance management practices in the presentation of self.

Experimental research has demonstrated that exposure to social and cultural norms for appearance (via idealized images) leads to greater dissatisfaction with the body in general for both men and women (Blond 2008 ; Grabe et al. 2008 ); yet a meta-analysis of eight research studies conducted in real life settings suggested that these appearance norms were more rigid, narrowly defined, and prevalent for women than for men (Buote et al. 2011 ). These researchers also noted that women reported frequent exposure to social norms of appearance (i.e., considered bombardment by many women), the norms themselves were unrealistic, yet the nature of the messages was that these norms are perfectly attainable with enough time, money, and effort. Men, on the other hand, indicated that they were exposed to flexible social norms of appearance, and therefore report feeling less pressure to attain a particular standard in presenting their appearance to others (Buote et al. 2011 ).

Eating disorders

A recent stream of research related to individuals with eating disorders is concerned with the practice of body checking (i.e., weighing, measuring or otherwise assessing body parts through pinching, sucking in the abdomen, tapping it for flatness). Such checking behaviors may morph into body avoidance (i.e., avoiding looking in mirrors or windows at one’s reflection, avoiding gym locker rooms or situations involving showing the body to others) (White & Warren 2011 ), the manifestation of eating disorders (Haase et al. 2011 ), obsession with one’s weight or body shape, and a critical evaluation of either aspect (Smeets et al. 2011 ). The propensity to engage in body checking appears to be tied to ethnicity as White and Warren found, in their comparison of Caucasian women and women of color (Asian American, African American, and Latin American). They found significant differences in body checking and avoidance behaviors in Caucasian women and Asian American women over African American and Latin American women. Across all the women, White and Warren found positive and significant correlations between body checking and (1) avoidance behaviors and higher body mass index, (2) internalization of a thin ideal appearance, (3) eating disturbances, and (4) other clinical impairments such as debilitating negative thoughts.

Another characteristic of individuals with eating disorders is that they habitually weigh themselves. Self-weighing behaviors and their connection to body modification has been the focus of several researchers. Research teams have documented that self-weighing led to weight loss maintenance (Butryn et al. 2007 ) and prevention of weight gain (Levitsky et al. 2006 ). Other researchers found that self-weighing contributed to risky weight control behaviors such as fasting (Neumark-Sztainer et al. 2006 ) and even to weight gain (Needham et al. 2010 ). Lately, gender differences have also been investigated relative to self-weighing. Klos et al. ( 2012 ) found self-weighing was related to a strong investment in appearance, preoccupation with body shape, and higher weight among women. However, among men self-weighing was related to body satisfaction, investment in health and fitness, and positive evaluation of health.

One interesting departure from weight as a generalized aspect of body concern among women is the examination of wedding-related weight change. Considering the enormous cost of weddings, estimated to average $20,000 in the United States (Wong 2005 ), and the number of wedding magazines, websites, and self-help books on weddings (Villepigue et al. 2005 ), it is not surprising that many brides-to-be want to lose weight for their special occasion. Researchers have shown that an average amount of intended weight loss prior to a wedding is 20 pounds in both the U.S. and Australia with between 12% and 33% of brides-to-be reporting that they had been advised by someone else to lose weight (Prichard & Tiggemann 2009 ). About 50% of brides hoped to achieve weight loss, yet most brides did not actually experience a change in weight (Prichard & Tiggemann, 2014 ); however, when questioned about six months after their weddings, brides indicated that they had gained about four pounds. Those who were told to lose weight by significant others such as friends, family members, or fiancé gained significantly more than those who were not told to do so, suggesting that wedding-related weight change can have repercussions for post wedding body satisfaction and eating behaviors. Regaining weight is typical, given that many people who lose weight regain it with a year or so of losing it.

Drive for muscularity

Researchers have found that body modifications practiced by men are related more to developing muscularity than to striving for a thin body (Cafri et al. 2005a , [ b ]) with particular emphasis placed on developing the upper body areas of chest and biceps (Thompson & Cafri 2007 ). The means to achieve this body modification may include risky behaviors such as excessive exercise and weight training, extreme dieting and dehydration to emphasize musculature, and use of appearance or performance enhancing substances (Hildebrandt et al. 2010 ).

One possible explanation for men’s drive for muscularity may be objectification. While objectification theory was originally proposed to address women’s objectification, it has been extended to men (Hebl et al. 2004 ; Martins et al. 2007 ). These researchers determined that like women, men are objectified in Western and westernized culture and can be induced to self-objectify via revealing clothing manipulations.

Researchers have also examined how men are affected by media imagery that features buff, well-muscled, thin, attractive male bodies as the aesthetic norm. Kolbe and Albanese ( 1996 ) undertook a content analysis of men’s lifestyle magazines and found that most of the advertised male bodies were not “ordinary,” but were strong and hard bodies, or as the authors concluded, objectified and depersonalized. Pope et al. ( 2000 ) found that advertisements for many types of products from cars to underwear utilized male models with body-builder physiques (i.e., exaggerated “6 pack” abdominal muscles, huge chests and shoulders, yet lean); they suggested that men had become focused on muscularity as a cultural symbol of masculinity because they perceived that women were usurping some of their social standing in the workforce. Hellmich ( 2000 ) concurred and suggested that men were overwhelmed with images of half-naked, muscular men and that they too were targets of objectification. Other researchers (e.g., Elliott & Elliott 2005 ; Patterson & England 2000 ) confirmed these findings – that most images in men’s magazines featured mesomorphic, strong, muscular, and hyper-masculine bodies.

How do men respond to such advertising images? Elliott and Elliott ( 2005 ) conducted focus interviews with 40 male college students, ages 18-31, and showed them six different advertisements in lifestyles magazines. They found six distinct types of response, two negative, two neutral, and two positive. Negative responses were (1) homophobic (those who saw the ads as stereotypically homosexual, bordering on pornography), perhaps threatening their own perceived masculinity or (2) gender stereotyping (those who saw the ads as depicting body consciousness or vanity, traits that they considered to be feminine). Neutral responses were (3) legitimizing exploitation as a marketing tool (those who recognized that naked chests or exaggerated body parts were shown and sometimes with no heads, making them less than human, but recognizing that sex sells products), and (4) disassociating oneself from the muscular body ideals shown in the ads (recognizing that the images represented unattainable body types or shapes). Positive responses were (5) admiration of real or attainable “average” male bodies and (6) appreciating some naked advertising images as art, rather than as sexual objects. The researchers concluded that men do see their gender objectified in advertising, resulting in different responses or perceived threats to self.

There is evidence that experiencing these objectified images of the male body is also partially responsible for muscle dysmorphia, a condition in which men become obsessed with achieving muscularity (Leit et al. 2002 ). Understanding contributors to the development of muscle dysmorphia is important as the condition can lead to risky appearance management behaviors such as extreme body-building, eating disorders, and use of anabolic steroids to gain bulk (Bradley et al. 2014 ; Maida & Armstrong 2005 ). In an experiment, Maida and Armstrong exposed 82 undergraduate men to 30 slides of advertisements and then asked them to complete a body image perception test. Men’s body satisfaction was affected by exposure to the images, such that they wanted to be notably more muscular than they were.

Contemporary researchers have found that drive for muscularity is heightened among men when there is a perceived threat to their masculinity such as performance on some task (Steinfeldt et al. 2011 ) or perceiving that they hold some less masculine traits (Blashill, 2011). Conversely, researchers have also suggested that body dissatisfaction and drive for muscularity can be reduced by developing a mindfulness approach to the body characterized by attention to present-moment experiences such as how one might feel during a certain activity like yoga or riding a bicycle (Lavender et al. 2012 ). While the investigation of mindfulness to mitigate negative body image and negative appearance behaviors is relatively new, it is a promising area of investigation.

Tattooing is not necessarily a risky behavior in and of itself, as most tattoo parlors take health precautions with the use of sterile instruments and clean environments. However, research has focused on other risk-taking behaviors that tattooed individuals may engage in, including drinking, smoking, shoplifting, and drug use (Deschesnes et al. 2006 ) as well as and early and risky sexual activity (Koch, Roberts, Armstrong, & Owen, 2007). Tattoos have also been studied as a bodily expression of uniqueness (Mun et al. 2012 ; Tiggemann & Hopkins 2011 ) but not necessarily reflecting a stronger investment in appearance (Tiggemann & Hopkins 2011 ).

Tanning behaviors are strongly associated with skin cancer, just as smoking is associated with lung cancer. In fact, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified ultraviolet radiation from the sun and tanning devices that emit ultraviolet light as group 1 carcinogens, placing ultraviolet radiation in the same category as tobacco use (World Health Organization, 2012 ). Yet, tanning behaviors are prevalent among many young adults and adolescents causing them to be at increased risk of skin cancer, particularly with indoor tanning devices (Boniol et al. 2012 ; Lostritto et al. 2012 ). Studies of motives for tanning among these populations suggest that greater tanning behavior, for both genders, is correlated with high investment in appearance, media influences, and the influence of friends and significant others (Prior et al. 2014 ). Frequent tanning behaviors in adolescent boys have been related to extreme weight control, substance use, and victimization (Blashill 2013 ). Among young adults, Yoo and Kim ( 2014 ) identified three attitudes toward tanning that were related to tanning behaviors. The attitude that tanning was a pleasurable activity influenced indoor and outdoor tanning behaviors. The attitude that a tan enhances physical attractiveness influenced use of tanning beds and sunless tanning products. The attitude that tanning is a healthy behavior influenced outdoor tanning. They advised that tanning behaviors could be studied further particularly in relation to other risky behaviors.

Body talk and the self

A relatively recent line of investigation concerns the impact of talk about the body on perceptions of self. One would think that communication among friends would typically strengthen feelings of self-esteem and psychological well-being (Knickmeyer et al. 2002 ). Yet, certain types of communication, such as complaining about one’s body or appearance, may negatively impact feelings about the self (Tucker et al. 2007 ), particularly in the case of “fat talk” or disparaging comments about body size, weight, and fear of becoming fat (Ousley et al. 2008 ; Warren et al. 2012 ). Such fat talk has become normative behavior among women and, according to one study, occurs in over 90% of women (Salk & Engeln-Maddox 2011 ) and, according to another study, occurs in women of all ages and body sizes (Martz et al. 2009 ) because women feel pressure to be self-critical about their bodies. More women than men reported exposure to fat talk in their circle of friends and acquaintances and greater pressure to engage in it (Salk & Engeln-Maddox). Thus, fat talk extends body dissatisfaction into interpersonal relationships (Arroyo & Harwood 2012 ).

Sladek et al. ( 2014 ) reported a series of studies that elaborated on the investigation of body talk among men, concluding that men’s body talk has two distinct aspects, one related to weight and the other to muscularity. After developing a scale that showed strong test-retest reliability among college men, they found that body talk about muscularity was associated with dissatisfaction with the upper body, strong drive for muscularity, symptoms of muscle dysmorphia, and investment in appearance. Body talk about weight was associated with upper body dissatisfaction, symptoms of muscle dysmorphia, and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. They suggest future research in body talk conversations among men and boys of all ages, from different cultural backgrounds, and in different contexts.

Negative body talk among men appears to be less straightforward than that among women (Engeln et al. 2013 ). These researchers reported that men’s body talk included both positive elements and negative elements, while that of women tended to focus on the negative, perhaps reflecting an accepting body culture among men in which they can praise one another as well as commiserate with other men on issues regarding muscularity and weight. Yet, both muscle talk and fat talk were found to decrease state appearance self-esteem and to increase state body dissatisfaction among men.

While the fat talk literature clearly establishes the normative occurrence of this type of communication, as well as establishes the negative impact on the self, the literature has not delved into theoretical explanations for its existence. Arroyo ( 2014 ) has posited a relationship between fat talk and three body image theories (self-discrepancy, social comparison, and objectification), and suggested that degree of body dissatisfaction could serve as a mediating mechanism. Self-discrepancy theory suggests that the discrepancy between one’s actual self and one’s ideal self on any variable, such as weight or attractiveness, motivates people to try to achieve that ideal (Jacobi & Cash 1994 ). Social comparison theory (Festinger 1954 ) explains that we compare ourselves to others on some variable of comparison. When we compare ourselves to others who we believe to be better than ourselves (upward comparison) on this variable (say, for example, thinner or more attractive), we may feel worse about ourselves and engage in both non-risky and risky behaviors such as extreme weight control to try to meet those expectations (Ridolfi et al. 2011 ; Rudd & Lennon 1994 ). Objectification theory, as mentioned earlier in this paper, states that bodies are treated as objects to be evaluated and perceived by others (Szymanski et al. 2011 ); self-objectification occurs when individuals look upon themselves as objects to be evaluated by others.

Arroyo ( 2014 ) surveyed 201 college women to see what effect weight discrepancy, upward comparison, and objectified body consciousness had on fat talk; a mediating variable of body dissatisfaction was investigated. She found that how satisfied or dissatisfied the women did indeed impact how they felt about each variable. Each of the three predictor variables was positively associated with body dissatisfaction and higher body dissatisfaction predicted fat talk. She concluded that fat talk is more insidious than other social behaviors; it is a type of communication that perpetuates negative perceptions among women as well as the attitude that women should be dissatisfied with their bodies. Future research suggestions included examining the impact of downward social comparisons (in which the individual assumes they fare better than peers on the variables of comparison, such as weight), and examining all three phenomena of self-discrepancy, social comparison, and objectification together to determine their cumulative impact on self-disparaging talk.

Negative body talk or fat talk is related to perceptions about the self and to appearance-management behaviors in presenting the self to others. In a sample of 203 young adult women, negative body talk was related to body dissatisfaction and poor self-esteem, and was associated with stronger investment in appearance, distorted thoughts about the body, disordered eating behavior, and depression (Rudiger & Winstead 2013 ). Positive body talk was related to fewer cognitive distortions of the body, high body satisfaction, high self-esteem, and friendship quality. Another form of body talk, co-rumination or the mutual sharing between friends of negative thoughts and feelings, is thought to intensify the impact of body talk. In this same study, co-rumination was related to frequent cognitive distortions of the body as well as disordered eating behaviors, but to high perceived friendship quality. Thus, negative body talk achieved no positive outcomes, yet co-rumination achieved negative outcomes for the self, but positive outcomes for quality of friendship. Thus, future research could tease apart the specific components of the social phenomenon of co-rumination in relation to self-perceptions and appearance management behaviors.

Dress and self as distinct from others

Shifting attention from relationships between the body and self, we move to a discussion of relationships between dress and that aspect of the self that is concerned with answering questions about who we are as distinct and unique individuals (e.g., what type of person am I?). Earlier we shared research about how wearing certain article of dress might impact one’s own physical behaviors. We shift now to sharing research addressing the role dress might play in thinking about oneself as a unique and distinct individual (i.e., self-perceptions). Researchers addressing this topic have utilized Bem’s ( 1972 ) self-perception theory. Bem proposed that similar to the processes we use in forming inferences about others, we can form inferences about ourselves. Bem argues that people’s understanding of their own traits was, in some circumstances, an assessment of their own behaviors. This process was proposed to be particularly relevant to individuals who were responsive to self-produced cues (i.e., cues that arise from an individual’s own behavior or characteristics).

In the 1980s, Kellerman and Laird ( 1982 ) utilized self-perception theory to see whether wearing a specific item of dress (e.g., eye glasses) would influence peoples’ ratings of their own skills and abilities. They conducted an experiment with undergraduate students having them rate themselves on an array of traits when wearing and when not wearing glasses and to complete a hidden figures test. Although there were no significant differences in their performance on the test, the participants’ ratings of their competence and intelligence was higher when wearing glasses than when not. In related research, Solomon and Schopler ( 1982 ) found that both men and women indicated that the appropriateness of their clothing affected their mood.

Studying dress specifically within a workplace context, in the 1990s Kwon ( 1994 ) did not have her participants actually wear different clothing styles but asked them to project how they might think about themselves if they were to wear appropriate versus inappropriate clothing to work. Participants indicated they would feel more competent and responsible if they wore appropriate rather than inappropriate clothing. Similarly, Rafaeli et al. ( 1997 ) a found that employees indicated a link between self-perception and clothing associating psychological discomfort with wearing inappropriate dress for work and increased social self-confidence with appropriate attire. Nearly ten years later, Adomaitis and Johnson ( 2005 ) in a study of flight attendants found that the attendants linked wearing casual uniforms for work (e.g., t-shirt, shorts) with negative self-perceptions (e.g., nonauthoritative, embarrassment, unconfident, unprofessional). Likewise, Peluchette and Karl ( 2007 ) investigating the impact of formal versus casual attire in the workplace found that their participants viewed themselves as most authoritative, trustworthy, productive and competent when wearing formal business attire but as friendliest when wearing casual or business casual attire. Continuing this line of research with individuals employed in the public sector, Karl et al. ( 2013 ) reported participants indicated they felt more competent and authoritative when in formal business or business casual attire and least creative and friendly when wearing casual dress.

As workplace dress has become casual, it would be useful for researchers to uncover any distinctions in casualness that make individuals feel more or less competent, respected, or authoritative. Another aspect of clothing that could be investigated is fit as it might impact self-perceptions or use of makeup.

Guy and Banim ( 2000 ) were interested in how clothing was used as means of self-presentation in everyday life. They implemented three strategies to meet their research objective of investigating women’s relationships to their clothing: a personal account, a clothing diary, and a wardrobe interview. The personal account was a written or tape recorded response to the question “what clothing means to me.” The clothing diary was a daily log kept for two weeks. The wardrobe interview was centered on participants’ current collection of clothing. Participants were undergraduates and professional women representing several age cohorts. The researchers identified three distinct perspectives of self relative to the women’s clothing. The first was labeled “the woman I want to be”. This category of responses revealed that the women used clothing to formulate positive self-projections. Favorite items of clothing in particular were identified as useful in bridging the gap between “self as you would like it to be” and the image actually achieved with the clothing. The second category of responses was labeled “the woman I fear I could be”. This category of responses reflected experiences where clothing had failed to achieve a desired look or resulted in a negative self-presentation. Concern here was choosing to wear clothing with unintentional effects such as highlighting parts of the body that were unflattering or concern about losing the ability to know how to dress to convey a positive image. The last category, “the woman I am most of the time” contained comments indicating the women had a “relationship with clothes was ongoing and dynamic and that a major source of enjoyment for them was to use clothes to realize different aspects of themselves” (p. 321).

Interested in how the self shaped clothing consumption and use, Ogle et al. ( 2013 ) utilized Guy and Banim’s ( 2000 ) views of self to explore how consumption of maternity dress might shape the self during a liminal life stage (i.e., pregnancy). Interviews with women expecting their first child revealed concerns that available maternity dress limited their ability to express their true selves. Some expressed concern that the maternity clothing that was available to them in the marketplace symbolized someone that they did not want to associate with (i.e., the woman I fear I could be). Several women noted they borrowed or purchased used clothing from a variety of sources for this time in their life. This decision resulted in dissatisfaction because the items were not reflective of their selves and if worn resulted in their projecting a self that they also did not want to be. In addition, the women shared that they used dress to confirm their selves as pregnant and as NOT overweight. While some of the participants did experience a disrupted sense of self during pregnancy, others shared that they were able to locate items of dress that symbolized a self-consistent with “the woman I am most of the time”.

Continuing in this line of research, researchers may want to explore these three aspects of self with others who struggle with self-presentation via dress as a result of a lack of fashionable and trendy clothing in the marketplace. Plus-sized women frequently report that they are ignored by the fashion industry and existing offerings fail to meet their need to be fashionable. A recent article in the Huffington Post (“Plus-sized clothing”, 2013 ) noted that retailers do not typically carry plus sizes perhaps due to the misconception that plus-sized women are not trendy shoppers or the idea that these sizes will not sell well. Thus, it may well be that the relationship between dress and self for plus-sized women is frustrating as they are prevented from being able to make clothing choices indicative of their selves “as they would like them to be”.

Priming and self-perception

While several researchers have confirmed that clothing worn impacts thoughts about the self, Hannover and Kühnen ( 2002 ) were interested in uncovering processes that would explain why clothing could have this effect. They began with examining what role priming might have in explaining how clothing impacts self-perceptions. Using findings from social cognition, they argued that clothing styles might prime specific mental categories about one’s self such that those categories that are most easily accessed in a given situation would be more likely to be applied to oneself than categories of information that are difficult to access. Thus, if clothing can be used to prime specific self-knowledge it should impact self-descriptions such that, a person wearing “casual” clothing (e.g., jeans, sweatshirt) should be more apt to describe him or herself using casual terms (e.g., laid-back, uses slang). The researchers had each participant stand in front of a mirror and indicate whether or not specific traits were descriptive of him or herself when wearing either casual or formal clothing (e.g., business attire). The researchers found that when a participant wore casual clothing he or she rated the casual traits as more valid self-descriptions than the formal traits. The reverse was also true. They concluded that the clothing worn primed specific categories of self-knowledge. However, the researchers did not ask participants to what extent they intentionally considered their own clothing when determining whether or not a trait should be applied to them. Yet, as previously noted, Adam and Galinsky ( 2012 ) demonstrated that clothing impacted a specific behavior (attention) only in circumstances where the clothing was worn and the clothing’s meaning was clear. Thus, researchers could test if clothing serves as an unrecognized priming source and if its impact on impression formation is less intentional than typically assumed.

Dress and self in interaction with others

Another area of research within dress and the self involves experience with others and the establishment of meaning. Questions that these researchers are interested in answering include what is the meaning of an item of dress or a way of appearing? Early researchers working in this area have utilized symbolic interactionism as a framework for their research (Blumer 1969 ; Mead 1934 ; Stone 1962 ). The foundational question of symbolic interaction is: “What common set of symbols and understandings has emerged to give meaning to people’s interactions?” (Patton 2002 , p. 112).

There are three basic premises central to symbolic interactionism (Blumer 1969 ). The first premise is that our behavior toward things (e.g., physical objects, other people) is shaped by the meaning that those things have for us. Applied to dress and appearance, this premise means that our behavior relative to another person is influenced by that person’s dress (Kaiser 1997 ) and the meaning that we assign to that dress. The second premise of symbolic interaction is that the meaning of things is derived from social interaction with others (Blumer). This premise indicates that meanings are not inherent in objects, must be shared between individuals, and that meanings are learned. The third premise is that meanings are modified by a continuous interpretative process in which the actor interacts with himself (Blumer). As applied to clothing, this premise suggests that the wearer of an outfit or item of clothing is active in determining the meaning of an item along with the viewer of that item.

Symbolic interactionism posits that the self is a social construction established, maintained, and altered through interpersonal communication with others. While initial work focused on investigating verbal communication as key to the construction of the self, Stone extended communication to include appearance and maintained that “appearance is at least as important in establishment and maintenance of the self” as verbal communication (1962, p. 87).

Stone ( 1962 ) discussed a process of establishing the self in interaction with others. This process included selecting items of dress to communicate a desired aspect of self (i.e., identity) as well as to convey that desired aspect to others. One stage in this process is an individual’s review of his/her own appearance. This evaluation and response to one’s own appearance is called program. One might experience a program by looking in the mirror to assess whether the intended identity expressed through dress is the one that is actually achieved. After this evaluation of one’s appearance, the next stage involves others reacting to an individual’s appearance. This is called a review. Stone contends that when “programs and reviews coincide, the self of the one who appears is validated or established” (p. 92). However, when programs and reviews do not coincide, the announced identity is challenged and “conduct may be expected to move in the direction of some redefinition of the challenged self” (p. 92).

Researchers using this approach in their investigations of dress have used Stone’s ( 1962 ) ideas and applied the concept of review to the experiences of sorority women. Hunt and Miller ( 1997 ) interviewed sorority members about their experiences with using dress to communicate their membership and how members, via their reviews, shaped their sorority appearances. Members reported using several techniques in the review of the appearance of other members as well as in response to their own appearance (i.e., programs). Thus, the researcher’s results supported Stone’s ideas concerning establishment of an identity (as an aspect of self) as a process of program and review.

In an investigation of the meaning of dress, in this instance the meaning of a specific body modification—a tattoo, Mun et al. ( 2012 ) interviewed women of various ages who had tattoos to assess meanings, changes in self-perceptions as a result of the tattoo, and any changes in the women’s behavior as an outcome of being tattooed. To guide their inquiry, the researchers used Goffman’s ( 1959 ) discussion of the concept of self-presentation from his seminal work The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life . According to Goffman, on a regular basis people make inferences about the motivations that underlie other people’s behaviors. To make these inferences they use everyday details. Because most people make these inferences, Goffman believed that individuals could purposely control the content of those inferences by controlling their behavior. Included in this behavior was an individual’s dress. These researchers found support for Goffman’s reasoning. Participants shared that their tattoo(s) had meaning and were expressive of their selves, their personal values and interests, important life events (e.g., marriage), and religious/sacred beliefs. The meaning of a tattoo was also dynamic for several participants rather than static. Participants’ self-perceptions were impacted as a result of being tattooed with several participants sharing increases to their confidence and to their perceived empowerment. Individuals who shared a change in behavior primarily noted that they controlled the visibility of their tattoos to others as a method to control how others might respond to them having a tattoo especially within the workplace.

Since an array of body modifications (e.g., piercings, gauging, scarification) are being adopted cross-culturally, investigations of people’s experiences with any of these modifications is fertile area for future researchers interested in the meaning(s) of dress and how dress impacts the self through interaction with others. Researchers may want to investigate men’s experiences with piercing/gauging as well as women’s experiences with body building and other developing forms of body modification. Extreme forms of body piercings (e.g., piercings that simulate corset lacings) and underlying motivations for these body modifications would add to our understanding of relationships between dress and self. The meanings of facial hair to men or body hair removal (partial, total) for both men and women are additional aspects of dress that could be investigated.

Dress and self as influence on consumption

In the aforementioned research by Ogle et al. ( 2013 ), the researchers found that a primary reason their participants were disappointed by the maternity clothing offered through the marketplace was due to a lack of fit between their selves and the clothing styles made available. Thus, it is clear that ideas about the self impact clothing selection and purchase. Sirgy ( 1982 ) proposed self-image product-image congruity theory to describe the process of how people applied ideas concerning the self to their purchasing. The basic assumption of the theory is that through marketing and branding, products gain associated images. The premise of the theory is that products people are motivated to purchase are products with images that are congruent with or symbolic of how they see themselves (i.e., actual self-image) or with how they would like to be (i.e., ideal self-image). They also will avoid those products that symbolize images that are inconsistent with either of these self-images.

Rhee and Johnson ( 2012 ) found support for the self-image product-image congruity relationship with male and female adolescents. These researchers investigated the adolescents’ purchase and use of clothing brands. Participants indicated their favorite apparel brand was most similar to their actual self (i.e., this brand reflects who I am), followed by their social self (i.e., this brand reflects who I want others to think I am), and their desired self (i.e., this brand reflects who I want to be).

Earlier, Banister and Hogg ( 2004 ) conducted research investigating the idea that consumers will actively reject or avoid products with negative symbolic meanings. The researchers conducted group interviews with adult consumers. Their participants acknowledged that clothing items could symbolize more than one meaning depending on who was interpreting the meaning. They also acknowledged that the consumers they interviewed appeared to be more concerned with avoiding consumption of products with negative symbolic images than with consuming products with the goal of achieving a positive image. One participant noted that while attempts to achieve a positive image via clothing consumption may be sub-conscious, the desire to avoid a negative image when shopping was conscious.

Closing remarks

It is clear from our review that interest in the topic of the social psychology of dress is on-going and provides a fruitful area of research that addresses both basic and applied research questions. Although we provided an overview of several key research areas within the topic of the social psychology of dress we were unable to include all of the interesting topics being investigated. There are other important areas of research including relationships between dress and specific social and cultural identities, answering questions about how dress functions within social groups, how we learn to attach meanings to dress, and changing attitudes concerning dress among others. Regardless, we hope that this review inspires both colleagues and students to continue to investigate and document the important influence dress exerts in everyday life.

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Johnson, K., Lennon, S.J. & Rudd, N. Dress, body and self: research in the social psychology of dress. Fashion and Textiles 1 , 20 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-014-0020-7

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Weaving a sustainable future for fashion: the role of social enterprises in east london.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 2.1. sustainability, 2.2. fashion and sustainability, 2.3. sustainable business models and social enterprises, 2.4. tbl framework, 2.5. social capital, 3. methodology, 3.1. case study selection, 3.1.1. case study 1: making for change, 3.1.2. case study 2: stitches in time, 3.2. data collection methods, 3.3. data analysis, 3.4. validity, 4. results and discussion, 4.1. rq1: how do the social enterprises in the east london fashion cluster leverage the tbl framework to promote sustainable practices in the uk fashion industry, 4.1.1. social considerations, 4.1.2. environmental considerations, 4.1.3. economic considerations, 4.2. rq2: how do social enterprises in the east london fashion cluster utilise social capital to facilitate the transition towards sustainability in the uk fashion industry, 4.2.1. bonding social capital, 4.2.2. bridging social capital, 5. conclusions, limitations and future research, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, acknowledgments, conflicts of interest.

Themes	Key Findings	Excerpts from Interviews and Focus Groups
RQ1: How do the social enterprises in the East London fashion cluster leverage the TBL framework to promote sustainable practices in the UK fashion industry?
Social Considerations	Social enterprises leveraged a variety of ethical practices.	Focus group 1, Participant A: “There is a lot of flexibility here with start times, appointments, family care, childcare, and other personal responsibilities. If there’s a week when you can’t work due to family commitments, allowances are made, so there’s a system in place”. Reiterating this, another participant said “I have tried approaching other workplaces, but it just didn’t fit our lifestyle with childcare, appointments, and health needs. Here, you have complete flexibility. Everyone here manages their own schedule to a certain degree”. Focus group 2, Participant B: “They accommodate our cultural needs and religious beliefs, we have space to pray, can dress comfortably, including wearing the hijab. It’s a safe space where we feel accepted and celebrated for our culture”.
	These enterprises want to change the perception of manufacturing as a factory-based environment to one that values skilled craftsmanship and ethical working conditions.	Anna Ellis, head of business development at Making for Change said “We do still have that connotation when you think of a factory, you immediate thing is to think of a sweatshop, and that’s what we’re trying to change”. Gracie Sutton, enterprise and production manager at Stitches in Time, said the following: “Brands can showcase our flexible work practices and the various sustainable methods we use. I think by sharing the stories and the impact on the makers, it gives a different example of how the fashion industry can work. Hopefully, that’s a good guideline for how people can work differently within various factories and settings”
	They work closely with brands, individual designers, and other clients to ensure better quality and cost-effective products.	Gracie said “When smaller brands work with us, we help support them in terms of sampling and figuring out where we can reduce costs, or how to enhance and utilise the skills of the team as well. So, in that sense, they are not just coming to us with a technical pack and dictating what is being made. We are helping and supporting one another to produce something, which I think is great”. Similarly, Anna said “We offer more hands-on support than a typical manufacturer, meaning we closely examine their products. We also advise them on costing and techniques to produce garments that are either of better quality or more cost-effective due to improved manufacturing methods”.
	Social enterprise’s initiatives had a significant social impact, particularly through training programs that empowered trainees with personalised support and skills development.	Paul, Chief Executive Officer at Stitches in Time said “We have a waiting list for our training courses that seems to be never-ending. But that’s great; it shows there is a desire, there is a need, and that people gain value from it”.
	Community-driven initiatives by the enterprises foster social inclusion and economic empowerment, contributing to the growth of East London’s fashion cluster.	This sentiment is echoed by Paul who said “I find the way it contributes to East London’s fashion cluster is quite intriguing. As our story spreads not only through our efforts but also through brands that share it, it shines a light on our internal culture and the communities involved. This supports our role as a model and communicates the value of our work to other community enterprises, creating a ripple effect. Perhaps some of this influence will even shape the future creators of the next fashion wave. It’s an interesting cycle”.
Environmental Considerations	Social enterprises are committed to circular economy principles and collaborate with brands to upcycle, repair, mend and recycle products.	Talking about a collaboration between Stitches in Time and Making for Change, where they partnered with the renowned fashion brand ‘Monsoon’, Grace said “We recently collaborated with Monsoon alongside Making for Change, involving both our trainees and employees. Together, we utilised our embroidery skills to enhance Monsoon’s products, focusing particularly on upcycling dead stock items”. Making for Change also recycle waste as confirmed by Anna in the following statement: “We recycle our textile waste by partnering with a third-party start up that turns it into other products”.
	Using innovative solutions, such as AI, to enhance on-demand manufacturing.	Highlighting this, Anna said “We want to explore ways in which AI can make production more efficient and more sustainable”.
	Sustainable practices incur higher costs due to the increased production time.	Focus Group 2, Participant D: “the amount of time it took us to unpick a particular garment, cut it, and create something new with it was much longer than sewing a garment from scratch”,
	Social enterprises enhanced participants’ awareness of environmental sustainability, fostering a sense of pride and fulfilment in contributing to a greener world.	Focus Group 2, Participant B: “The training programs and our work have enabled us to better understand the carbon footprint associated with our processes, and how we can reduce the wastage of fabric and other materials to promote sustainable practices”. Adding to this, another participant said the following: “we’re not just churning out garment after garment without knowing what happens to it afterward. There’s a story behind each piece, and there are people behind it”.
Economic Considerations	Social enterprises ensure the commercial viability of their projects and commissions by meticulously calculating production costs.	Gracie highlighted that “We spend a lot of time ensuring that the cost of production is viable for the team. During sampling, we calculate how long it takes to make a product based on the quantity we’re producing. Once we reach around a hundred units or more, we switch to a production line to speed up the process. This involves detailed calculations and close collaboration with the client or brand to ensure they understand both the costs and the timeline. If they have a target cost in mind, we can adjust the design to meet their expectations and requirements”.
	The viability of on-demand manufacturing is a crucial factor for social enterprises. As noted, sustainability often involves producing in small quantities, which can be more costly due to inefficiencies and the use of offcuts.	Anna said “We may not necessarily be the cheapest; our pricing may not always match what our clients expect, but we explain our costs and try to collaborate where possible. However, commercial viability is very important to us”.
RQ2: How do social enterprises in the East London fashion cluster utilise social capital to facilitate the transition towards sustainability in the UK fashion industry?
Bonding Social Capital	The East London fashion cluster utilises bonding social capital through community involvement, with enterprises like Stitches in Time engaging beneficiaries in co-creation.	Grace mentioned that “Stitches in time was built around the needs of the beneficiaries. They are always part of the conversation about how we grow and navigate the enterprise. They have a lot of say in what we do and the commissions we take on as well”.
	Social enterprises reinforce skills development, with trained individuals, such as women in East London, volunteering to train others, creating more job opportunities and revitalising the local manufacturing industry.	Paul highlighted that “I believe Stitches in time’s existing strengths as a social enterprise is its ability to connect particularly well with the Bangladeshi diaspora through skill-based cultural crafts. This connection is already a source of pride, fostering community communication and shaping social interactions”.
	Bonding social capital within the enterprise community fosters trust and collaboration, with strong bonds facilitating support, knowledge exchange, and professional growth among members.	Focus Group 1, Participant C said “My work is comfortable; it feels like a home away from home. It doesn’t feel like coming to work; it’s like being with friends, and I feel very comfortable here”. Focus Group 2, Participant D: A participant commented the following: “I am taking many of the skills that I have learned here and using them in my private time for friends, family and private clients”.
	Personal connections and support from social enterprises provide emotional support during challenging times, strengthening commitment to community initiatives.	Focus Group 1, Participant B: “In one of our classes, we have a woman who doesn’t have the leave to remain in the UK, she doesn’t speak English, and she has a brain tumour, so we were like heavily involved with helping her with her appointments. Being there, when she had to sign for her operation and all my colleagues went with her to the anaesthesia room because she was nervous. And that’s just like individualised led case, and we were there when she woke up from her surgery to give her support”.
Bridging Social Capital	Collaborations between enterprises leverage their combined expertise, resulting in higher-quality work. These partnerships provide mutual support and create opportunities for shared learning.	Paul said “We are quite good at collaborating, and we have a long organisational history of helping shape other programs or other project work because people come to us as a kind of community engagement specialist in that sense”.
	Connections between enterprises go beyond joint projects, including ongoing partnerships to provide skills development support for their trainees.	Paul said “I think it’s a shared desire, especially between us and Making for Change, to promote an ethical production base in East London. It’s something we’re deeply interested in as an organisation. It’s exciting to leverage our small-scale efforts to make this happen, not just as a story to tell, but by partnering with other organisations. We can share experiences, particularly in working with communities and how it can best benefit people”. This collaborative effort was also affirmed during discussions with focus group participants.
	The enterprise collaborates with local manufacturers to provide trainees with practical experience that leads to employment opportunities. Educational partnerships and institutional support further enhance training programs and contribute to building a sustainable network within the fashion industry.	Anna highlighted that “There are several accelerator-type programs available to support organisations like ours. I have participated in a manufacturing forum that promotes innovative practices and processes in manufacturing. The Fashion District periodically hosts forums like these, offering competitions where manufacturers pitch ideas for financial support to bring them to life”. Focus group 2, Participant E: “When we did the modest fashion program, we collaborated with students from London College of Fashion, a women’s wear designer and an embroidery student. We also had someone who did printmaking. The designer who led the class, she’s now open to mentoring if we’re interested in starting a business or something like that. And then we had Toby Meadows, a fashion business consultant who’s helped lots of fashion startups and worked with many brands around the world. So yeah, it’s like we’ve had this opportunity to meet all these people in the field, and it kind of gives you an idea of what you can do with just a seed of an idea”.

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Click here to enlarge figure

Sampling Parameters	Description	Scientific Justification
Relevance	Cases must be chosen based on their relevance to answering specific research questions.	The selected cases directly address and align with the research questions, ensuring focused and pertinent data.
Richness	The selected cases must generate rich information for an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon under study.	Each case provides comprehensive and detailed data, allowing for deep exploration and understanding.
Analytic generalisability	Cases must offer insights into broader theoretical contexts, ensuring findings can be analytically generalised to similar contexts. Statistical generalisability to a larger population is not sought.	The findings from the cases are expected to provide insights that are applicable to other similar contexts, though not necessarily to a larger statistical population.
Potential to generate believable explanations	Cases must have high potential to generate credible explanations about the role and impact of social enterprises	The data from the cases are expected to support robust and convincing explanations regarding the impact and role of social enterprises.
Ethics	Obtaining informed consent from all participants, clearly explaining the study’s purpose, procedure, and potential risks.	Ethical standards are maintained by ensuring informed consent and transparency about the study’s procedures and risks.
Feasibility	The study must be practical within the available time, resources, and access constraints.	The focused selection of cases allowed for manageable and effective data collection and analysis, given the available resources and regional scope.

Core Operations	Core Focus	Outcomes for Trainees	Partnerships and Support	Community Group
Training programs (professional skills and qualifications in fashion manufacturing and production)	Skills development, job creation, community support	Volunteering opportunities leading to full-time employment	Collaborations with educational institutions and local councils	Bangladeshi immigrants, local communities based in east London
Commercial production services for the fashion industry	Socially responsible practices Environmental sustainability	Social inclusion and economic empowerment	Partnerships with fashion industry networks and support from regional development initiatives

Interviewee Job Title and Organisation	Date of Interview	Location of Interview	Type of Interview	Duration of Interview
Paul, Chief Executive Officer at Stitches in Time	28 March 2024	Stitches in Time, Tower Hamlets, East London	Face to face	45 min
Gracie Sutton, Enterprise and Production Manager at Stitches in Time	28 March 2024	Stitches in Time, Tower Hamlets, East London	Face to face	45 min
Anna Ellis, Head of Business Development at Making for Change	30 May 2024	Microsoft Teams	Online	38 min


Rohima Begum (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant A	28 March 2024	Stitches in Time, Tower Hamlets, East London	Face to face	1 h 15 min
Malika (Former Trainee and Volunteer)	Participant B
Tayeeba Begum (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant C
Shaleha Sharmi Chawdhury Mitale (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant D
Fateha Hussain (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant E
Farida Yesmin (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant F

Ruma Boumik (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant A	6 June 2024	Microsoft Teams	Online	58 min
Fieruza Khanom (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant B
Shahana Begum (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant C
Nosira Begum (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant D
Dicko Coulibaly (Former Trainee and Employee)	Participant E

Phase	Description of the Process
	Transcribing data (if necessary), reading and re-reading the data, noting down initial ideas.
	Coding interesting features of the data in a systematic fashion across the entire data set, collating data relevant to each code.
	Collating codes into potential themes, gathering all data relevant to each potential theme.
	Checking if the themes work in relation to the coded extracts (Level 1) and the entire data set (Level 2), generating a thematic ‘map’ of the analysis.
	Ongoing analysis to refine the specifics of each theme, and the overall story the analysis tells, generating clear definitions and names for each themes.
	The final opportunity for analysis. Selection of vivid, compelling extract examples, final analysis of selected extracts, relating back of the analysis to the research question and literature, producing a scholarly report of the analysis.

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

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Ashiq, R. Weaving a Sustainable Future for Fashion: The Role of Social Enterprises in East London. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 7152. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167152

Ashiq R. Weaving a Sustainable Future for Fashion: The Role of Social Enterprises in East London. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):7152. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167152

Ashiq, Rubab. 2024. "Weaving a Sustainable Future for Fashion: The Role of Social Enterprises in East London" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 7152. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167152

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Title: fashion after fashion: a report of ai in fashion.

Abstract: In this independent report fAshIon after fashion, we examine the development of fAshIon (artificial intelligence (AI) in fashion) and explore its potentiality to become a major disruptor of the fashion industry in the near future. To do this, we investigate AI technologies used in the fashion industry through several lenses. We summarise fAshIon studies conducted over the past decade and categorise them into seven groups: Overview, Evaluation, Basic Tech, Selling, Styling, Design, and Buying. The datasets mentioned in fAshIon research have been consolidated on one GitHub page for ease of use. We analyse the authors' backgrounds and the geographic regions treated in these studies to determine the landscape of fAshIon research. The results of our analysis are presented with an aim to provide researchers with a holistic view of research in fAshIon. As part of our primary research, we also review a wide range of cases of applied fAshIon in the fashion industry and analyse their impact on the industry, markets and individuals. We also identify the challenges presented by fAshIon and suggest that these may form the basis for future research. We finally exhibit that many potential opportunities exist for the use of AI in fashion which can transform the fashion industry embedded with AI technologies and boost profits.

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Benchmarking: An International Journal

ISSN : 1463-5771

Article publication date: 23 September 2022

Issue publication date: 1 December 2023

The objective of this paper is to synthesise the published literature on consumer awareness and acceptance of Sustainable Fashion (SF) and highlight that sustainability decisions taken across procurement, designing, manufacturing and retailing must include the consumer perspective of SF.

Design/methodology/approach

Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on sustainable fashion combined with consumer behavior was conducted. The study approach involved descriptive analysis, content analysis and theoretical analysis in the first section. The later sections focus on sustainability practices across the apparel supply chain that can foster acceptance of sustainable fashion.

In this review paper, five solutions that are typically used for leveraging consumer awareness and acceptance towards sustainable fashion are identified from the latest research papers: (1) attention to micro-sensitive factors (2) shared responsibilities (3) repositioning sustainable fashion for larger audience (4) positioning conscious fashion and (5) unified approach. These solutions are proposed as most important for achieving success in sustainable production and sustainable consumption (SPSC) for the fashion industry. Further, suggestions for how to embed sustainability related business decisions across sourcing, designing, manufacturing, distribution and recollection and retailing are also provided.

Practical implications

Through this research, a clear view emerges of the progression of publication and where future research should be directed to popularise sustainable fashion among consumers. Research findings and proposed solutions will be valuable inputs for brand managers, marketers and retailers as they conceive new plans and make decisions about addressing sustainability challenges in textile and apparel manufacturing firms.

Originality/value

This is a first of its kind of study on sustainable fashion that highlights the importance of understanding consumer behaviour in influencing sustainability decisions required across sourcing, designing, manufacturing and retailing to achieve substantial economic advantages in the fashion industry. End-to-end supply chain processes (i.e. procurement, design, manufacturing, marketing and retailing) are considered to identify several factors that influence consumer behavior in favor of sustainable fashion throughout the supply chain.

Sustainability
Sustainable fashion
Slow fashion
Consumer clothing behaviour
Consumer awareness
Literature review

Sinha, P. , Sharma, M. and Agrawal, R. (2023), "A systematic review and future research agenda for sustainable fashion in the apparel industry", Benchmarking: An International Journal , Vol. 30 No. 9, pp. 3482-3507. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-02-2022-0142

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Theory of planned behavior and fast fashion purchasing: an analysis of interaction effects

Open access
Published: 26 August 2024

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Frank M. Magwegwe ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7172-6050 1 &
Abdulla Shaik 1

The fast fashion industry, characterized by its reliance on rapid consumption cycles, and short-lived garment use, has raised major environmental concerns. This industry generates over 92 million tons of waste and consumes 79 trillion liters of water annually, driven by rising consumer demand for fast fashion. As such, there is a pressing need to transition from the current wasteful fast fashion purchasing behavior to more sustainable behavior. Despite extensive research on sustainable purchasing behavior, there is still a gap in our understanding of the predictors of consumers’ sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior. To address this gap, our study utilized a survey questionnaire to collect data from a convenience sample of 123 South African consumers. We expanded the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by incorporating sustainability awareness as a background factor in the hypothesized theoretical model. We also investigated the relationships among the TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control), sustainability awareness, and sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior. By employing hierarchical regression within the extended TPB framework, we found that perceived behavioral control mediated the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior. Further, perceived behavioral control and its interaction with attitude significantly predicted sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior, while sustainability awareness significantly predicted perceived behavioral control. Notably, our findings reveal that lower perceived behavioral control is associated with a stronger positive relationship between attitude and sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior. These findings have important implications for theory and practice, and provide suggestions for future research directions.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

The rise of fast fashion brands such as Forever 21, H&M, Primark, Shein, Uniqlo, and Zara has significantly contributed to the global fashion industry’s growth. Now valued at approximately US$2.5 trillion, the industry accounts for about 2% of global GDP and supports around 300 million jobs worldwide. Notably, the global fast fashion sector continues to experience high growth, with forecasts estimating its value to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.7%, from $103.2 billion in 2022 to $291.1 billion by 2032 (Allied Market Research, 2023 ). Fast fashion, a business model that produces a wide array of rapidly manufactured garments that mirror current trends and are sold at low prices (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ), offers consumers fashion at low prices, but incurs high social and environmental costs by creating substantial textile waste, using vast water resources, significantly contributing to CO 2 and microplastic pollution, and often featuring poor working conditions (Niinimäki et al., 2020 ).

There is a growing awareness among consumers about the unsustainable practices of the fast fashion industry (Bläse et al., 2023 ; Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Niinimäki et al., 2020 ). Despite this rising awareness, demand for fast fashion remains high (Bläse et al., 2023 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ; Niinimäki et al., 2020 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ), driven by the low prices and rapidly changing fashion trends (Camargo et al., 2020 ). This rising demand alongside the increasing consumer awareness of the industry’s unsustainable practices highlights a paradox: awareness does not consistently result in sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior (Bläse et al., 2023 ). This disconnect underscores the need for consumers to modify their consumption patterns (Busalim et al., 2022 ). To facilitate this essential behavioral shift, a deeper understanding of the predictors of consumers’ sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior is imperative, with scholars (e.g., Kang et al., 2013 ; Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Rozenkowska, 2023 ) highlighting the urgent need for such research.

Scholars agree that sustainability awareness does not consistently result in sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior (Bläse et al., 2023 ; Bocti et al., 2021 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ) and that fashion choices are an outcome of a dynamic interplay between objective factors such as cost, quality, accessibility, eco-label, perceived product features, and green brand image, and subjective factors such as beliefs, attitudes, values, social norms, motives, emotions, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and individual aesthetic values (for comprehensive reviews, see Busalim et al., 2022 and Testa et al., 2021 ). Despite this consensus, little is known about consumers’ sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior (Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Rozenkowska, 2023 ), particularly the role of sustainable fast fashion awareness (Bocti et al., 2021 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ). To fill these important knowledge gaps, the current study aims to examine and understand the predictors of consumers’ sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior within the context of the theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991 ).

In this study, we define sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior (referred to hereafter for brevity as sustainable purchasing behavior) as one that considers the unsustainable practices of fast fashion (e.g., environmental harm and poor labor conditions). Drawing from Grob’s ( 1995 ) and Maloney and Ward’s ( 1973 ) definitions of environmental awareness, we define sustainable fast fashion awareness (referred to hereafter for brevity as sustainability awareness) as the understanding of fast fashion’s social and environmental impacts. This study, therefore, addresses the research question: Does sustainability awareness and the TPB constructs – attitude , subjective norm , and perceived behavioral control – predict sustainable purchasing behavior?

The study aims to: (a) develop a conceptual model with consumers’ attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control as predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior; and (b) empirically test the model based on a sample of consumers from a developing country, specifically South Africa, thereby addressing the call by Kumar et al. ( 2017 ) for more research in this context and heeding Busalim et al.’s ( 2022 ) and Testa et al.’s ( 2021 ) recommendations for varied consumer demographics in sustainable clothing studies. This study aims to enhance the explanatory power of the TPB in fast fashion consumption by incorporating consumer sustainability awareness as an antecedent of the TPB constructs, given the ongoing debate regarding its relationship with sustainable purchasing behavior (for a comprehensive review, see Testa et al., 2021 ), and by testing interaction effects within the TPB that have rarely been examined in the literature (Hagger et al., 2022 ; La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ; Yzer & van den Putte, 2014 ) but which are crucial for defining the boundary conditions for associations between TPB variables ( La Barbera and Ajzen ( 2020 ).

In summary, our research enriches the existing body of literature on fast fashion, clothing consumption, and consumer behavior by elucidating the predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior within the fast fashion domain. The structure of this article is as follows: First, we present a brief literature review and develop hypotheses, leading to the study’s conceptual model. Next, the conceptual model is empirically tested with a dataset ( n = 123) using hierarchical linear regression. Finally, we discuss the main findings, limitations, and implications of the study and make recommendations for future research.

Literature review and hypothesis development

The significance of fashion.

To fully understand sustainable purchasing behavior and its driving factors, we must first answer the following question: What is fashion? Fashion encompasses all items worn on the body as well as any alterations or decorations applied to the body, including all forms of dress, clothing, and adornments that interact with the body (Thompson & Haytko, 1997 ). Fashion has symbolic meanings and values such as identity, lifestyle, social status, beauty, and uniqueness (Niinimäki, 2010 ; Thompson & Haytko, 1997 ), and serves various roles, including acting as armor, providing a joyful creative outlet, or expressing a political statement. As such, fashion, distinct from the basic utility of clothing, goes beyond mere necessity. It is an emotionally charged choice and way to express and assert social status (Thompson & Haytko, 1997 ), and serves as a means for personal fulfillment, encompassing symbolic self-completion, belonging, and adaptation (Niinimäki, 2010 ; Thompson & Haytko, 1997 ). Given the central role that fashion has traditionally played in society, the emergence of fast fashion has merely amplified a social phenomenon that already existed (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ).

Sustainability in the fast fashion industry

There is a growing awareness among consumers about the unsustainable practices linked to fast fashion, leading to a heightened interest in purchasing sustainable fashion items (Camargo et al., 2020 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ). In response, fast fashion companies have started to implement business strategies that mitigate the negative impact of unsustainable practices such as use of sweatshops, child labor, poor working conditions, and environmental harm (Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ; Muposhi & Chuchu, 2022 ). Such strategies include publishing codes of conduct for supplier workers, incorporating social and environmental sections in annual reports, supporting the United Nations’ Global Compact, and issuing annual CSR reports (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ). In addition, fast fashion companies have been increasing the use of sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled fibers, reducing the use of hazardous chemicals, reducing energy consumption, lowering CO2 emissions, using renewable energy sources, minimizing plastic use, promoting recyclable packaging and garment collection systems for reuse or recycling into new textiles, and collaborating with unions, governments, and international bodies to enhance worker and supplier conditions (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ). Moreover, fast fashion companies have ventured into ethical brand extensions, exemplified by initiatives such as H&M Conscious, ASOS Green Room, and Zara Join Life, and have engaged in prosocial activities, including in-store recycling, take-back schemes, and garment repair services such as H&M Take Care (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ).

Sustainable fast fashion purchasing behavior

Fast fashion, a consumer-driven process characterized by the industry’s capacity to rapidly produce garments aligned with the latest fashion trends at affordable prices, has intensified the intrinsic connection between fashion and societal behaviors (Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ). These affordable prices, which are essential requisites for the mass consumption of fast fashion, have led to an increase in the quantity of items purchased per person and the frequency of purchases, resulting in individuals owning a larger number of clothing items and a decreased useful life for garments. These items are now often viewed as perishable goods and are frequently discarded after minimal use (Camargo et al., 2020 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ). Given that the fast fashion industry’s sustainability initiatives are often overshadowed by consumer overconsumption (Camargo et al., 2020 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ), this study emphasizes the need to identify the predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior.

This matters because the existing broader sustainable clothing purchasing literature predominantly frames it as the antithesis of fast fashion. Rather than exploring sustainable clothing purchasing in this context, we examine fast fashion purchasing behavior that considers the unsustainable practices of fast fashion, such as environmental harm and poor labor conditions. On the surface, fast fashion and sustainability appear to be at odds; fast fashion is characterized by rapid product turnover, while sustainability is rooted in ethical practices, product durability, and reuse (Niinimäki, 2010 ). However, various scholars (e.g., Lundblad & Davies, 2016 ; Miranda & Roldán, 2024 ; Muposhi & Chuchu, 2022 ; Testa et al., 2021 ) suggest that these two seemingly disparate concepts are converging. Further, with the growing interest in sustainability among fast fashion consumers, we caution against assuming that fast fashion and sustainability are mutually exclusive concepts.

Given the complex meanings and significant role of fashion in individual lives (Niinimäki, 2010 ; Thompson & Haytko, 1997 ), scholars have employed various theoretical frameworks to elucidate fashion purchasing behaviors, including the theory of reasoned action, the value orientation model, the norm activation theory, and the cognition–affect–behavior model (Testa et al., 2021 ; Busalim et al., 2022 ). However, the TPB is distinguished for its considerable explanatory power and widespread adoption among researchers, making it a particularly prominent model (Rozenkowska, 2023 ).

The theory of planned behavior

The theoretical lens for this study is the TPB, a theory currently referenced in more than 5,000 papers in the Web of Science database. The TPB has been widely utilized to explain sustainable consumer behaviors, including a diverse range of behaviors such as retirement saving, recycling, organic food consumption, green packaging use, and energy-saving behaviors (Kang et al., 2013 ; Magwegwe & Lim, 2020 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ). The TPB has also demonstrated its robustness in predicting sustainable purchase intentions and actual behaviors (for review, see Rozenkowska, 2023 ). The TPB suggests that an individual’s behavior is predicted by their attitude toward the behavior, which represents their overall evaluation of the behavior; subjective norm, which involves perceived societal pressures to perform the behavior; and perceived behavioral control which reflects their perceptions of control over executing the behavior (Ajzen, 1991 ). These factors collectively shape an individual’s intention to perform a behavior, which is the key predictor of actual behavioral execution (Ajzen, 1991 ). Given the TPB’s effectiveness in predicting sustainable purchasing intentions and actual behaviors (Rozenkowska, 2023 ), and considering that the study’s respondents reported buying at least one fast fashion item within the 12 months prior to data collection, this research is specifically designed to predict sustainable purchasing behavior rather than intention.

Finally, in the TPB, variables such as personality traits, intelligence, demographic characteristics, and life values are categorized as background factors that indirectly predict intention and behavior by shaping behavioral beliefs, which shape attitude toward the behavior; normative beliefs, which predict subjective norm; and control beliefs, which predict perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991 ). However, several criticisms have been leveled against the TPB, including its classification of variables such as personality traits and demographic characteristics as merely background factors; its exclusion of other important predictors of behavior like emotions, habits, past behavior, anticipated regret, or moral norms; and its underlying assumption that decision-making is predominantly deliberative and rational (Armitage & Conner, 2001 ). Although it faces these criticisms, the TPB remains a parimonius model with robust predictive power across a wide range of behaviors (Armitage & Conner, 2001 ). Given that this study aims to develop a conceptual model using attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control as predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior, the limitations of the TPB do not substantially impact our research focus.

Prior studies (Kang et al., 2013 ; Kumar et al., 2017 , 2021 ; Paul et al., 2016 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ) have found that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are robust predictors of intentions regarding sustainable clothing purchases. While this prior research has focused on predicting behavioral intention, the TPB asserts that behavioral intention is the key predictor of actual behavior. Moreover, according to Rozenkowska ( 2023 ), the TPB is effective in predicting both sustainable purchasing intentions and actual behaviors. Based on the TPB and the findings from prior research outlined above, we contend that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are significant predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior. Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses:

H1 : (a) attitude, (b) subjective norm, and (c) perceived behavioral control are positively associated with sustainable purchasing behavior.

TPB constructs as mediators between awareness and purchasing behavior

In recent qualitative studies, focus group participants have bemoaned the lack of sustainability awareness as a major impediment to sustainable purchasing behavior. One participant noted, “This is of course very very important to know how it was produced and if the brand informs or advertises how things are done and how sustainable they are, would definitely be a thing where I would prefer to buy from them” (Bocti et al., 2021 , p. 30). Another participant highlighted the information gap: “I would say that there exists an enormous lack of information. Time after time, I hear about the big companies, such as H&M or Primark, that they produce under terrible conditions in Bangladesh or elsewhere. However, there is little information on the backgrounds and even less what is done against it” (Wiederhold & Martinez, 2018 , p. 425). These insights suggest that sustainability awareness could be pivotal in driving sustainable purchasing behavior. However, the empirical support for the association between knowledge and awareness and behavior is contradictory (Testa et al., 2021 ). While some studies (e.g., Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ) have shown a positive association, others (e.g., Khare & Sadachar, 2017 ) have reported no significant association.

Sustainability awareness, defined earlier as understanding the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion, comprises general sustainability attitudes that do not directly predict specific behaviors but have an indirect association (Grob, 1995 ; Maloney & Ward, 1973 ). Instead, an individual’s attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are shaped by their general attitudes via situation-specific behavioral, normative, and control beliefs. Taken together, and in alignment with the TPB, we argue that sustainability awareness directly predicts attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, while attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control function as mediators in the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior.

There is evidence for this in literature based on the related construct of environmental concern, defined by Dunlap and Jones ( 2002 ) as the level of awareness and concern about human-caused environmental problems and the inclination to contribute to their solutions. Bamberg ( 2003 ) found a positive relationship between environmental concern and both subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. This finding is echoed in the work of Chen and Tung ( 2014 ) and Paul et al. ( 2016 ), who reported a positive relationship between environmental concern and attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, indicating a consistent pattern of environmental concern influencing the TPB constructs. In contrast, when examining environmental knowledge, Kang et al. ( 2013 ) discovered a more nuanced set of associations: a negative relationship with subjective norm, a positive relationship with perceived behavioral control, and no significant association with attitude. Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses:

H2: Sustainability awareness is positively associated with (a) attitude, (b) subjective norm, and (c) perceived behavioral control.

Bamberg ( 2003 ) demonstrated that subjective norm and perceived behavioral control mediated the relationship between environmental concern and the intention to request a brochure about green electricity products. Similarly, Chen and Tung ( 2014 ) observed that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control acted as mediators between environmental concern and the intention to visit green hotels. Paul et al. ( 2016 ) further corroborated these findings, showing that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control mediated the relationship between environmental concern and the intention to purchase green products. Extending beyond environmental concern, Kang et al. ( 2013 ) found that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control mediated the relationship between environmental knowledge and the intention to buy environmentally sustainable textiles and apparel. Consistent with the TPB’s theorizing and findings from prior research discussed above, we developed the following hypotheses.

H3: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control mediate the association between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior.

The moderating role of perceived behavioral control

Although research utilizing the TPB commonly treats attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control as independent predictors of intention (La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ), the TPB theorizes an interactive approach in which perceived behavioral control interacts with attitude and with subjective norm in predicting intention and with intention in predicting actual behavior. This interaction hypothesis, which posits that favorable attitudes and subjective norm lead to the formation of a favorable intention only when combined with high perceived behavioral control, has not been extensively examined in TPB studies (Yzer & van den Putte, 2014 ). However, there is an increasing scholarly focus on the moderating role of perceived behavioral control (La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ). Despite this growing interest, empirical investigations on this topic remain limited, with most research concentrating on the moderation of the intention–behavior relationship by perceived behavioral control. Comparatively, few studies have investigated how perceived behavioral control moderates the relationship between attitude and intention and between subjective norm and intention (La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ).

Building on the preceding discussion about the moderating role of perceived behavioral control within the TPB, there is emerging empirical evidence for significant Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interactions in predicting intentions from various scholars (e.g., Earle et al., 2020 ; La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ; Yzer & van den Putte, 2014 ), yet findings concerning Subjective Norm $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interactions have been mixed. While some studies (i.e., Earle et al., 2020 ; Kothe & Mullan, 2015 ) observed no significant Subjective Norm $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interactions, others (i.e., Yzer & van den Putte, 2014 ; La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ) identified significant interactions. Consistent with the TPB’s interaction hypothesis and findings from prior research discussed above, we developed the following hypotheses.

H4: perceived behavioral control moderates the association between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior such that when perceived behavioral control is high, the relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior is stronger.

H5: perceived behavioral control moderates the association between subjective norm and sustainable purchasing behavior such that when perceived behavioral control is high, the relationship between subjective norm and sustainable purchasing behavior is stronger.

Figure 1 presents all the hypotheses in the conceptual model developed for the study.

Conceptual model and hypotheses. Note: H3 tests the mediating roles of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control

Participants and procedures

Out of 125 returned questionnaires, 123 participants were included in this study after meeting the inclusion criteria of being 18 years or older and having purchased at least one fast fashion item in the 12 months prior to completing the questionnaire. Besides these inclusion criteria, no specific exclusion criteria were set for participation. The completion of all questions was mandatory, resulting in no missing data.

The study utilized convenience sampling, where accessible and willing individuals were recruited through personal networks and social media platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn) from November 3, 2022, to December 3, 2022. Respondents were encouraged to forward the survey to their networks, enhancing the reach and diversity of the participant pool. Fast fashion was described as low-priced clothing produced rapidly by retailers in response to the latest trends, while sustainable fast fashion was characterized as being socially responsible and environmentally friendly.

The sample size required for this study was computed based on Tabachnick and Fidell’s ( 2007 , p. 123) recommendation of a desired minimum level of N > 50 + 8 m (where m = number of independent variables), resulting in an ideal sample size of 133 respondents. Although we achieved 123 respondents, slightly below the target, we believe this minor shortfall does not significantly impact the validity of our study’s findings.

Ethical adherence was a priority; the corresponding author’s university ethics committee granted approval for this research, ensuring all participants gave informed consent and voluntarily participated in this cross-sectional study among South African consumers. The survey, which took approximately 15–20 min to complete, included an introduction, a screening query about fast fashion purchases, a request for demographic information, and inquiries regarding actual fast fashion purchasing behaviors, awareness of unsustainable fast fashion practices, and questions assessing attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.

Common method bias

Our study’s use of self-administered surveys, where participants answered questions in one sitting, raised the potential for common method bias. To mitigate this risk, we incorporated several strategies during the survey design phase, as recommended by Podsakoff et al. ( 2003 ). These included providing clear instructions, guaranteeing response anonymity, using straightforward and unambiguous questions verified through pilot testing, and keeping the survey concise to reduce respondent fatigue.

Our study employed Harman’s single factor test to assess the presence of common method bias, following the guidance of Podsakoff et al. ( 2003 ). The test results were very encouraging: a single factor accounted for only 15.08% of the total variance, which is considerably below the often-cited threshold of 50%. This finding suggested that common method bias was unlikely to be a major issue in our research.

This study’s scales and questions were developed based on previous literature (Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ; Zhang et al., 2021 ). We employed 5-point Likert-type scales for all the focal variables, where respondents rated their level of agreement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Sustainable purchasing behavior. Participants rated these attributes as follows: (1) country of manufacture, (2) durability, (3) environmental impact, and (4) human dignity during manufacture in response to the statement “I consider the following garment attributes when purchasing fast fashion products.” Responses were averaged across items to produce a single composite score, with higher values indicating a stronger sustainable purchasing behavior (Cronbach’s α = 0.83).

Attitude. Footnote 1 We used this single item: I feel disgusted when I learn how much the fast fashion industry generates waste and pollution.

Subjective norm. We assessed subjective norm with the following items: (1) My family and/or friends affect my purchase of fashion products with sustainability features, and (2) social media influencers affect my purchase of fashion products with sustainability features. The responses were aggregated into a single average score (Cronbach’s α = 0.70). Higher values indicate subjective norm supportive of sustainable purchasing behavior.

Perceived behavioral control. We used a single item: I am knowledgeable about apparel brands that sell eco-friendly products. Higher values indicate greater perceived behavioral control.

Sustainability awareness. We used the following items: (1) I am aware of social issues in the fast fashion industry, (2) I am aware of child labor and sweatshop issues in the global supply chain of the fast fashion industry, and (3) I am informed of environmental issues in the fast fashion industry, such as waste and pollution caused by the excessive production of garments. The responses were aggregated into a single average score (Cronbach’s α = 0.83). Higher values indicate greater awareness.

Participants also described other garment attributes (i.e., fashionability, price, fit, and quality) they consider when purchasing fast fashion products and their monthly budget for fast fashion, with options ranging from less than R1,000 to more than R5,000. They defined sustainable fashion with attributes such as good quality, longevity, costliness, fair labor practices, and the use of organic fabrics. Additionally, they disclosed the proportion of their clothing purchases that are sustainable and their willingness to pay extra for sustainable fast fashion clothing, with both aspects measured in percentage ranges. Demographic information was collected, including gender, age (in decade brackets from 18 to over 60), and net monthly household income (categorized from below R10,000 to more than R60,000). We included age, gender, and income as control variables. Controlling for these demographic factors, as highlighted by Testa et al. ( 2021 ), is common in studies of sustainable purchasing behavior to enhance the robustness of findings.

Analytical strategy

For our descriptive and inferential analyses, we utilized SAS 9.4 statistical software and confirmed that there were no missing data across all variables. The aim of this research was to explore the relationships among sustainability awareness, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, along with the interaction effects between perceived behavioral control and both attitude and subjective norm, on sustainable purchasing behavior. First, descriptive analyses examined the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, followed by tests of normality and multicollinearity. All variance inflation factors were below 2.50, indicating no multicollinearity issues within our model. Second, we conducted bivariate correlational analyses to examine the associations between the study’s variables. Finally, guided by the TPB and given that the skewness (− 0.38) and kurtosis (0.65) of the study’s dependent variable, sustainable fast fashion purchase behavior, indicated an approximate normal distribution, we employed a three-step hierarchical linear regression to test the study’s hypotheses.

In the first step, we entered sustainability awareness into the model. Subsequently, in the second step, we entered attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control into the model. The final step involved introducing interaction terms to test the hypothesized interactions with the interaction terms created by multiplying perceived behavioral control with attitude and subjective norm, respectively. We centered all continuous independent variables before the analysis and utilized unstandardized coefficients to determine the significance of each variable (Aiken & West, 1991 ), using a p value less than 0.05 to determine statistical significance.

Explanatory factor analysis and descriptive statistics

For the current study, we performed an exploratory factor analysis to ascertain the dimensionality of the newly developed indices. We set the threshold for factor loadings at 0.60, with no cross loadings, and applied both Kaiser’s eigenvalue criterion (≥ 1) and the scree plot test to determine factor retention. Consistent with our expectations, all the indices revealed a single factor structure. The internal consistency reliability and convergent validity of the study’s focal constructs were confirmed with an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and average variance extracted metrics. The factor analysis outcomes for the included items are detailed in Table 1 .

Table 2 illustrates the profiles of the participants, including their age, gender, monthly net household income, and budget allocation for fast fashion purchases. The sample comprised slightly more females (54.47%), with the largest age group being 40 to 49 years (36.59%). Most participants (78.05%) allocated under R1 000 monthly for fast fashion, while the majority reported a monthly income between R20 000 and R40 000 (27.64%). Regarding sustainable fashion perceptions, participants equally valued long-lasting quality and organic fabrics (both at 34.15%), followed by fair labor practices (10.57%). For sustainable fashion purchases, the largest segments were those who bought less than 10% sustainable fashion (26.83%) or more than 70% sustainable fashion (18.71%). In terms of paying a premium for sustainable fashion, most were willing to pay 1 to 5% more (28.46%), while a notable proportion (22.76%) were willing to pay over 20% more.

In terms of TPB constructs, attitudes toward sustainable purchasing behavior were generally favorable, with a high mean score of 4.06 (SD = 0.91), indicating that, on average, the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that measured attitude. Subjective norm showed moderate agreement, with a mean of 2.89 (SD = 1.02). Perceived behavioral control was moderately high, with a mean of 3.28 (SD = 1.13). Sustainability awareness had an average score of 3.45 (SD = 0.97), reflecting a moderate to high level of awareness among participants.

Figure 2 illustrates the divergent priorities of fast fashion purchasing decisions. Traditional factors such as ‘fit,’ ‘quality,’ and ‘price’ markedly outweigh sustainability concerns, with ‘country of manufacture,’ ‘environmental impact,’ and ‘human dignity during manufacture’ scoring lower. This highlights the gap between the high value placed on conventional attributes and the lower emphasis on sustainability, despite a generally favorable attitude toward sustainable fast fashion (mean = 4.23, SD = 0.65).

Mean scores of fast fashion product attributes

Figure 3 presents the dichotomized categories of sustainable purchasing behavior and attitude, segmented by median splits. This indicates that most (55%) of the participants had high attitude and, correspondingly, high sustainable purchasing behavior. Notably, 10% of participants reported having high sustainable purchasing behavior and low attitude. Approximately one-quarter (24%) of the respondents had high attitude but reported low sustainable purchasing behavior. These patterns imply that while a positive attitude toward sustainable fast fashion is a good predictor of sustainable purchasing behavior, additional factors, alongside or interacting with attitude, may predict sustainable purchasing behavior, underscoring the multifaceted nature of this consumer behavior.

Median split analyses of the association between attitude and the sustainable purchasing behavior

Table 3 shows that sustainable purchasing behavior was most significantly associated with perceived behavioral control ( r = 0.508, p < 0.001) and sustainability awareness ( r = 0.368, p < 0.001). attitude exhibited a moderate positive relationship with sustainable purchasing behavior ( r = 0.175, p = 0.05), however subjective norm was weakly and non-significantly correlated with the sustainable purchasing behavior ( r = 0.105). A notably strong relationship existed between perceived behavioral control and sustainable purchasing behavior ( r = 0.539, p < 0.001), suggesting a strong association between consumers’ perceived control and sustainability awareness.

Hypotheses testing

Initially, we employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the hypothesized model depicted in Fig. 1 . However, the structural model exhibited poor fit, which might be attributed to the small sample size and the use of single-item measures. Specifically, the comparative fit index was 0.871, falling short of the preferred threshold of 0.95 or higher. Similarly, the Tucker–Lewis index stood at 0.728, below the 0.95 benchmark, and the root mean square error of approximation was 0.102, exceeding the maximum acceptable value of 0.06. Due to these limitations, we opted to proceed with linear regression to test our hypotheses. However, despite the poor fit of the SEM, the results from both regression models were substantially the same, underscoring the robustness of our results.

Hierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between the TPB predictors, sustainability awareness, and sustainable purchasing behavior, as well as the interaction effects. The detailed results are presented in Table 4 . In Model 0, the baseline model features only control variables (gender, age, income), none of which significantly predicted sustainable purchasing behavior. Model 1 demonstrates that sustainability awareness significantly predicted sustainable purchasing behavior, (B = 0.331, SE = 0.070, p < 0.001), contributing 15.41% of additional explained variance ( $\:{F}_{1,\:113}$ = 20.82, p < 0.001). Model 2, which added the TPB predictors to Model 1, explained 32.47% of the variance in sustainable purchasing behavior with a significant R² change of 0.1609 ( ${F}_{3,110}$ = 8.74, p < 0.001). Attitude (B = 0.145, SE = 0.07, p < 0.05) and perceived behavioral control (B = 0.303, SE = 0.063, p < 0.001) were significant predictors in Model 2, whereas subjective norm (B = 0.07, SE = 0.059, p = 0.224) was not. Model 3, incorporating interaction terms, accounted for 38.89% of the variance in sustainable purchasing behavior, a further R² increase of 0.0642 ( ${F}_{2,108}$ = 5.67, p < 0.01). This modest yet significant increase supports the relevance of interaction effects, which are often modest in magnitude (Aiken & West, 1991 ). Perceived behavioral control (B = 0.299, SE = 0.060, p < 0.001) and Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control (B = − 0.172, SE = 0.047, p < 0.001) significantly predicted sustainable purchasing behavior. In Model 3, after the interaction terms were added, attitude was no longer significant ( p = 0.569). The findings thus supported only Hypotheses 1c and 4, with Hypotheses 1a, 1b, and 5 not being supported.

To test Hypotheses 2a, 2b, and 2c, regression analyses predicting attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were conducted with sustainability awareness as the focal predictor. Sustainability awareness significantly predicted perceived behavioral control (B = 0.669, SE = 0.093, p < 0.001) but neither attitude ( p = 0.620) nor subjective norm ( p = 0.466). Thus, these findings only supported Hypothesis 2c with Hypotheses 2a and 2b not being supported. The detailed results are presented in Table 4 .

The inclusion of TPB predictors reduced the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior to non-significance ( p = 0.216), aligning with Hypothesis 3, which postulated partial mediation by TPB predictors. We proceeded to perform a formal mediation analysis following the procedures recommended by Baron and Kenny ( 1986 ). Footnote 2 Regression analysis indicated a significant positive association between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior (B = 0.295, SE = 0.068, p < 0.001), satisfying the first criterion for establishing mediation. Subsequent regression analyses were also conducted to assess the relationships between sustainability awareness and potential mediators – attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Sustainability awareness did not significantly predict either attitude (B = 0.094, SE = 0.084, p = 0.269) or subjective norm (B = 0.029, SE = 0.096, p = 0.7604), but did significantly predict perceived behavioral control (B = 0.623, SE = 0.089, p < 0.001), meeting the second condition for mediation. Finally, when attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were included in the regression model with sustainability awareness predicting sustainable purchasing behavior, the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior became nonsignificant (B = 0.092, SE = 0.074, p = 0.216), while attitude and perceived behavioral control significantly predicted sustainable purchasing behavior. This change suggests full mediation. Further, Sobel’s z-test revealed a significant indirect effect of sustainability awareness on sustainable purchasing behavior through perceived behavioral control (z = 3.92, p < 0.001), which was further substantiated by a 95% bootstrap confidence interval for the indirect effect that did not encompass zero (95% CI [0.094, 0.283]). In contrast, the indirect effects through attitude and subjective norm were not significant, indicating that perceived behavioral control is the primary mediator in this relationship. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was supported. The detailed results are presented in Table 4 .

Simple slope analysis (Aiken & West, 1991 ) was also conducted to probe the nature of the significant Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interaction. At one standard deviation below the mean of perceived behavioral control, the relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior was positive and statistically significant (B = 0.2602, SE = 0.0749, t(116) = 3.4724, p < 0.001), indicating that lower perceived control was associated with a stronger positive relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior. Conversely, at one standard deviation above the mean of perceived behavioral control, the slope was negative but not statistically significant (B = − 0.0622, SE = 0.0947, t(116) = − 0.6565, p = 0.513), suggesting that higher perceived control did not significantly alter the association between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior. At the mean level of perceived behavioral control, the relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior was not significant (B = 0.099, SE = 0.067, t(116) = 1.4776, p = 0.142), indicating that when individuals perceive an average level of behavioral control, attitude does not significantly predict sustainable purchasing behavior. Figure 4 illustrates the slopes. These findings underscore the conditional role of perceived behavioral control in the relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior. Specifically, the association between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior is strongest under conditions of low perceived behavioral control.

Simple slopes of Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interaction on sustainable purchasing behavior

Although not initially hypothesized, examining the relationships between TPB background factors – age, gender, and income – and sustainable purchasing behavior alongside the model’s core components is important. In our findings, the age group 50 and above demonstrated a significant positive association with sustainable purchasing behavior, while higher household income brackets (R20K – R40K and above R40K) were negatively associated with sustainable purchasing behavior. Gender did not significantly predict sustainable purchasing behavior. According to the TPB, the relationships between age and income and purchasing behaviors should be mediated by attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Although full mediation was not observed, these factors contributed only an additional 0.97% to the variance in sustainable purchasing behavior.

At the outset of this study, we set out to explore the predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior within the framework of the TPB. Our research aimed to enrich the understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior, particularly in the context of developing countries such as South Africa, where the influx of fast fashion retailers has transformed consumer purchasing behavior (Muposhi & Chuchu). We focused on sustainable purchasing behavior, a concept that combines the rapid consumerism of fast fashion with sustainability concerns. This study not only responds to calls (e.g., Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ; Rozenkowska, 2023 ) for more diverse consumer samples in sustainable clothing purchase behavior studies, but also examines the relatively unexplored interaction hypothesis within the TPB framework (e.g., La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ).

Aligned with our research objectives, our study utilized the TPB framework to address four critical questions: (1) What are the factors associated with sustainable purchasing behavior (H1)? (2) Does sustainability awareness relate to the TPB constructs – attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (H2)? (3) Do TPB constructs mediate the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior (H3)? (4) Does perceived behavioral control moderate the relationships between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior (H4) and between subjective norm and sustainable purchasing behavior (H5)? Our findings aligned with some of our hypotheses; attitude only indirectly predicts sustainable purchasing behavior through its significant interaction with perceived behavioral control. Surprisingly, subjective norm, and the interaction between subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, did not show a significant relationship with sustainable purchasing behavior. In contrast, perceived behavioral control demonstrated a significant association. Sustainability awareness was significantly associated only with perceived behavioral control, and not with attitude or subjective norm. Notably, among the TPB predictors – attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control – only perceived behavioral control significantly mediated the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior. These findings are explored further below.

The regression analysis revealed a notable shift when the interaction terms (Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control and Subjective Norm $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control) were incorporated into Model 3; specifically, the previously significant relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior became non-significant, suggesting that the relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior is contingent upon levels of perceived behavioral control, as indicated by the significant interaction between perceived behavioral control and attitude. The interaction between perceived behavioral control and subjective norm, however, was not significant, indicating that perceived behavioral control did not modify the relationship between subjective norm and sustainable purchasing behavior in the same way. Our findings on the TPB interaction hypothesis corroborate the mixed results seen in the literature. Consistent with studies such as those by Earle et al. ( 2020 ), La Barbera and Ajzen ( 2020 ), and Yzer and van den Putte ( 2014 ), we observed a significant interaction between attitude and perceived behavioral control. Similarly, aligning with findings from Earle et al. ( 2020 ) and Kothe and Mullan ( 2015 ), the interaction between subjective norm and perceived behavioral control was not significant.

As expected, perceived behavioral control significantly predicted sustainable purchasing behavior, a finding that aligns well with existing literature, including studies by Kang et al. ( 2013 ), Kumar et al. ( 2017 , 2021 ), Paul et al. ( 2016 ), and Rausch and Kopplin ( 2021 ). The simple slope analysis of the Attitude $\times$ Perceived Behavioral Control interaction produced somewhat puzzling results. Our results indicate that lower perceived behavioral control correlates with a stronger positive relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior. This observation, seemingly at odds with the TPB’s assertion that higher perceived control enhances the translation of attitudes into behavior, can be understood through alternative theoretical frameworks. First, Brehm’s reactance theory ( 1966 ) suggests that when individuals perceive their freedom or control as restricted, they may assert their attitudes more strongly to regain a sense of autonomy. This could explain why, in contexts of low perceived behavioral control, attitudes toward sustainable clothing purchases are more assertively expressed, thereby aligning with our findings. Second, compensatory control theory (Kay et al., 2008 ) proposes that individuals compensate for perceived external control limitations by relying more on internal attitudes and values. This theory supports our observation that attitudes become more influential in guiding behavior when perceived behavioral control is reduced. These theoretical perspectives provide valuable insights into the complex interplay between perceived control, attitudes, and behavior in the context of sustainable fast fashion purchasing.

Contrary to expectations, subjective norm did not emerge as a significant predictor of sustainable purchasing behavior. This aligns with the literature on green purchasing behaviors, where a similar lack of association between subjective norm and purchase intentions or behavior has been noted (e.g., Kumar et al., 2017 ; Rausch & Kopplin, 2021 ). One possible explanation for our unexpected finding is the use of a measurement approach for subjective norm in this study, which focused on the influence of family, friends, and social media influencers on sustainable purchasing behavior. This approach may not have sufficiently captured the full spectrum of social influences impacting the participants. White et al. ( 2019 ) suggested that the effectiveness of subjective norm on behavior may vary depending on the directness and relevance to the individual. A more comprehensive or nuanced assessment of subjective norm could thus offer different insights. Additionally, in fashion contexts where personal identity and self-expression are key, the association of subjective norm may be less pronounced, as consumers tend to rely more on individual preferences and control beliefs (Bamberg, 2003 ). The interaction between subjective norm and perceived behavioral control also did not significantly predict sustainable purchasing behavior, paralleling findings from studies such as Earle et al. ( 2020 ) and Kothe and Mullan ( 2015 ), which reported non-significant interactions between these variables.

The study’s findings on the relationships between sustainability awareness and attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control align with the mixed results reported in the literature. Consistent with other studies, such as those by Kang et al. ( 2013 ), we found no significant relationship between sustainability awareness and attitude. However, we did observe a significant relationship between sustainability awareness and perceived behavioral control, similar to findings reported by Chen and Tung ( 2014 ) and Paul et al. ( 2016 ). While our results indicated no significant relationship between sustainability awareness and subjective norm, the literature presents varied outcomes: studies by Chen and Tung ( 2014 ) and Paul et al. ( 2016 ) reported positive relationships, whereas Kang et al. ( 2013 ) found a negative relationship. Finally, the TPB elucidates a positive association between sustainability awareness and perceived behavioral control. Specifically, sustainability awareness can enhance an individual’s perception of control over their purchasing behavior by providing relevant knowledge and tools. Conversely, the lack of significant associations between sustainability awareness and both attitude and subjective norm could be attributed to the possibility that individual awareness may not substantially shape attitude and subjective norm when societal norms or collective attitudes towards sustainability are already deeply entrenched (Schultz et al., 2007 ).

Our study’s findings on the relationships between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior are consistent with existing literature, which shows varied mediation effects. While we found that only perceived behavioral control fully mediates the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior, other studies have reported broader mediation effects. For example, Bamberg ( 2003 ) identified that both subjective norm and perceived behavioral control fully mediate this relationship, whereas studies by Chen and Tung ( 2014 ), Kang et al. ( 2013 ), and Paul et al. ( 2016 ) found that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control all play mediating roles. This raises questions about the effectiveness of sustainability educational campaigns that primarily focus on building awareness, under the assumption that informed consumers will automatically engage in socially desirable behaviors, such as sustainable purchasing. Our findings indicate that simply enhancing awareness may not be enough. Instead, efforts should simultaneously address both sustainability awareness and perceived behavioral control to foster sustainable purchasing behavior.

Theoretical contribution

This study offers several key theoretical contributions to our understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior. First, it applies the TPB to examine this behavior, directly addressing the current limited knowledge about the factors that predict consumers’ decisions to make sustainable clothing purchases, as highlighted by scholars such as Rausch and Kopplin ( 2021 ) and Rozenkowska ( 2023 ). Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the TPB exhibits strong predictive power for sustainable purchasing behavior, reinforcing the theory’s relevance and applicability in this context.

Second, addressing the recent calls by researchers (e.g., Canova et al., 2023 ) for more studies exploring the role of background factors (such as knowledge, awareness, values, and demographic characteristics) in predicting the constructs of the TPB, our study introduces a novel mediation model. This model elucidates how the background factor of sustainability awareness predicts sustainable purchasing behavior. Our findings reveal that perceived behavioral control fully mediates the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior. This supports a fundamental principle of the TPB, which posits that the relationship between background factors and behavioral intentions or actual behavior is entirely mediated by the TPB’s constructs.

Third, our study addresses the calls by researchers (e.g., La Barbera & Ajzen, 2020 ) to test the interaction hypothesis within the TPB. We found a significant interaction between attitude and perceived behavioral control, which supports the hypothesis and underscores the importance of examining these interactions. This finding provides insight into how and under what conditions these constructs interact to shape sustainable purchasing behavior, offering a more nuanced understanding of the TPB’s mechanisms.

Finally, our study advances theory by employing a non-WEIRD sample from South Africa. This approach addresses Henrich et al.’s ( 2010 ) critique of the over-reliance on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations in behavioral research. It also responds to recent calls from researchers such as Busalim et al. ( 2022 ) and Miranda and Roldán ( 2024 ), who emphasized the need for diverse samples to deepen our understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior. By incorporating perspectives from a developing country, our research broadens the application of the TPB and provides additional insights into sustainable purchasing behavior across social, economic, and cultural settings.

Practical implications

The findings of this study have practical implications for various stakeholders aiming to promote sustainable purchasing behavior. First, the simple slopes analysis of the significant interaction between attitude and perceived behavioral control indicated that lower perceived behavioral control correlates with a stronger positive relationship between attitude and sustainable purchasing behavior. A practical implication is the importance of strengthening positive attitudes towards sustainable purchasing among consumers with low perceptions of control over their ability to make sustainable purchases. At the community level, sustainable behaviors (e.g., sustainable purchasing) can be fostered by engaging community leaders as role models and advocates who share their personal stories and experiences to promote sustainable purchases, and by establishing platforms that allow community members to exchange tips, experiences, and encouragement about sustainable purchasing (Lasker & Weiss, 2003 ).

Second, the finding that perceived behavioral control directly predicts sustainable purchasing behavior suggests that companies and policymakers aiming to enhance this behavior might allocate resources differently based on consumers’ perceived behavioral control levels. For consumers with low perceived behavioral control, investing more in attitudinal change could be more effective. Conversely, for consumers with higher perceived behavioral control, resources might be better spent on removing barriers to action, such as providing more information on clothing’s country of manufacture or durability and improving the availability and affordability of sustainable fashion. Third, our results demonstrate that perceived behavioral control acts as a mediator in the relationship between sustainability awareness and sustainable purchasing behavior. This finding shows that while raising awareness about sustainability is essential, alone it is insufficient; it must be coupled with efforts to increase consumers’ perceived control over making sustainable purchases. To bridge this gap, interventions must focus on empowering consumers, facilitating an easier translation of their awareness into tangible actions.

Fourth, our findings indicate that subjective norm did not significantly predict sustainable purchasing behavior, suggesting that consumers do not regard the approval of ‘significant others’ as important when making sustainable purchases. This implies that sustainability interventions should instead prioritize highlighting the personal benefits to the individual consumer, such as the positive environmental impact of their choices. Consequently, sustainability marketing and communication strategies should emphasize the personal satisfaction consumers derive from making sustainable choices, rather than focusing on social approval or norms. Despite our findings, it is recognized that subjective norm play a critical role in creating societal pressure that encourages sustainable purchasing behavior (Rozenkowska, 2023 ; Testa et al., 2021 ). Therefore, leveraging peer influence through social norms marketing campaigns is an effective intervention to promote sustainable behaviors (Schultz et al., 2007 ).

Finally, our results demonstrate that sustainability awareness positively and significantly predicts perceived behavioral control. This finding highlights the importance of increasing sustainability awareness to strengthen perceived behavioral control among consumers. Achieving this can involve implementing educational programs that demonstrate the impact of individual choices on environmental sustainability. Additionally, marketers and retailers should deploy strategies that underscore the convenience and personal advantages of making sustainable purchases, which can enhance consumers’ sense of control and their ability to make such choices. Furthermore, policymakers play a crucial role by enhancing transparency and facilitating access to information on product sustainability, including the implementation of mandatory sustainability labeling.

Strengths, limitations, and avenues for future research

This study has several strengths, including that it enriches the understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior by utilizing a sample from South Africa, a non-WEIRD setting. Methodologically, the use of hierarchical regression analyses provided a nuanced exploration of the predictors of sustainable purchasing behavior. Theoretically, this study extends the TPB by integrating sustainability awareness through a novel mediation model for the TPB and exploring interaction effects within the TPB framework, thereby enhancing its predictive capability for sustainable purchasing behavior. Notably, the study’s focus on actual behavior, rather than intention, mitigates the intention‒behavior gap observed in sustainability research, enhancing the study’s design.

This study boasts several strengths that enhance our understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior. Methodologically, we employed hierarchical regression analysis to provide a nuanced exploration of its predictors. Theoretically, we expanded the TPB by integrating a novel mediation model that includes sustainability awareness and by exploring interaction effects within the TPB framework. This approach not only enhances the predictive capability of the TPB for sustainable purchasing behavior, but also addresses the often-observed intention-behavior gap in sustainability research by focusing on actual behavior. Additionally, by utilizing a sample from South Africa, a non-WEIRD setting, this study enhances our understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior across varied social, economic, and cultural settings.

Despite these strengths, limitations exist which point to directions for future research. The study’s cross-sectional design limits causal inference. Reliance on self-reported data, while necessary, may introduce bias, thus incorporating objective data in future studies could strengthen the findings. Despite fast fashion typically targeting younger demographics, our study’s sample notably deviated from this trend, with the largest age group represented (37%) being individuals aged 40 to 49, which may have influenced our results. The specific focus on the South African context, while valuable, may limit generalizability, highlighting the need for research in diverse cultural and economic settings. Another limitation is the potential lack of geographic specificity in our sample. Despite targeting South African participants via personal contacts and social media through snowball sampling, the study lacked a definitive process to verify each respondent’s location. Additionally, the relatively modest sample size of 123 limited the use of more complex analytical techniques, such as structural equation modeling, which allow for the consideration of model fit. Future research should endeavor to construct TPB measures not only based on the literature, but also by rigorously adhering to the standardized guidelines for measurement of TPB constructs. This approach will enhance the reliability of the measures used in TPB-based studies.

Future research should explore causal relationships using longitudinal designs. Given the general lack of diversity in samples in behavioral sciences research (Henrich et al., 2010 ), researchers should consider samples drawn from diverse populations and contexts, particularly in other developing countries as well as among ethnic and racial minority groups. Developing and testing TPB-based interventions to promote sustainable purchasing behavior presents a promising research direction given the study’s finding on the predictors of this behavior. Expanding variables to include fashion influencers, willingness to pay, self-identity, personal values, and/or moral norms may yield deeper insights into sustainable purchasing behavior. Collaborations with fast fashion companies to incorporate objective purchase data could also provide a more robust understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior.

This study makes major contributions to the understanding of sustainable purchasing behavior within the theoretical framework of the TPB. Our findings demonstrate that sustainability awareness does not directly predict this behavior, as its relationship is entirely mediated by perceived behavioral control. This indicates that it is not enough to increase consumers’ sustainability awareness; rather, sustainable purchasing behavior is predicted by a combination of perceived behavioral control and positive attitudes. Notably, the interaction between attitude and perceived behavioral control is predictive of sustainable purchasing behavior, underscoring the importance of these factors in determining this behavior. This research not only extends the TPB by exploring its application in the context of fast fashion in a developing country, but also provides practical insights for various stakeholders. By highlighting the importance of comprehensive strategies that encompass awareness, attitudes, and perceived control, this study paves the way for more effective interventions aimed at promoting sustainable fashion choices. Ultimately, this study contributes to the broader dialogue on sustainable consumer behavior and the urgent need for more environmentally and socially responsible practices in the fast fashion industry.

Data availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are openly available at the Open Science Framework repository, accessible via the following link: https://osf.io/v9p42 . This repository includes all relevant datasets necessary to interpret, replicate, and build upon this research.

We initially had two items. The second item was “I feel angry when I learn about labor slavery and child labor in the fast fashion supply chain.” We removed this item because it had extreme responses (M = 4.60, Mdn = 5.00, SD = 0.57).

These regression analyses did not include control variables.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their sincere thanks to section editor Dr Manyu Li and two anonymous reviewers whose insightful comments and suggestions significantly enhanced this paper. We also express our gratitude to Nomathemba Magwegwe for her invaluable secretarial assistance.

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Frank Magwegwe functioned as the principal designer of the article, overseeing its overall writing and editing, and bears the primary responsibility for its content and organization. The foundational data for this research, which contributes significantly to the article, were gathered by Abdulla Shaik for his MBA research.

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Correspondence to Frank M. Magwegwe .

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Magwegwe, F.M., Shaik, A. Theory of planned behavior and fast fashion purchasing: an analysis of interaction effects. Curr Psychol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06465-9

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Dress, body and self: research in the social psychology of dress

Introduction

Body supplements as stimulus variables

Provocative dress as stimuli

Research on red dress

Effects of dress on the behavior of the wearer

Dress and the self

The physical body and the self

Body modifications that carry some risk

Eating disorders

Drive for muscularity

Body talk and the self

Dress and self as distinct from others

Priming and self-perception

Dress and self in interaction with others

Dress and self as influence on consumption

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