Holly Lentz, Nancy Nelson Hodges and Killian Manning: From Flip-flops to Ferragamos: Representing Women’s Identities in Transition
University of North Carolina, Greensboro; Greensboro, NCUSA
The role of dress in identity construction, especially regarding self-concept and self-esteem, has been investigated by Stone (1962), the importance of dress as an object of one’s identity has been ascertained by Belk (1988) and Czikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton (1981), and the relationship between the self and identity has been established by Roach-Higgins, Eicher, and Johnson (1995). In relating dress to cultural ideals of impression management and hegemonic practices, Goffman (1959) develops the connection between appearance and social roles, while Dolan (1988) explores power as it is refracted through gender and the implications this holds for the publicly presented image. However, little research has examined the role that dress plays in the transitions experienced by the self as it moves from one stage of life to another.
As Turner has articulated for theater, liminal space occupies an important ideological phase for the development and transition of a character (1982). Such a transitional space, “betwixt and between,” offers a unique opportunity for transformation. Whether the transformation involves a rite of passage, a change in roles, an opportunity for embracing the space between roles, or an impetus for any sort of change, dress is involved. This study, therefore, explores the role of dress in accomplishing a variety of transformations and the implications dress holds for the representation of the transforming self.
Three methods were employed to develop a holistic interpretation. The lived experience of women making real-life role transitions offered the primary site from which to examine the instrumentality of dress in accomplishing transitions. In-depth interviews, phenomenological in orientation (van Manen, 1990), were conducted with ten female students currently participating in an apparel internship program. Their experiences of transition as they moved from student to professional formed the basis of data collected from each individual’s perspective (Kvale, 1996). These narratives were then interpreted for common themes that surfaced within and across experiences. Secondly, the emergent themes were explicated through a critical review of three examples of popular culture: the films My Fair Lady (1964) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006). These texts offered opportunities to examine representations of this transitional phase across a variety of milieu. Finally, a critical comparison of the interviews and films was conducted, in order to articulate the intricate ways in which real life and popular culture intersect within the capitalist, consumption driven context of contemporary society (McCracken, 1988; Ratneshwar, Mick & Huffman, 2000).
Results illustrate the importance of dress in self transitions through four emergent themes: transformation of the self through dress, the notion of appropriate dress, the definition of professional dress, and the relationship between dress and goal achievement. Both interviewees and fictional characters relied on dress to realize an important part of their self-concept and to facilitate major changes in their lives. As these women move into different roles, dress allows them to negotiate a reflexive relationship between their self-concept and social roles. Conversely, concrete changes in their dress act as catalysts for role changes. Thus changes in economic, marital, or professional status were both accompanied and accomplished by dress. Further research concerning the transformational power of dress is needed in order to better understand the complex ways that the female self is represented in society.
References
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