(Tradition)
However, the discussions revealed that this sense of identity was often fragmented and multi-faceted. Firstly, the notion of a virtuous identity is not something that is always desirable, however; this perception of virtue and how it communicates identity to the outside world is often associated with negative perceptions of identity. For example, Liz’s desire to engage in ‘voluntary downshifting’ had led to perceived negative impacts at work, which in turn had led in her into what she perceived to be increased ‘unethical’
purchasing behavior:
I made a decision to have a frugal lifestyle. So to see what I needed and what I didn’t need, and I’ve come out of it – actually it’s really interesting because I’ve had to engage with things like turning up in meetings and [other people] going ‘well, I can’t believe you’ve turned up looking like that!’ So I think these values are influencing how I perceive myself and I how I think I should present myself, so I’ve been engaging a lot more in purchasing.
Clothes especially.
As Liz explains, her engagement in ‘downshifting’ had led her to be perceived as being unprofessional in appearance, and that this communication of a professional identity can only be achieved through engaging in more consumption and being forced to renegotiate these different values. The implications of identity and clothing consumption from a professional or work perspective will be further explored in due course, but this reveals the emergence of tensions between multiple dimensions of the self and how this fragmented sense of identity might, in itself, be considered a sacrifice.
Often the communication of identity was problematic outside of the tensions with professional life, however. The sustainability dimensions of identity and clothing were issues for James, for example, in that they communicate an identity that he does not want to associate with:
The whole eco labels… the clothes are awful… a lot of people I meet in the environmental word seem to care nothing for design or beauty or art or creativity and y’ know, wear the same thing for 10 years and don’t give a stuff about what it looks like or anything. And whilst I’m not a huge follower of fashion or anything, I do have some sense of…with the clothes that I buy or a product for the house or something, that it’s still… you would go to church conference or church halls and there would be cheap Traidcraft stuff that was Fair Trade, or y’ know this….Indian clothing… sort of almost like the festival chic type look. And that’s what was associated with green and eco.
This lack of congruence with aesthetic values is also perhaps something to be traded off, therefore. Indeed there was a general perception that ‘identifiably’ ethical clothing carries
a certain style with which people did not want to associate, nor which fitted with particular identities. A variety of negative language was used to describe this:
…you know it’s from a fair trade shop, let’s just say, because there’s a certain style, isn’t there? If you’re buying that sort of thing for work, it’s not necessarily always going to be appropriate.
(Chris)
It [an “ethnic” top] would say something about the person wearing it, about their ideals, that they were environmentally aware but in a green and ‘waffy’ kind of a way. There’s definitely a distinction between certain kinds of green people. And then I would judge those people. (Laughter) And so, yes, I would try to avoid wearing clothes that fall into that ethnic-y category, which I definitely wore those sorts of clothes when I was about 13. But not now.
(Naomi)
I think the biggest problem is in the more sustainable and fair trade clothing because the styles they go for seem to be very different…. The thing is the problem with fair trade clothing, it does have a sort of hippy image. And to be perfectly honest, if you look at the styles and think, ‘I would look like a hippy and I don’t really want to.’ You know, patchwork trousers is a classic example. They have patchwork trousers. And I just thought, ‘Who wears patchwork trousers?’
(Sarah)
For some respondents, an identity rooted in values relating to ethical consumption was perceived to be at odds with their ‘true’ sense of self. For Kate, her distaste of paying for
‘branded goods’ if equivalent quality and style could be bought for cheaper, even though it was recognised as being counter to her values in relation to perceived human rights issues was seen as being a core part of ‘who I am’. The implication here is that ‘ethical’
goods are more expensive, and this does not fit with a particular identity.
I shop in quite cheap shops, and that's not now because I can't afford it, I'm very value conscious in that respect of I would… I don't sort of go after brands and I wouldn't spend more to get a particular brand if something just as good or the same - it's more about the style, what I feel comfortable in and the price really, which sort of goes against maybe my own values in respect to sort of shopping at Primark, et cetera. But yeah, that's how I am.
At the extreme of this, for Paula the ‘identity’ of an ethical consumer was contrary to her own perception of herself as somebody whose identity cannot exist without clothes. In many ways she positions herself, at least at some stages in her life, as a ‘shopaholic’, and she sees this as being mutually exclusive from ethical clothing consumption. This ‘need’
for clothing consumption is illustrated through her analogy of ‘starving’:
Well, the thing is, I’m not actually an example [of an ethical consumer] … if you actually see someone who ‘does’ sustainable clothing you probably see someone who does organic, undyed clothes or whatever… but for me, I kind of love clothes – I have clothes for living…
if you stop me buying clothes it’s like stopping someone who loves food going to a restaurant. It’s pretty much the same thing – I could starve myself!
Respondents were therefore aware of their need to establish and communicate their identity, often as upholding a particular set of values, but not through an overt identity as being ‘green’ which was perceived to be associated with a lack of style, authority or maybe even professionalism, something that is clearly perceived to be at odds with the identities of this particular group. For others, ethical consumption was seen to be related to particular identity that should be communicated at particular times, although this was often an identity of ‘avoidance’ (of particular retailers or over-consumption), rather than what might be termed ‘positive purchasing’ as noted previously.
The rejection of the ‘ethical consumer’ identity also corresponded to the rejection of the identity of ‘clothes shopper’ to some degree. This appeared to work in two ways. Firstly, there was some evidence of a form of bounded rationality which rejected clothing as a dimension of identity. As Chris explained:
I think how we live is an expression of the values in which we try to embody. So, the clothing interestingly for me doesn’t represent my identity that clearly. So, I don’t feel that connection as I would do to my house, for instance, or maybe how I spend my leisure time or other things like that. Clothing is a bit of an anomaly on a personal basis actually.
I…they’re functional in a sense. They’re not that expressive in that way.
This was manifest in similar ways: Matias also described his lack of fashion-consciousness in terms of his identity of being ‘trend-proof’; Keith described his lack of self-awareness and lack of interest in clothes, and Nick recognised that his ethical interest did not extend into his purchase of clothes because clothing was something he didn’t ‘worry about’, to the extent that his wife buys all of his clothes. This lack of interest in the product therefore leads to a lack of investment which in turn appears to lead to a lack of
consideration of the ethical dimensions of the purchase. This has wider implications for ethics, in which consumers will only consider ethical impacts if there is some investment in the thing being bought.
Whilst it would be easy to conclude that this was a ‘male’ phenomenon, there were exceptions; Naomi demonstrated a disregard for fashion and lack of interest in clothing throughout her interview, James conversely was very design-conscious, and whilst Doug described how he shopped rarely and had a lot of clothes bought for him, he
demonstrated an appreciation of clothes which went beyond a complete lack of interest:
One of my sons was wondering about a birthday present and I said, well I haven’t got a hat and something like a... I don’t want a baseball cap, but something like a proper cloth cap would be good, and he got me one of these, and it’s beautiful, a Barbour tweed, wool cap which was great.
Linked to this was the notion of clothing choice as a differentiator (that is, a more
deliberate ‘anti-fashion’ statement rather than a lack of interest in clothing), and this will be explored in the following section. The second way that informants rejected an identity based on an interest in clothing was through the act (or practice) of shopping. Many of the respondents expressed a dislike of shopping; it was often perceived to be a necessary but ultimately unpleasant act. Liz, Matias, Helen, Nick Kate, Steve, Chris, Naomi, Vivian and Daphne all expressed an active dislike of shopping; usually this was due to disliking crowds, or having a lack of time, but often emotive language was used to describe this.
Helen described shopping as a leisure activity as ‘alien’ to her, Liz described it as ‘painful’, and Kate and Naomi described themselves as not being like ‘typical’ women in this regard.
Again, this notion of ‘difference’ comes into play, and will now be explored in more detail.
‘Them’ and ‘me’:
As Thompson and Haytko (1997) note, identity through fashion is often achieved through contrasting between the self and others and is something which is: “…negotiated in a dynamic field of social relations” (p21). This was also seen to be at play with the
respondents in this study, with the act of differentiating oneself from others seeming to be considered as a 'social benefit', although personal history and context were
inextricably linked to this benefit. For example, for Susan being virtuous is clearly a differentiating factor and this is connected to her sense of fashion:
But I think that I must have had an innate sense of doing good and being interested in that, and I think getting praised for doing well, and we used to get Smarties if you got an ‘A’… so, I always got praised and noticed so - I was a middle one of four children, so classically you don’t get noticed if you’re in the middle. So I could wear unusual clothes and things like
that… and the thing that got me noticed was if I did well at school... So doing well and doing the right thing seemed to be something that formed part of my identity from being in primary school. So I think that’s a part of it. Because then you have to think that, well, the whole family grew up in the same circumstances and none of them have this particular interest, so I think I was defined… if we were all together then I would always try and be the virtuous one. I would always want to do things right and probably felt comfortable with rules and following the rules, and being quite disdainful of those that weren’t, like my brothers and sister!
For others, this difference was established in less subtle ways through a desire to be seen as less ‘mainstream’. For example, Helen made several references to this
Interviewer: Was fashion something that was quite important to you when you were younger?
Helen: Yeah. There was a lot of desire to be different, and alternative probably wasn’t what everyone else would call alternative,… Yeah. so, I was quite conscious. I wanted to…I have lots of different things. I’m probably a lot more mainstream now.
Later in the interview, although Helen perceives herself to be more ‘mainstream’ now, this difference was still an important principle in differentiating herself from others, with Next being perceived as a mainstream brand which ‘everyone else’ will be wearing (although it should notice the other brands mentioned are also widely available on the high street in major retailers).
Interviewer: So do you have quite a small number of retailers that you just go to?
Helen: Yeah, yeah. I’d probably go to Monsoon, Phase Eight, Next maybe, but, it’s a bit too mainstream. I don’t like wearing stuff that I think everyone is going to wear.
For Helen, this ‘mainstream’ identity is clearly associated with ‘labels’, and her desire to disassociate from this is clear:
That reminds me of when I was younger, I was really anti-labels. I didn’t want to wear anything with a label on. And probably I still don’t… I didn’t like being like everyone else and thinking that if you got a label on, it makes it better.
However, Vivian also discussed how during her time at University in the 1980s she had developed a sense of feeling ‘at odds’ with her course mates’ politics (specifically their support for the Falklands War), and how she was further distanced by their ridicule of her being a vegetarian, and discussed how she had always felt to be an ‘outsider’ in some way. Steve also discussed how his ‘positive purchasing’ (in this case Howies) were both an alternative to, and adopted different business practices from, the mainstream, and
specifically large labels such as Levis which gave the brand an impression of being different.
The concept of difference clearly manifested itself in conspicuous ways through buying clothes which offered different styles or clothes which would not be seen being worn by others. For Chris this difference was a clear contributor to value. In discussing a shirt he bought from a bespoke store for much more money than he would normally spend, this cost was clearly offset by positive feelings of owning and being able to wear something that felt more authentic in some way, and that he knew was not owned by others. Indeed, a number of respondents in talking about favourite items of clothing referred to the fact that they are ‘a bit different’ in some way, and this appears to be a key product attribute which carries huge personal and social benefits in enabling this group to stand out in some way, whether against what is perceived to be ‘the mainstream’ or against defined social groups, and thus contributing to social identity.
Me, myself and us: Self-identity and the social self
The notion of social identity was clearly expressed; respondents rarely discussed their identities in relation to themselves only. Two significant ‘other’ social identities emerge here, highlighted by Steve who observed a ‘congruence’ between his values-based notion of his ‘self’ and his work role; that his teaching and research stemmed from his
environmental awareness and further reinforced the need to communicate his identity through his clothing choices. However, Steve also related these values to much of his childhood and connections to family memories. These two dimensions of social identity, family (and especially upbringing) and work, will be explored in more detail.
Family and Upbringing
As noted above, Steve related his values to much of his upbringing, during which he spent time with family members in the outdoors:
I suppose in many ways it [an environmental awareness] did influence the sort of degree I took - I seem to remember writing something in my personal statement about… an affinity with the outdoors. So it’s that...and I suppose in some ways kind of feeds through into my dress sense and the functionality aspect of it. Yeah, so it’s about getting outside and going… walking in the countryside that kind of thing. So that’s where, you know, if you’re out there in the environment doing stuff, then you can enjoy it and you want to do
something to help it… I definitely remember…when we did those sorts of things, that’s the sort of time I liked, I enjoyed. So we used to go walking quite a lot with my Grandad and did quite a lot of…fell running and things like that with my Dad, things like that.
Steve’s recall of these times that made him feel happy as achild with his father and grandfather shares a direct relationship with his perception of himself and his desire to communicate one of his core values (an affinity with the outdoors), both as a student and now in his professional life, and as a consequence this is clearly connected to Steve’s clothing purchases; he discusses preferred brands (in particular Howies and Finisterre) which are known not only for their ethical principles, but also for their associations with the outdoors and sports (especially cycling and surfing respectively).
For Matias, clothes shopping is embedded within a practice so ingrained into his
relationship with his family (and his mother in particular since leaving his native country), that he refers to the ‘ritual’ of shopping which has brought them closer together as he has got older through enabling them to spend time together.
No, er, the way I would buy is… when I go to Spain for holidays and have time, I say OK, let’s say I have to spend time with my mother, so I say, OK – let’s go shopping, so she can go shopping and we can have a day together… it’s cheaper than here. And also because I have more time when I’m there because I have holidays. And I want to spend time with my parents so I say OK, let’s go shopping – it’s like, er, it’s like a ritual thing. We go out, we have dinner together, we spend the whole day together and then we will do some shopping.
This was also evident for Elisabeth (who is originally from Germany); shopping for her is a family practice which enables her to spend time with her children and her mother:
And normally, I go shopping every time [visiting Germany] I think, clothes shopping…
I nearly go always there normally with my mum… My kids come, they have a play area there. So my mum is normally watching and entertains the kids, and I’ll try things onto which is also easy way of doing it because here, first, I would have to do it as I ask someone else to look after the kids or to carry my husband who’s not interested at all.
[Laughter]. And he would have to watch the kids. So I think it’s…my mum likes it as well. So therefore, it’s kind of something we do as a family then, without my husband.
Naomi’s interest in sustainability also perhaps relates (at least in part) to her upbringing, but she also describes how many of the practices she revealed she now engages in
(voluntary simplicity, buying in charity shops or wearing clothes which have been given to her and so on) were also perhaps shaped by childhood experiences:
But, I suppose [my parents] were very much of the school of make do and mend. They were
But, I suppose [my parents] were very much of the school of make do and mend. They were