Fashioning masculinity among young New Zealand men: young men, shopping for clothes and social identity

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how fashion clothing is perceived and consumed by young males, what their attitudes are toward fashion and how fashion is used in the construction of a social identity by these men.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory approach is used in this research, with the fashion consumption behaviours and perceptions of males aged between 19 and 25 explored.

Findings

Results note the positive role of social comparison amongst young men in their fashion-seeking behaviour, with fashion consumption playing a large role in the emotional well-being of young men in a social context.

Research limitations/implications

This research was exploratory in nature and used a small sample of males from a specific age cohort. As such, the results cannot be generalized but do offer analytical insights into male attitudes and behaviour toward fashion that can be extended in future research.

Practical implications

While the act of shopping for clothing was traditionally seen as a female recreation, fragmentation of the traditional male/female dichotomy has seen men become active in the social consumption ethic surrounding fashion. The current study examines the emergence of fashion-aware males and offers insight into the key motivations for young males to seek out fashion products.

Social implications

In a society where fashion seeking is a popular recreational activity across genders and changing notions of masculinity allow for more appearance focused men, shopping for clothes is no longer considered an exclusively female activity.

Originality/value

Where research has previously examined fashion items and their integral role in product-self extension from a female perspective, very little studies focus on males’ relationships with fashion. Whilst prior research has examined men’s self-image and self-modification via exercise or plastic surgery, there is little that focuses on the role of clothing in men’s identity creation.

Citation

McNeill, L. and McKay, J. (2016), "Fashioning masculinity among young New Zealand men: young men, shopping for clothes and social identity", Young Consumers, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 143-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-09-2015-00558