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Symbolic Interactionism and Dress

👥 Sociology By CampusDown Wiki Editorial Team Last updated
Quick answer: from a symbolic interactionist view, clothing is a symbol whose meanings are negotiated in interaction; people present themselves through dress and build a sense of self from others' responses.
Contents
  1. 1. Premises of symbolic interactionism
  2. 2. Appearance and the self: Stone
  3. 3. Impression management: Goffman
  4. 4. Roles and clothing behavior
  5. 5. Use in clothing research
  6. 6. Criticism
  7. 7. References

Premises of symbolic interactionism

Symbolic interactionism, the micro perspective among sociological theories, was systematized by Herbert Blumer (1969) from George Herbert Mead's ideas. Blumer's three premises:

  1. People act toward things on the basis of the meanings those things have for them.
  2. Meanings arise out of social interaction.
  3. Meanings are handled and modified through interpretation.

Applied to dress, the same suit means something very different at a job interview and at an amusement park.

Appearance and the self: Stone

Gregory Stone (1962) argued that appearance opens interaction before words. The meanings the wearer intends are the program; those attributed by observers are the review. When they match, the self is validated; when they diverge, the self is questioned or dress changes. Children's dress-up play rehearses roles and builds the self.

Impression management: Goffman

In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), Erving Goffman compared social life to theater. Clothing, hairstyle and props are part of the "personal front," managed to suit the front stage and convey a desired impression.

Roles and clothing behavior

  • Role taking: uniforms, gowns and school uniforms signal roles and cue role behavior.
  • Conformity: dressing to group norms brings belonging and acceptance; nonconformity can express individuality or resistance.
  • Fashion: Fred Davis (1992) described fashion as the expression in dress of identity ambivalences such as youth/age or masculinity/femininity.

Use in clothing research

Susan Kaiser's The Social Psychology of Clothing is the standard text combining symbolic interactionism with cognitive and cultural perspectives. The approach informs research on first impressions, workplace dress codes, teen brand conformity, wardrobe curation and sustainable consumption.

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Criticism

Its focus on micro-level meaning-making can neglect macro factors such as class, industry structure and gendered power.

References

  1. Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Prentice-Hall.
  2. Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self, and Society. University of Chicago Press.
  3. Stone, G. P. (1962). Appearance and the self. In A. M. Rose (Ed.), Human Behavior and Social Processes (pp. 86-118). Houghton Mifflin.
  4. Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday.
  5. Davis, F. (1992). Fashion, Culture, and Identity. University of Chicago Press.
  6. Kaiser, S. B. (1997). The Social Psychology of Clothing: Symbolic Appearances in Context (2nd rev. ed.). Fairchild.

Reports and materials that use this theory (Korean)

There are no materials dedicated to this theory yet, but you can search related reports in the CampusDown library (Korean).

Find more reports · Search '의복 행동과 상징적 상호작용론' on CampusDown →
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This article was last updated on October 15, 2026. It is based on widely recognized original works and textbooks; when citing it in a paper, please check the original sources listed in the references.