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Construction of An SI Theory of Fashion: Part 1. Ambivalence and Change

Division of Textiles and Clothing, University of California, Davis, CA 95616

Richard H. Nagasawa

Department of Sociology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2101

Sandra S. Hutton

Department of Design, Merchandising and Consumer Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523

In this first part of a three-part series explaining fashion as a social process, a symbolic interactionist (SI) theory is presented to explain why appearance styles continue to emerge, be adopted and change. Unlike existing theories that tend to explain how a particular style diffuses through a social system, this theory draws on SI and extracts underlying concepts that, we propose, instigate and perpetuate changes in appearance styles: ambivalence, symbolic ambiguity, and negotiation. Five principles and associated theoretical statements are developed to explain fashion in general, followed by a more specific look at transitional cultural contexts, using the contemporary, U.S. context for the purpose of illustration.

Key Words: fashion • symbolic interaction • postmodern • ambivalence • theory

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