Fashion consumption and identity. Social functions of fashion purchases
Social consumption and related phenomena can be seen in a variety of ways. The purchase of a particular good, such as clothing, can be read as a result of a fashion undertaking, a manifestation of social status, or activities to build a human identity.
The article has a theoretical and empirical nature and refers to the issue of constructing one’s own identity by consuming fashion. It is an introductory element of the problem of consumer behavior in the sphere of clothing. The publication highlights the fact that individuals are definitely more involved now in creating their identity than they used to be. The first part of the article has the nature of sociological considerations and serves to find the paradigms most strongly associated with the construction of identity through consumption, in particular, fashion consumption. It also provides an overview of the most important sociological theories, both those created in the past and quite contemporary. In the second part, it refers to the results of qualitative research related to identity creation through fashion consumption.