Skip to content
1981
Volume 12, Issue 4
  • ISSN: 2050-0726
  • E-ISSN: 2050-0734

Abstract

In this study on the power of dress in the Icelandic banking sector, we build on Nentwich and colleagues’ (2015) theoretical framework of change agency. We show that the framework bears relevance to changes occurring after the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. Our aim is to examine the role of dress in the process of change. The data are derived from ten semi-structured interviews with female bank employees, a group that has historically been marginalized within the Icelandic banking sector. Our findings reveal that visible changes in dress have signalled changes in societal norms and attitudes during and after the economic crisis. The disruption has created a window of opportunity for female bank employees to alter dressing norms. This alteration has subsequently increased their agency and visibility, thereby facilitating their upward mobility, mirroring with clients and representing confidence and trustworthiness. We find that changes in dress occur when ideas in society change, and that windows of opportunity are necessary for marginalized groups to expand their agency. Once these windows are created, dress can underline and bolster their agency.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00193_1
2023-06-08
2026-04-16

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Barry, Ben (2018), ‘(Re)fashioning masculinity: Social identity and context in men’s hybrid masculinities through dress’, Gender & Society, 32:5, pp. 63862.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Barry, Ben and Martin, Dylan (2016), ‘Gender rebels: Inside the wardrobes of young gay men with subversive style’, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 3:2, pp. 22550.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Benschop, Yvonne and Doorewaard, Hans (1998), ‘Covered by equality: The gender subtext of organizations’, Organization Studies, 19:5, pp. 787805.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bernier, Beatrice (1989), Fashion, City, People, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Bourdieu, Pierre (2013), Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bridges, Donna, Bamberry, Larissa, Wulff, Elizabeth and Krivokapic-Skoko, Branka (2022), ‘“A trade of one’s own”: The role of social and cultural capital in the success of women in male-dominated occupations’, Gender, Work & Organization, 29:2, pp. 37187.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Burke, Peter J. and Cerven, Christine (2019), ‘Identity accumulation, verification, and well-being’, in J. E. Stets and R. T. Serpe (eds), Identities in Everyday Life, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 231.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Burke, Peter J. and Stets, Jan E. (2009), Identity Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Butler, Judith (1990), Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York: Routledge Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Butler, Judith (2004), Undoing Gender, New York: Psychology Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Collins, Patricia Hill (2000), Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment, New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Dahlerup, Drude (1988), ‘From a small to a large minority: Women in Scandinavian politics’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 11:4, pp. 27597.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Dellinger, Kristen (2002), ‘Wearing gender and sexuality “on your sleeve”: Dress norms and the importance of occupational and organizational culture at work’, Gender Issues, 20:1, pp. 325.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Eitzen, D. Stanley (1999), ‘Upward mobility through sport’, in D. S. Eitzen (ed.), Sport in Contemporary Society: An Anthology, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 25663.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Ellis, Robert A. and Lane, W. Clayton (1963), ‘Structural supports for upward mobility’, American Sociological Review, 28:5, pp. 74356.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Emmerling, Leonhard (2003), Jean-Michel Basquiat: 1960–1988, Cologne: Taschen.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Entwistle, Joanna (2000), ‘Fashion and the fleshy body: Dress as embodied practice’, Fashion Theory, 4:3, pp. 32347.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Essex, Jamey and Bowman, Joshua (2021), ‘Striped pants and Birkenstocks: Work culture, gender, and clothing at Global Affairs Canada’, International Feminist Journal of Politics, 23:2, pp. 30929.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Fogg, Melissa (2005), ‘Business suit’, in V. Steele (ed.), Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, 3, pp. 23738.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Glick, Peter, Larsen, Sadie, Johnson, Cathryn and Branstiter, Heather (2005), ‘Evaluations of sexy women in low-and high-status jobs’, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29:4, pp. 38995.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Gurung, Anil and Prater, Edmund (2017), ‘A research framework for the impact of cultural differences on IT outsourcing’, in S. C. J. Palvia and P. Palvia, (eds), Global Sourcing of Services: Strategies, Issues and Challenges, Singapore: World Scientific, pp. 2443.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Haynes, Kathryn (2012), ‘Body beautiful? Gender, identity and the body in professional services firms’, Gender, Work & Organization, 19:5, pp. 489507.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Kafle, Narayan Prasad (2011), ‘Hermeneutic phenomenological research method simplified’, Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5:1, pp. 181200.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Kang, Minjeong, Sklar, Monica and Johnson, K. K. P. (2011), ‘Men at work: Using dress to communicate identities’, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 15:4, pp. 41227.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Karl, Katherine A., Hall, Leda McIntyre and Peluchette, J. V. (2013), ‘City employee perceptions of the impact of dress and appearance: You are what you wear’, Public Personnel Management, 42:3, pp. 45270.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Kelan, Elisabeth K. (2017), ‘Contested terrain: The power to define, control and benefit from gender equality efforts’, in Contested Terrain: The Power to Define, Control and Benefit from Gender Equality Efforts, New York: Routledge, pp. 10523.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Kwon, Yoon-Hee (1994), ‘The influence of appropriateness of dress and gender on the self-perception of occupational attributes’, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 12:3, pp. 3339.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Nentwich, Julia, C., Ozbilgin, Mustafa, F. and Tatli, Ahu (2015), ‘Change agency as performance and embeddedness: Exploring the possibilities and limits of Butler and Bourdieu’, Culture and Organization, 21:3, pp. 23550.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Oostrom, Janneke K., Ronay, Richard and Van Kleef, Gerben A. (2021), ‘The signaling effects of nonconforming dress style in personnel selection contexts: Do applicants’ qualifications matter?’, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 30:1, pp. 7082.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Pitcan, Mikaela, Marwick, Alice E. and boyd, d. (2018), ‘Performing a vanilla self: Respectability politics, social class, and the digital world’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 23:3, pp. 16379.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Reddy-Best, Kelly L. (2018), ‘LGBTQ women, appearance negotiations, and workplace dress codes’, Journal of Homosexuality, 65:5, pp. 61539.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Roach-Higgins, Mary Ellen and Eicher, Joanna B. (1992), ‘Dress and identity’, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 10:4, pp. 18.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Ross, Annie (2015), The Value of Taste: Consumption Strategies for Social Upward Mobility among Urban Chinese Youth, Lund: Lund University.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Sand, George (1991), Story of My Life: The Autobiography of George Sand, New York: SUNY Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Schulte, Stephanie (2021), ‘Geeks s grandees: A transnational comparison of dress codes in American and British federal technology agencies’, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 24:2, pp. 54866.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Snorradóttir, Ásta, Vilhjálmsson Rúnar, Rafnsdóttir Guðbjörg, Linda and Tómasson, Kristinn (2013), ‘Financial crisis and collapsed banks: Psychological distress and work related factors among surviving employees – A nation-wide study’, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 56:9, pp. 1095106.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Smith, K. M. (1982), ‘Dr. James Barry: Military man – or woman?’, Canadian Medical Association Journal, 126:7, p. 854.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Stone, Gregory P. (1990), ‘Appearance and the self: A slightly revised version’, in Life as Theater: A Dramaturgical Sourcebook, New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, pp. 14162.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Tsaousi, Christiana (2020), ‘That’s funny … you don’t look like a lecturer! Dress and professional identity of female academics’, Studies in Higher Education, 45:9, pp. 180920.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Vingilyte, Justina and Khadaroo, Ameerah (2022), ‘Personal clothing style and self-concept: Embracing the true, the ideal and the creative self’, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, online first, https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc_00130_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. West, Candace and Zimmerman, Don H. (1987), ‘Doing gender’, Gender & Society, 1:2, pp. 12551.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Wilcke, Margaretha M. (2002), ‘Hermeneutic phenomenology as a research method in social work’, Currents: New Scholarship in the Human Services, 1:1, pp. 110.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00193_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/fspc_00193_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): change agency; norms; trustworthiness; upward mobility; women; work culture
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test