Clothing, Ethnic Identity and Acculturation: The Significance of Immigrants’ Clothing Choices

One of the most visible and universal ways that people express themselves is through their clothes. Clothing communicates a lot about an individual’s personality, group membership, and even context of social situations. Research suggests that clothing is part of a dynamic social process, which is often linked to self-esteem, ethnic and national identity and matters of individualism/collectivism. However, psychological research—particularly from acculturation frameworks—remains scant.

The present, multi-study aims to examine links between clothing preference in relation to acculturation strategies and ethnic and national identities among immigrants. Study 1 explored meanings and symbolism of Canadian versus ethnic clothing for Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrants (N = 15) through qualitative interviews. Participants described wearing ethnic attire to express pride in and convey ties to heritage culture, while Canadian attire was described in terms of social norms and practicality. Studies 2 (N = 324) and 3 (N = 196) employed survey designs to examine the relation between ethnic and national identities, acculturation strategies, and attitudes towards Canadian and ethnic clothing in different contexts (formal versus casual, among peers of same or different ethnic background). Building on implications from Study 2, Study 3 found that Chinese participants with high ethnic identity were more inclined to wear formal ethnic clothing, but there was no significant relationship between Indian participants’ ethnic identity and clothing ratings. Results are situated within the existing literature and presented in relation to choice of clothing, ethnic identity, and acculturation strategies.