“To be yourself is to be like everyone else,” says SIFO researcher Ingrid Haugsrud, who interviewed 12-year-olds in Oslo about their relationship with clothes.
The study shows that children use clothes as a way of fitting in with groups of friends and social situations. They agree to dress the same, share items of clothing and experiment with style – but always within the confines of the community.
The study is part of the Belong project, which looks at community among children and young people. The researchers behind the clothing study selected 12-year-olds because they are at the intersection between childhood and adolescence.
“They practice social codes. It’s not just about fashion but about understanding yourself and others,” Haugsrud explains.
Actively playing with norms
Children play their way to an understanding of clothes and identity. It is an active process in which they dress up, test boundaries and explore what is “allowed” and “not allowed” in their environment.
“One day we were going to be boys, swapping genders almost, another day the theme was après-ski and on a different day it was emo. We also wore pyjamas one day, this was in the middle of winter and on the last day we wore shorts and summer clothing. Nearly everyone got sick.” (Elise, 12 years old)
In this example, playing helped create community and inclusion.
In another example, a group of girls decided to swap their school bags for a handbag like they see older teenagers do. The experiment ended with them deciding that they would wait a while before they got rid of their school bags.
“Together, they decided to be children for a little while longer,” Haugsrud says.
Occasions for clothes
As adults, we have different occasions for clothes. Not only do we swap between everyday clothing and party wear and various social events, but it is also not uncommon to distinguish between workwear and homewear.
“We imagined that the children would also have different occasions, but it was a bit different to what we thought. They had some equipment for leisure activities and would change into nice clothes for birthdays and other occasions, but they otherwise wore the same clothes at school as they did at home.
This is precisely one of the reasons why researchers are skeptical about whether school uniforms would work in Norway.
“With a school uniform, it would become more hectic with more occasions and more clothing changes throughout the day and that is not the case now,” Haugsrud says.
School uniform: solution or symbol?
School uniforms were used as a thought experiment in the study and both parents and children had the opportunity to share their views.
“The children thought it was fun to try but wouldn’t like to regularly wear school uniform. They wanted to feel like themselves,” Haugsrud explains.
Parents were generally more positively inclined than children, but none of them were unequivocally enthusiastic. Both parents and children worried that school uniform would hinder the children’s ability to express their individualism.
“While children consider school uniform a way to play with other styles or a way to create equality, adults are interested in the potential school uniforms have in relieving financial pressure,” the researcher explains.
Finances and brand pressure
Everyone agrees that this pressure exists, but no-one has a good solution to it.
“A school uniform would not relieve the financial pressure that occurs during leisure time and through social media,” Haugsrud notes.
The study shows that children in both eastern and western Oslo like the same fashion and brands – but the approach differed. In eastern Oslo, children often had fewer items of clothing, but having the right shoes could be enough to feel that they were “dressed right”. In western Oslo, parents were more conscious about giving children access to fashion brands, but were also careful not to stand out too much. Too much of something can also be wrong.
“Status is not the most important aspect, what is most important is feeling like you are part of the group,” Haugsrud explains.
Clothes equal care
The parents in the study put a lot of care into their children’s clothes. They attach great importance to their children being properly dressed – both practically and socially. Clothes are not just about style but also about care, ensuring that the children do not feel cold, that their clothes are undamaged and clean and appropriate for their age.
“A large part of caring for a child involves ensuring that they are properly dressed,” says Haugsrud.
Reference
The research project, Practices and policies of belonging among minority and majority children of low-income families (BELONG), examines children and young people’s sense of belonging in relation to people, places and items in order to gain knowledge of why some people drop out of society in adulthood. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and will be completed in 2025. The project manager is Anita Borch from Consumption Research Norway (SIFO).
This clothing study is taken from an anthology of findings from the project.
Ingrid Haugsrud, Ingun Grimstad Klepp and Clara Julia Reich (2025). Dressed for belonging. Children's use of clothing to create equality (cdforskning.no). I A. Borch & O. R. Bilgrei (Ed.), Barns tilhørighet blant mennesker og ting (Chapter 7, pages 147–171). Cappelen Damm Forskning.
