How children use clothes to fit in

“To be yourself is to be like everyone else,” says Ingrid Haugsrud.

She is a researcher at OsloMet's Consumption Research Norway (SIFO). Haugsrud has interviewed 12-year-olds in Oslo about their relationship with clothes.

The study shows that children use clothes as a way of fitting into friend groups and social situations. They agree to dress the same, share items of clothing, and experiment with style – but always within the boundaries of the group.

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,” says Haugsrud.

Actively playing with norms

Children play their way towards an understanding of clothes and identity. 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,' said Elise, 12, one of the study participants.

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,” the researcher says.

There are different occasions for clothes

As adults, we have different occasions for clothes. Not only do we swap between everyday clothing and party wear and different social settings, but it's also not uncommon to distinguish between the clothes you wear at work and at home.

“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," says Haugsrud.

This is precisely one of the reasons why researchers are sceptical 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's not the case now,” she 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,” the researcher says.

Parents were generally more positively inclined than children, but none of them were unequivocally enthusiastic. Both parents and children worried that a school uniform would hinder the children’s ability to express their individuality.

“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,” she says.

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 also careful not to stand out too much. Too much of something can also be wrong.

“Status is not the most important aspect. What's most important is feeling like you're part of the group,” says Haugsrud.

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 intact 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:

Haugsrud et al. Kledd for tilhørighet. Barns bruk av klær for å skape likhet (Dressed for belonging. Children's use of clothing to create equality). In Borch, A. & Bilgrei, O.R. (Eds.) Barns tilhørighet blant mennesker og ting (Children's sense of belonging in relation to people and objects), Cappelen Damm Forskning, 2025. DOI: 10.23865/cdf.250.ch7

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Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

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