Points of continuity and change in the social performance of older male bodies through fashion and clothing

Townsend, K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2212-2511 and Sadkowska, A, 2024. Points of continuity and change in the social performance of older male bodies through fashion and clothing. In: Locating Menswear, Manchester Metropolitan University, 04-05 July 2024.

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Abstract

This paper draws on two consecutive qualitative research projects. In the first study, the aim was to develop an in-depth understanding of older British men’s experiences of ageing through the lens of fashion and clothing (Sadkowska, 2016). The follow-up study aims to build on the previous findings, by exploring various points of continuity and change in the social performance of older male bodies through fashion and their evolving clothing practices.
Between 2013-2014, a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five mature fashion-conscious men, (based in the Midlands, UK) which alongside wardrobe studies revealed the various ways in which they used their embodied relationship with clothing as a mechanism for articulating and negotiating their ageing bodies, individual and collective identities. Now, almost a decade later, analysis and interpretation of personal inventories and a series of follow-up interviews with some of the original study participants, shines new light on the richness and complexity of the men’s lived experiences, and their social bodily performance as they continue to age.
By Building upon the novel methodological approach developed and adopted in the original study (e.g., Sadkowska, 2018; Townsend and Sadkowska, 2020), this paper offers phenomenological analysis of several points of continuity and change inherent in the participants’ approach to fashioning their bodies and selves throughout their lives. While the original study identified several themes capturing the relationship between fashion and clothing, embodiment and the physical and social processes of growing older in relation to individual experience, the new research highlights and investigates how a series of new factors and contexts are impacting on the men’s everyday lives, subsequent clothing preferences, adaptations and use. The significance of notable events and processes including retirement, physiological change, health issues and new pastimes are discussed, placing emphasis on their influence on the men’s clothing relationships and narratives.
References:
Sadkowska, A. (2016). Arts-Informed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Understanding Older Men’s Experiences of Ageing through the Lens of Fashion and Clothing, Ph.D. thesis, Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University.
Sadkowska, A. (2018). ‘Making’, as a means of embodied fashion enquiry: Arts-Informed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Fashion Practice, 10 (3), 405-432, DOI: 10.1080/17569370.2018.1507167.
Townsend, K. and Sadkowska A. (2020). Re-Making Fashion Experience: a model for ‘participatory research through clothing design’. Journal of Arts and Communities, 11(1-2), pp 13-33. DOI: 10.1386/jaac_00012_1

Item Type:	Conference contribution
Creators:	Townsend, K. and Sadkowska, A.
Date:	4 July 2024
Identifiers:	Number Type 2516679 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham School of Art & Design
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	29 Oct 2025 11:05
Last Modified:	29 Oct 2025 12:09
Related URLs:	Organisation Organisation
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54647

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