Effects of socioeconomic status on hijab style preferences in urban Iranian women

Graduation date: 2008There is very little research on Iranian women’s style preferences. Because of Islamophobia in the media and tensions between the U.S. and Iran, many Iranian women are portrayed as part of a large, vague bloc of Muslim women who are considered to be outside of fashion and wear shapeless black veils. In Iran, women are mandated to wear some form of hijab (clothing that covers the hair and bodily curves). Since most humans are concerned with fashion, this study focuses on fashion within a context of a mandatory dress code. \ud One of fashion’s oldest theories: the theory that fashion serves as a vehicle to convey the social and economic status of its wearer serves as the study’s theoretical framework (Lurie, 1981; Simmel, 1971; Veblen, 1912). The purposes of this research were to determine (1) the socioeconomic status of 15-30 year old urban Iranian women, (2) what hijab styles young urban Iranian women prefer in a public social setting, and (3) if there are correlations between these socioeconomic indicators and hijab style preferences among urban Iranian women. \ud A web-based survey that focused on fashion preferences and socio-economic indicators was drawn up in English and translated into Farsi. The survey was distributed to personal contacts that live in Iran via email. Additional respondents were gathered through the respondent-driven (or snowball sample) method (N = 23). Percentages, correlations, and chi-square tests were used to determine whether the socio-economic status of these women had any effect on their hijab style preference. \ud Since the sample size was so small, the most significant results were in the resulting percentages and correlations. Despite the prevalent image of Iranian women in engulfing black chadors (large veils that cover the entire body), 82.6% of the respondents prefer the headscarf and overcoat combination to the chador. Brand names are not important to approximately half (43.5%) of urban Iranian women, but color-coordination and matching outfits are, according to 69.6% of respondents. The correlations showed positive correlations between income, education level and importance of modesty in clothing preference (with increasing levels of income and education come increasing levels in the importance of modest clothing). \ud The study is successful as a preliminary exploratory study. Since there is almost no data on Iranian women’s fashion preferences, this study can help researchers look at style preferences that are important to Iranian women and design larger and more representative studies in the future