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Despite the online shopping trend, many women still prefer in-store experiences for trying on and buying clothes. The body positivity movement endorsed by many brands implies that all women, even those with lower body appreciation, should feel included in this setting. However, studies have yet to quantitatively explore the mediating role of women’s positive body image between clothing size and in-store experiences. To address this gap, this study examined the in-store experiences of 642 women from largely Western nations (Mage = 45.96, standard deviation (SD) = 9.31) who self-reported as straight-, mid- and plus-sizes and the mediating role of body appreciation.

Participants completed online questionnaires with measures including clothing size, body appreciation, in-store experiences and preferences for in-store changes.

Women of mid-size and plus-size were more likely than women of straight-size to report lower body appreciation, which led to a greater desire for guidance from staff about styles but less likelihood to approach them, higher discomfort going up a size and lower confidence trying on clothes. In contrast, straight-size women generally felt more comfortable and confident in-store clothes shopping. A direct link between clothing size and lower purchase intentions without in-store representation was found; however, body appreciation did not mediate this link. Preferences for in-store changes included better support from sales staff and more inclusive imagery.

This study indicates that in-store clothes shopping may not feel like retail therapy for women who identify as mid-size or plus-size and experience low body appreciation. It highlights the need for comprehensive reform within the fashion retail industry by prioritizing inclusivity through better staff support and in-store representation for all sizes.

The teenage girl constructs her identity amidst a chorus of conflicting voices. She both replicates and resists the patterns of good girl/bad girl as displayed by earlier generations, trying to figure out who she is and how she might live in her body, in the world.

Evil women – bad girls – defy the binary definitions of good and bad, both in body and spirit. They are the bad feminist, they are the Sea Witch, they are the art monster. But when we claim the monster as our role model, we commit her (and ourselves) to the constraints of the patriarchy – replicating a predetermined way of being a girl. There must be a way to define ourselves beyond these constraints. How does one become the monster?

Teen identity is constructed via research, rehearsal and performance: the trying on of multiple possible selves. One person's performed identity becomes the benchmark that others measure themselves against.

Like Courtney Love, who said she didn't want to be with the band, she wanted to be in the band, we all want to belong. We all want to stand out. How sharply we carve the edges of ourselves to fit.

This interactive ‘Fakebook dialogue’ allows Bec and Simmone to draw a line through theory and personal experience, bringing the voices of academia to life, and imagining them in conversation with ourselves and the women whom we have resisted, used as role models or temporarily dreamed ourselves into being. Our piece is set in the nexus of the body and the self. We incorporate autotopography and self-representation as shaped by shared cultural objects to interrogate existing modes of replication and resistance and try to imagine the monstrous shape of our true identity.