From Obvious, to Incomprehensible, to Non-Obvious Clothing: How Older Persons’ Clothing and Its Social Perception Have Been Changing. The Casus of Poland

Abstract

Utilising the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, particularly Gregory Stone’s concept, this study explores the notion of clothing as a medium of communication, both intentional and unintentional, through which an individual conveys non-verbally their identity and social affiliation to their environment. The review of an individual’s attire by different people from the social environment is indifferent to both the individual (and their identity) and those who conduct the review. Stone proposes three modes of reviewing an individual’s self-identification as manifested in their clothing: obvious dress, incomprehensible dress, and non-obvious dress, each of them resulting in different interactional consequences. Stone’s concept inspires the content discussed in the text concerning the dress of older persons. On the basis of the findings of my own research (undertaken using a qualitative approach, namely the free interview technique) among representatives of four generations, I consider Gregory Stone’s concept to be a comprehensive description of the process of change that has transpired in the clothing of older people. By employing excerpts from interviews with individuals across different generations, I offer a guided exploration of this transformation in the clothing of the older persons, elucidating the interactional consequences it engenders within people from the social environment.