Fashion Industry Can Sell More Clothes With Average-Sized Models

Fashion designers and retailers looking to make a name for themselves might want to take this piece of advice: you'll sell more clothes to women if you use average-sized models in your advertisements.

This suggestion comes courtesy of several new studies conducted by the University of Kent, which found that women were more likely to buy clothes from a new clothing brand if the company used "normal" women in their promotions.

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In three separate studies, researchers asked women between the ages of 18 and 25 to look at marketing materials for clothing, some of which featured size-zero women and others which pictured women who wear average sizes. The volunteers then stated which models appealed most to them. Researchers gave these volunteers marketing materials from both well-known clothing brands and fictitious "new" lines.

Researchers found that with established clothing brands, there was already a set perception of what their models look like — and so volunteers were less influenced by the appearance of the models they were shown. However, when it came to the "new" clothing brands, the women overwhelmingly preferred marketing materials with average-sized models.

Even more noticeably, this preference was greater with women who considered themselves to have low self-esteem.

The fashion industry has faced a lot of controversy for its use of ultra-thin models — so much so that some countries, including France, want to ban the use of underweight models. This new research provides greater motivation for companies to use more models of a regular size. That could be easier said than done — as average, healthy and normal are all loaded terms.

Furthermore, it's difficult to even know what the most common size is, as sizing isn't standard across brands. The average clothing size for women in the U.S. is generally considered to be between 12-14 — though the number may continue to rise as American waistlines expand.

Women come in all sizes. Perhaps marketers could use that instead in their marketing campaigns, similar to theDove Campaign for Real Beauty — which has been a marketing success. The viral Dove ads have won numerous awards around the world for their body positivity. Though the ads have also seen their share of controversy, if nothing more, they broaden the representation of women and keep up the conversation between mainstream marketing and its intended audience.

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