New thoughts on our research...

I don't know what I would do without Shirley, I lack any computer brains, especially the ones necessary to put together a wiki page! So here it is...the revision to our question with the help of Julie and Jessica:

Moroccan Immigrants and Their Choice in Fashion

Intro

Our focus is on Moroccan youth and their choice in fashion. We feel that fashion can be a window into a variety of lifestyle factors especially cultural and social pressures. The following quote from Buruma is great food for thought:

"It is as though religious attire is often worn as a fashion statement, or an assertion of difference, as much as a sign of devotion" (Buruma, 123).

We would like to see how much of Moroccan youth’s dress is attributed to religious and cultural motives and what these motives may be. We are interested in seeing how changes in ethnic fashion can be a response to social and cultural forces.

Relating back to Buruma's quote, we hope to learn what kind of atmosphere Amsterdam provides in terms of leniency on dress. For example, strong negative pressures against headscarfs might develop a certain set of motives/responses in the youth culture whereas an indifferent or positive pressure may lead to another. But this dynamic interplay will most likely be unique to each city/region so our focus will be on Amsterdam.

Research Question

What are the factors that influence the dress choice (particularly focusing on the headscarf and skull cap) of 1st generation Moroccan women/men respectively between the ages of 18 and 22? How does this compare with the 2nd generation?

Background

Culturally speaking, Moroccans along with Turks are said to have greater assimilation barriers in relation to other immigrant groups. They also tend to continue living in ethnic minority neighborhoods through generations.

Studies have shown that girls tend to have more internalization problems than boys do. Family conflicts is a major cause. Girls who have a lower affiliation with their Moroccan background tend to have greater problems with internal assimilation.

Recently in France, the hijab was banned from being worn in a public setting. The Dutch also have legal capacity to do so, but it seems Dutch have not been condoning this type of response so far or wish to follow this example. A Dutch designer has created a line of trendy hijabs for athletic and casual wear.

Dutch commercial fashion is known to be individualistic and often reject mass branding and symbols of excess. Common themes that appear are sexuality and historicism. There is also often inspiration taken from urban settings such as alleys, drug use, or police scenes.

Methodology

Prior to departure:

We would like to research the fashion of Dutch natives as well as Moroccan natives.
1. We plan to look into designers' websites to see their most recent designs and what influences their designs.
2. We will also browse forums and online fashion magazines to see if we can get any knowledge pertaining to the fashion field.

We will also locate places of high density Moroccan immigrants for active observation.
This involves talking to individuals at these social centers as well as handing out questionnaires/surveys which will allow us to guarantee that the population we talk to is a Moroccan majority.

1. We will gather a list of indicators for Moroccans from friends/acquaintances which will also aid us in this endeavor.
2. We will create a simply non-identifying questionnaire that will include the following:
Age, gender, ethnicity, immigration status(generation), religious associations (based on a 1 to 5 scale in terms of their affiliation aka how religious they think of themselves), occupation, the questions "what influences your dress choice today?" (Multiple Choice) and "Does today differ from a regular day?" (Y/N/How?)

In Amsterdam:

1. We plan to observe Moroccans and take note of their fashion on a native Moroccan to native Dutch scale which we will develop after completing our prior-to-departure research.
2. We will collect and analyze quantitative data from our surveys.
3. We will attempt to interview locals and get a case study on a 1st generation Moroccan man/woman if we are successful.

As an aside, we think it will be interesting to talk to workers in clothing stores as well who have had contact with various people and understand the clothing business and popular dress in Amsterdam.

Resources

Articles

Variations in immigrant incorporation in the neighborhoods of Amsterdam (Logan JR)
Predicting internalizing problems in Moroccan immigrant adolescents in the Netherlands(Stevens GWJM, Vollebergh WAM, Pels TVM, et al.)
Predicting externalizing problems in Moroccan immigrant adolescents in the Netherlands (Stevens GWJM, Vollebergh WAM, Pels TVM, et al.)
The individual characteristics, ethnic identity, and cultural orientation of successful secondary school students of Turkish and Moroccan background in the Netherlands (Van der Veen I, Meijnen GW)
Sexual behaviour of second generation Moroccan immigrants balancing between traditional attitudes and safe sex (Hendrickx K, Lodewijckx E, Van Royen P, et al.)

URLs & Blogs
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0417/p07s02-woeu.html (Article on Trendy Hijab Designer) http://www.isim.nl/files/Review_19/Review_19-64.pdf (Fashion in Europe Project)
http://www.iconique.com/catwalk/afw2006/ (Amsterdam Fashion Week)
http://www.dutchfashionfoundation.com/ (Dutch Fashion Foundation)
http://dutchdesignevents.com/orangealert_fit.html (Intro on Dutch Fashion Style)
http://dir.blogflux.com/search.php?q=Amsterdam&search=Search (Amsterdam Blogs)
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/marta/archives/000684.html (Marta from WA's Travel Journal)
http://fashion.blog.nl/ (Dutch Fashion Blog)
http://www.docbug.com/Pictures/Amsterdam-2004/index.html (Amsterdam Photos)