Handbags, shoes and Sex in the City

Women who are more threatened by idealised images of females in media tend to own more shoes and handbags, but not trousers, according to research being led by University of Canterbury PhD student, Jessica Boyce.

Studies of 922 female students at the University of Alberta, Canada, and 286 students from the University of Canterbury came up with two main findings:

Women who feel more insecure after exposure to media body ideals own more attractiveness-conferring accessories such as shoes and handbags, but not trousers

Women who are, in general, insecure, own fewer accessories

"What the research suggests is that shoes and handbags are more appealing to insecure women because they increase physical attractiveness without drawing attention to one's figure. Trousers, on the other hand, tend to draw attention and that is why they are shunned by this group of women," Jessica said.

"Those who are insecure irrespective of media body ideals tend not to accessorise, perhaps because this would draw attention to themselves, something they do not want. We suspect that they want to dress anonymously, whereas those who are insecure because of the media like buying shoes to affirm their attractiveness, either because the shoes are particularly attractive themselves or perhaps because, as with high-heeled shoes, they increase height and apparent slenderness," said Jessica, a self confessed handbag and shoe lover, but not in the same scale of Imelda Marcos or Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw.

Worldwide the female shoe industry is enormous. In the United States alone, 886 million pairs were sold in 2008 compared with 144 million trousers, dresses, skirts, cotton shirts and blouses combined.

"If you look more closely into the findings, it could be that advertising campaigns unknowingly or knowingly capitalise on this struggle with insecurity about appearance," Jessica said.

"Some women may see shoe advertisements in stores, negatively compare themselves to the models and consequently purchase a pair of shoes. Given the increasing size of the average woman and the decreasing size of models, threats to appearance are likely becoming more frequent."

Jessica's thesis for her PhD in health psychology, studies the media's effect on female body image and dieting. This particular study examining the media, body image and accessories is one small part of the thesis. She hopes to finish her thesis by the end of the year and begin a postdoctoral research fellowship focusing upon body image and women's dieting behaviours.