Knowles, J (2023) 'Fashion, you're incomprehensible!' Teenage girls, Jackie magazine and fashion as a negotiated social statement in the early 1970s. Film, Fashion and Consumption, 12. pp. 51-66. ISSN 2044-2823

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Abstract

The hugely popular girls’ magazine Jackie (1964-1993) was a significant source of guidance for its readers on a range of matters, including fashion. This article analyses archive editions of Jackie held in the Femorabilia collection at Liverpool John Moores University, to re-examine its fashion content during a period marked by a shift in emphasis from creativity to consumption. It also revisits Angela McRobbie’s highly influential research on Jackie, arguing that Jackie’s fashion coverage fulfils a broader social role than simply supporting the ‘ideology of femininity’ that McRobbie’s contemporaneous work identifies as central to the magazine.
Examining issues from 1973-74 illuminates a period which is more nuanced than is often suggested, and which is marked by both continuity and also substantial change. Jackie’s depiction of early 1970s girlhood shows the necessity of negotiating public space for teenage girls. Its fashion content represents the balance of moderation, experimentation and adaptability offered by the Jackie reader’s self-presentation. Findings demonstrate the heterogeneous meanings on offer in the magazine: while Iackie readers are urged to show restraint in engaging with fashion, they are also encouraged to explore the wider world, dressed and ready for it.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© Joanne Knowles, 2023. The definitive, peer reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Film, Fashion & Consumption, Volume 12, Issue Fashioning Girlhood across the Media in the Mid–Twentieth Century, Apr 2023, p. 51 - 66 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1386/ffc_00052_1
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs > GT500 Costume. Dress. Fashion
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Publisher:	Intellect
SWORD Depositor:	A Symplectic
Date Deposited:	31 May 2023 14:11
Last Modified:	12 Jul 2023 10:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1386/ffc_00052_1
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/19604

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