More than Just Appearance: Management of Clothing-Related Odor in Everyday Life

Abstract

Framed within Entwistle’s perspective of dress as “situated bodily practice” and olfactory impression management, we explored the topic of odor in clothing. A series of eight focus group interviews were used to explore the types of odors that can adhere to clothing, commonalities among clothing or textile properties that accentuate odor, and odor management practices to control, reduce or avoid odor building up in clothing. We found that many different sources of odor can permeate clothing fabrics and most odors are deemed unpleasant and unwanted. Odors arising from the body, particularly from sweat, were the most commonly cited source of odor. As part of everyday routines, individuals undergo a series of separate and interconnected odor management practices to prevent, control, or eliminate odor in their clothing. Among these, laundering clothing was the most common practice. However, individuals also attempted to control odor at the source, using the “sniff test” to assess odor and actively avoid certain items of clothing known to be persistently odorous. We also found that odor management included a progressive delegation of odorous clothing from one’s “civilized wardrobe” to other uses where odor may not matter or odor was unavoidable. It is clear that part of the embodied practice of selecting, wearing and caring for clothing, odor acts as a sign for interacting appropriately within the social world.