To die for: attractiveness, fashion, and health risks

The purpose of this research was to investigate perceptions of risks and benefits associated with popular risky fashion practices (tanning and wearing stilettos) among young adult women. Objectives were to (a) determine if fashion interest predicted benefit perceptions among young women, (b) determine the role of antecedents (fashion interest, risk perceptions, benefit perceptions, consumption emotions) in predicting the behavioral frequency of risky fashion practices, and (c) explore the extent to which tanning and wearing stilettos are similar/different in underlying mechanisms. Undergraduate women were emailed a link to a Qualtrics online survey and a total of 671 provided usable responses; 328 were tanners and 343 wore stilettos. Benefits tapped the attractiveness and fashionability that is expected from engaging in tanning and wearing stilettos, while risks focused on health risks such as melanoma or joint damage associated with tanning or wearing stilettos. Path analyses and decomposition of effects found that fashion interest was positively related to frequency of wearing stilettos, but was not related directly to tanning frequency. Fashion interest was a significant driver of perceived benefits for both risky behaviors. Benefit perceptions increased positive emotion and risk perceptions increased negative emotion; only positive emotion influenced the frequency of risky fashion practices. For both tanning and wearing stilettos, perceived benefits increased risky fashion practice frequency both directly and indirectly through positive emotion. However, perceived risks decreased fashion practice frequency only directly. Thus, perceived benefits outweigh perceived risks among women who engage in these risky fashion practices.