Blog Post #1 

When I began researching, I started broad with inclusivity in the fashion industry today. Most sources were focused on plus sizes in women and how representation is still limited in today's world. Then, I found that most sources didn't include information about younger age groups or stores focused for adolescents. That was when I found the gap for my project. I knew from the on that I would be focusing on teen inclusivity in the fashion industry, specifically in stores targeted for teens. 

After more deep dives when I established the gap, I found one source that discussed the inclusivity practices for adults in various popular clothing brands in America. This source used the same DEI scale I plan to implement in my research. The scale was numerical scale from 1-4. Each category had its own definition of the standards of diversity,  equity or inclusion that a rating represented. After discovering that source, I had found my established methodology. 

Next, I had to pick the stores I would focus on. Due to time constraints I picked the top three trendy stores for teens: Urban Outfitters, Pacsun and Hollister. Using a random selection process, three times a week I will randomly select three different items of clothing from the home pages of men and women. With six total items for each store, I will put them in an organized table and evaluate the DEI for each item according to my scale. I will record for the duration of the time we have to research and at the end I will composite all the scores and compare the stores to each other and any fluctuations across gender. 

During my research I found there is still a need in the fashion industry in general to be more inclusive. Not only affecting me, but teens across the country all face these struggles in clothing and my research aims at illuminating what stores are the best for teen shoppers. This goes beyond teens, but also anyone shopping for them. Whether it be family or friends, many people find themselves just giving gift cards to teens instead of hand selecting a piece of clothing they think they are going to love. My research will help these people find a store they can trust and know that they can find at least one style that will satisfy the unique body types of teens.