‘Be a feminist or just dress like one’:BUST, fashion and feminism as lifestyle

In recent years, a body of critical scholarship has emerged that interrogates the discourses of ‘new’, ‘sexy’, and ‘girlie’ feminisms. BUST magazine (1993–) has become emblematic of ‘girlie’ feminism, a form of ‘third-wave’ feminist engagement that revalues activities and interests traditionally associated with femininity, such as knitting, fashion, and make-up. In 2006, the magazine's fashion issue aroused controversy for its inclusion of a fashion spread devoted to ‘fashionable feminists’. Taking BUST's fashion issue as a case study, this article contextualizes BUST's particular take on fashion within both a broader history of feminist perspectives on the politics of dress and the negative backlash against feminism that gained particular strength during the 1980s. It argues that BUST's fashion issue is an ambivalent text that offers, on the one hand, a homage to feminism's ‘past’ and, on the other hand, a rather simplistic view of that history. Finally, this article considers the critical debate about BUST's fashion issue by feminists online. It asserts that, while BUST may offer a simplistic version of feminism conceived of as individual lifestyle choices, the online debate demonstrates that readers frequently engage this material in complex and nuanced ways.