Feel-good fashion app, Mys Tyler, commissioned a study of Australian women to find out their pain points when it comes to the fashion industry. The research results highlight the link between what women wear and their body confidence, and how a lack of diversity in the industry is failing us all.

“The research shows that our confidence is intrinsically linked to what we wear. We know that fashion helps to fuel body confidence, so why aren't we wearing clothes that make us feel good everyday? The feedback we’ve got from Aussie women is that they are being shown and being sold clothes that don’t fit creating high friction across fashion. Most models don’t represent most women, and this lack of a representation makes finding clothes that fit a challenge. We need large-scale diversity across the industry to tackle this problem, help women feel seen, and find clothes that make them feel great,” said Mys Tyler founder, Sarah Neill.

Fashion and body confidence

• Only 1 in 4 women feel confident about their body

• 89% of women said their confidence is improved by wearing an outfit they feel good in

• Only 15% of women wear outfits every day that make them feel confident

REPRESENTATION

• 90% of women don’t don’t feel represented by fashion models/runway shows

• 81% of women don’t don’t feel represented by fashion advertising

The average size of an Australian runway model is reported to be size 8 or smaller. 85% of respondents fell outside of this size range with nearly half of the women being size 14 or above.

• 50% of 18-29-year-old respondents negatively compare themselves to women they see in fashion advertising and social media

• 91% of women want to see clothes worn on a diversity of models and models who look like them, over traditional models

• 78% of women feel more relevant, better about their bodies, and/or inspired to try new styles when they see women who look similar to them in the fashion industry

“We know how important representation in advertising is to women, but we need to think more broadly about what representation looks like. While size is what women feel most under-represented in, age, height, ethnicity, and abilities are all areas that should not be overlooked by the fashion industry,” said Neill

FIT

“For years women have been made to feel like they need to change their bodies to fit clothing, but we know that it's the $3T fashion industry that doesn’t fit us - and it's killing our confidence,” said Neill.

• 82% of women have recently had issues finding clothes that fit;

• 1 in 2 women found that clothes didn’t meet their expectations after looking different on them than they did on the model.  

• 1 in 2 women struggle to find clothing that suits their body/age/style.

ONLINE SHOPPING & RETAIL

• 72% of women have purchased clothes online in the past 12 months 

• 85% of women who bought clothes online had purchased items that did not fit well

• Retail stores are the main source of clothing inspiration for women (55%)

• 1 in 3 women look at social media for clothing inspiration (33%)

• 28% of women say that shopping for clothing is usually a negative experience for them

“At Mys Tyler, we’re shocked by some of the findings, but sadly we’re not surprised. Our community is made up of a diverse range of women who often let us know about their frustrations with mainstream fashion retailers and their lack of representation. As a collective, we need to work together to put diversity at the forefront of fashion advertising so women feel seen, and to ultimately make shopping easy and enjoyable for consumers,” said Neill.

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Insights were obtained for Mys Tyler from research conducted via Pureprofile, an Australian owned Data and Insights business who sampled 1000 Australian women aged between 18-65+, in line with the current ABS census statistics. The fieldwork was conducted between 17-19th May 2022.