Wearing Identity: Practising National Identity Through Engaged Clothes in Contemporary Poland

ABSTRACT Article complements the broader trend of examining contemporary national processes through the prism of everyday practices and objects. The aim of the text is to analyse the practise of expressing different visions of national identity by observing the use of clothing. I base my findings on material from participant observations of open and mass events, mostly queer, feminist and leftist (anti‐nationalist) marches and pickets. As part of my research, I took photos to document elements of clothes, and I chose 513 photos to include in the analysis. I present how different versions of national identity, alternative to the dominant ethno‐religious national identity, are constructed by using clothes and accessories. I distinguish three identity patterns that question the dominant pattern of constructing national identity in Poland. The first is the ‘queered vision’ of the nation, the second is on the basis of civil elements and the third is based on European elements.