Trying on wedding dresses in a bridal shop can be seen as part of the ritual complex of “wedding.” It follows a clear sequence, the various actors and actants have clear roles and behave according to unconscious rules and in specific locations. In the setting of the bridal shop, social (gender) norms are reproduced, but also played with. 
Using participant observation, the research project takes a microsociological approach to investigating how “doing gender” and “doing transition” occur. Practice theories provide an important theoretical basis for describing and interpreting the practice of the fitting situation, with a focus on body image when the wedding dress and bride encounter each other. Artifact analysis and media analysis methods will be used to supplement the participant observation in the sense of mixed methods in order to include fashion, historical, cultural, and media influences on the production of the dress as a knowledge carrier. In the context of situational analysis, the analytical methods will provide insight into how the various human, non-human, sociocultural, and other elements in the research picture relate to each other and shape women's body image in the ritual.