How does global consumer culture shape subjectivities despite – or rather within – Islamic discourses of modesty and anti-capitalism? How do neoliberal demands toward the individual as defined by Aihwa Ong (Flexible Citizenship, 1999) and Nikolas Rose et al. (Governmentality, 2006) merge with religious discourses, the latter traditionally also containing concepts such as constant self-improvement and discipline? While many studies of the Iranian society tend to neglect socioeconomic factors in favor of religious and cultural perspectives, this paper proposes that the way in which individuals assimilate or refuse structures of global capitalism is strongly influenced by one’s social background. Consumption as a way of forming and expressing identities is a highly contested practice in Iran, where identity politics have changed drastically after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Especially with its association to Western cultures and ideas, consumer culture in Iran reflects the negotiation of social conflicts clearly. Despite the institutionalization of the revolutionary discourse about piety and anti-materialism, structures of global capitalism have found their way into the country. An examination of the visual and discursive material from contemporary Iranian lifestyle magazines shows that practices such as managing and disciplining the Self, the constant improvement of one’s personality and body, as well as increasing personal responsibility for success are an important part of the public discourse in Iran. They are reflected in the journals by endorsing different products, tastes, and choices of lifestyle. Analyzing the magazines’ strategies to address different income groups brings to light distinct ways in which practices of modern Self-management are embedded in an Islamic framework. As will be demonstrated, some journals designed for high income-level groups frame the successful Self almost exclusively in relation to the outward appearance while other, middle class-oriented magazines rather engage in discourses based on religious or moral values. In the context of Iran’s ambivalent relationship with global capitalism, these results render the socioeconomic background an influential factor in the process of conceptualizing images of a modern Iranian Self.