bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nourish and Publish: An Academic Women's Self-Help Effort
Authors: Pottick Kathleen , Adams Anne Currin , Faulkner Audrey Olsen
Published: October 2007

Affirmative action efforts have resulted in the recruitment of more women to junior faculty positions in schools of social work. However, the promotion and retention of women faculty members often depends on the women's ability to write for publication in addition to all the other heavy demands of their positions. This article reports on a self-help group to increase the scholarly output of its three women members. It describes the development of the group, its structure and process, its areas of conflict, and the factors that contributed to its success. Suggestions are made for adapting the effort to other settings.
Feminist Principles and Minority Concerns: Contributions, Problems, and Solutions
Authors: Gould Ketayun H.
Published: October 2007

This article examines three basic tenets of feminist theorylideology as examples of feminist principles that are particularly compelling in informing social work practice with ethnic minorities. It further delineates problem areas in the operation of these principles in relation to Third World communities (especially women) and incorporates suggestions made by minorities for solutions to these concerns. Finally, it illustrates how ethnic-sensitive feminist practice might better serve the needs of people of color.
Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood as Feminist Issues
Authors: Bok Marcia
Published: October 2007

This article identifies moral and racial issues in the debate on teenage pregnancy and parenthood and indicates how negative attitudes toward feminism have further clouded the discussion of these problems. It suggests that teenage pregnancy and parenthood reflect traditional views of femininity and proposes that pregnancy prevention programs that are based on a feminist perspective may help change teenagers' attitudes and behaviors.
Strategies for Surviving Divorce: The Contradictions of Welfare
Authors: Grella Christine E.
Published: October 2007

This article uses data from interviews with 40 divorced women to examine the strategies they employed to negotiate public assistance. Divorced women on welfare, as do caseworkers, attempt to differentiate their status from other welfare recipients, rather than focus on their common dependence on the welfare state. They manipulate the system to their best advantage to lessen the state's control of their lives. Many consider welfare to be preferable to either marriage or work. The receipt of welfare by divorced women poses a tradeoff between needed economic assistance and its penalties and fails to establish them as economically self-sufficient heads of households.
New Reproductive Technologies: Concerns of Feminists and Researchers
Authors: Moss Kathryn E.
Published: October 2007

This article reviews six major concerns in the feminist literature about the new reproductive technologies: (1) risks to women's health, (2) threats to women's reproductive rights and options, (3) discriminatory costs and benefits, (4) the expense of the procedures and their potential to funnel scarce resources from other pressing health and social needs, (5) issues related to prenatal diagnosis and fetal therapy, and (6) the minimal involvement of women in policy debates. The article also suggests some areas in which further research is necessary.
Body Image and Appearance-Management Behaviors in College Women
Authors: Rudd Nancy A. , Lennon Sharron J.
Published: October 2007

The contemporary ideal standard offemale beauty in the Western world is based on thinness, attractiveness, and fitness. Women are enculturated to monitor these personal characteristics, and to construct their appearances to meet these normative expectations. Because most body image research to date has focused on quantitative methods of assessing the complex interrelationships among variables, women's "lived experiences" were examined through a qualitative study of 95 college women to explore the subjective nature of body satisfaction, the extent to which agency and control influence the construction of appearance, and what appearance-management behaviors are typically practiced andlor advisable. Nine themes emerged from the written essays. The most common theme was risky appearance-management behaviors that were practiced in response to gendered social norms, indicating the prevalent feeling that the body is malleable and considered to be under individual control. Common socio-cultural constructs were social comparison, world view, and influence of others. Essays attested to the centrality of body image in the lives of college women, and provide evidence that social comparison and ensuing appearance-management behaviors were ways in which young women exhibit agency or control over their lives.
Clothing their Resistance in Hegemonic Dress: The Clothesline Project's Response to Violence Against Women
Authors: Hipple Patricia C.
Published: October 2007

Through a case study of The Clothesline Project, the author demonstrates how shirts are strategically deployed to resist gender domination, particularly gendered violence, by articulating an alternative political discourse that refutes official and popular notions about violence against women and female subordination.
The Feminist Forum: Voices From the Field
Authors: Michelman Susan O. , Kaiser Susan B.
Published: October 2007

The feminist forum examines some of the conflicting interests and diverse experiences that emerge from disciplinarity, gender, age, racelethnicity, sexuality, and other identities. Considering that there are many different stories to be told about ITAA members' relationships with feminism, the authors invited the scholars participating in this forum to share their personal and professional relationships with feminist thought and practice. Contributors to the forum include Patricia Warner, Tania Hammidi, John Jacob, Antigone Kotsiopulos, Joan Laughlin, and Gwen O'Neal. Each author approached this assignment from a differing perspective and disciplinary andlor standpoint lens. The authors hope that the contributors' discussion of standpoint issues in relation to epistemologies in feminism and textiles and clothing will provoke further thought and discussion with ITAA.
Feminism and Costume History: Synthesis and Reintegration
Authors: Warner Patricia C.
Published: October 2007

Like many, my response to feminism, which today is a difficult term, is personal. I consider myself a feminist because of my age and my experiences, coming out of the 1950s. As a costume historian, I have chosen to concentrate on women's struggle to overcome the societal expectations that are imposed regarding clothing rather than writing on fashion and its designers, marketers or customers as many historians of dress do. My debt lies with the remarkable women's history scholars who came out of the 1970s and later who created a new discipline. Using "women's ways of working", i.e., making connections, I build on their foundations. Among other areas, I write on sports and slaves. How can one be anything other than a feminist after studying these areas?
Feminism and its Influence Over My (Scholarship On) Style
Authors: Hammidi Tania N.
Published: October 2007

My particular interest within the field of textiles and clothing is in exploring clothing choices, styles, and style conundrums of lesbians. In this piece, I trace the roots of this interest through early scholarly influences: literature, poetry, and women's studies. I focus on feminism as a useful technology — that is, as an intellectual apparatus that provides me both methodologies and thinking tools to understand the complex structures which inform clothing style. I discuss how feminism has aided my work in fonning a philosophy of cultural sustainability about clothing. Finally, I pinpoint my interest in lesbian or "queer" hair and hairstyles. This essay traces my path from cultural theory within literature to work within cultural studies and other interdisciplinary academic spaces well-suited for the study of clothing and style.
International Visitors' Aesthetic Preferences for Hawaiian Printed Fabrics
Authors: Hyllegard Karen H. , Morgado Marcia A.
Published: October 2007

The diversity of Hawai'i's visitors and unexamined assumptions about their preferences for features of the Islands' distinctive apparel products led to a study of the impact of national culture on visitors' assessments of design elements typical in aloha shirt fabrics. Computer technology was used to manipulate design variables of representative fabrics, and a questionnaire based on these variables was administered to an intercept sample of 231 Hawai'i visitors from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and the mainland United States. Subjects responded to thirty statements about print characteristics by indicating agreement on 5-point Likert-type scales. Significant differences existed among national groups' preferences for print features, including aesthetic character, motifs, colors, and size of print elements. Marketers of regionally distinctive apparel products are urged to approach visitor markets as heterogeneous national groups. Apparel scholars are encouraged to develop modes of research that accommodate the diversity of consumers' aesthetic responses with the complexity of visual stimuli.
On Competition and the Future
Authors: Sproles George B.
Published: October 2007

Forecasting the future of clothing and textiles has involved many important activities, such as developing scenarios of alternative futures, analyzing the future of clothing and textiles as one part of home economics, and assessing the relation of our discipline to broader trends in society at large. Recent Futures Conferences have focused on identifying the profession's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a method for analyzing the future. This essay suggests an overlooked approach to analyzing our future, one proposing that future survival is based on understanding and adapting to the competitive system. To enhance understanding of competitive dynamics and the operation of competitive systems, principles of competitive behavior are outlined. Examples of adaptive competitive strategies clothing and textiles professionals can use to increase their competitive advantages also are proposed. To survive, departments or units of clothing and textiles must be successful competitors in the increasingly adversarial environments in which they are members.
Perception of Physically Impaired Job Applicants: Effect of Dress, Credentials, and Rater's Sex
Authors: Ray Geraldine H.
Published: October 2007

Male and female managerial level employers evaluated bogus physically impaired job applicants for whom dress and credentials had been varied. The research design was a 3x2x2 factorial, with the independent variables being applicant's appropriateness of dress (high, moderate, low), applicant's credentials (high, low), and respondent's sex (male, female). The dependent variables were personal characteristics ratings, recommendations to hire the applicant, and entry-level salary assignment. Both dress and credentials had a significant effect on ratings of personal characteristics as a group. Recommendations to hire were affected by dress and by credentials. Entry-level salary was affected by dress but not by credentials.
Sewing Techniques in Women's Outerwear, 1800-1869
Authors: Farrell-Beck Jane , Haviland Patricia , Harding Thelma
Published: October 2007

The goal of this research was to determine whether sewing techniques changed with changing styles of women's outerwear; with different fabrics in a single style; with changing technology; and with varying recommendations in how-to-sew literature. Researchers examined 100 garments from 23 museums in 5 states; 8 distinct styles, spanning 1800 to 1869. A few sewing techniques were unique to individual styles of outerwear (dresses and wraps); many techniques were shared by two or three adjacent styles of outerwear. Recommendations of sewing techniques were followed frequently, ignored occasionally. Sewing technology, especially the sewing machine, was slow to be adopted in making women's outerwear; even dresses of the 1860s were often partly hand sewn. Fabrics made very little difference in sewing techniques chosen within a single style of women's dress or wrap.
Perceiver's Occupation and Client's Grooming: Influence on Person Perception
Authors: Littrell Mary Ann , Berger Elizabeth Ann
Published: October 2007

The purpose of the research was to investigate the relationship of the occupations of two groups of perceivers, school counselors and law enformcement officers, and the grooming of male adolescent clients to a) the number of person cues perceived, b) the type of person cues perceived, and c) the content of the inferences made about the client. The research contributed to person perception and clothing research by expanding information on a characteristic of the perceiver by employing an open response format for data collection. Pictorial stimuli and a questionnaire were used for collection of data from 120 subjects. Data were submitted to content analysis, analysis of variance, and loglinear analysis. Counselors noted fewer cues and based their inferences on more general aspects of appearance than did law enforcement officers. Members of each occupation drew inferences appropriate to their occupation. Differences in grooming were related to varying perceptions of the client's attitude; grooming and occupation together influenced perceptions of the client's sociability and family background. The results advance understanding about the perceptual attentiveness and cognitive categories that professionals bring to perceptions of their clients and help to delineate how characteristics of the perceiver and dress of the perceived are related to person perception.
Student Attitudes Toward a Computer-based Simulation to Assess Construction Quality of Ready-to-Wear Garments
Authors: Marshall Ruth , Slaybaugh Jeanette
Published: October 2007

The purpose of this study was to assess student attitudes toward a computer simulation designed to assess construction quality in ready-to-wear garments. Students enrolled in an entry-level, basic clothing construction course completed the simulation and an attitude scale. Results indicate that users believe assessing construction quality through a computer simulation is possible. No clear profile emerged of the learners who would have the more positive attitude toward the computer exercise; however, significant correlation did exist between variables such as the subjects attitude toward the logistics of the simulation and computer activities in general.
Self-Esteem, Age Identification, and Media Exposure of the Elderly and their Relationship to Fashionability
Authors: Chowdhary Usha
Published: October 2007

The study examined the relationship between the fashionability of the elderly (65 and older) and its correlates. Dillman's Total Design Method approach was executed to conduct the survey. Four hundred and thirty elderly men and women participated in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and t-tests. The results indicated that significant differences existed between fashionability and media exposure for the female styles. No differences were found between fashionability and age identification and self-esteem for either sex. However, the findings did challenge some of the existing theories, which have been tested on younger populations.
Research in Fashion Merchandising — The Need for a Theoretical Base
Authors: Winakor Geitel
Published: October 2007

Textiles and clothing instruction and research in the merchandising area have not emphasized theory. This is partly because retailing and marketing, as applied fields, have not stressed basic theory in recent years. Also, there is misunderstanding of the role that theory can play in solving practical problems. Textiles and clothing merchandising researchers need to collect and organize their own theory base. This should be built on root disciplines in the social sciences plus major contributions from business administration, other fields of home economics, and various textiles and clothing areas.
Farm Families' Attitudes and Practices Regarding Pesticide Application and Protective Clothing: A Five-State Comparison
Authors: Nelson Cherilyn , Rucker Margaret , Olson Wanda , Branson Donna , Slocum Ann , Stone Janis
Published: October 2007

A survey of farm families in five states was conducted to determine current attitudes and practices regarding the removal of pesticides from contaminated clothing. There was little evidence that respondents to this survey have been obtaining available information regarding the care of pesticide contaminated clothing. Even when the launderers did receive such information, many did not adopt the recommended procedures with the exception of storing and washing pesticide contaminated clothing separately and using hot or warm water for washing. Families in which the launderer was under 30 in age were least likely to obtain and use recommended care procedures. The relatively low rate of information requisition and use, especially among younger respondents, suggests a need for better information delivery systems as well as more compelling appeals regarding the importance of using the information once it has been received.
The Cultural Authentication of Ribbon: Use and Test of a Concept
Authors: Pannabecker Rachel K.
Published: October 2007

The concept of cultural authentication was utilized to organize research on the assimilation of European-produced silk ribbon into the material culture of native American tribes of the Great Lakes region from the mid-18th to mid-19th centuries. Conversely, the ethnohistorical data on ribbon were applied to the concept of cultural authentication as a test of its utility as a cross-cultural theoretical construct. While the findings suggest that further elaboration of the level of "characterization" is necessary, the concept of cultural authentication is affirmed as a means to provide a structure for the inquiry into and the interpretation of the transfer of cultural phenomena such as textiles and clothing.
Dress as a Reflection and Sustainer of Social Reality: A Cross-Cultural Perspective
Authors: Hamilton Jean A. , Hamilton James W.
Published: October 2007

Traditional anthropological participant-observation and cultural interpretation can provide insight into the relationship of dress to human individual and social experience that more expedient methodologies may ignore. This interpretation of female dress of the Karen, a hill tribe in northwest Thailand, relies primarily on anthropological symbolic theory. It suggests that dress may serve as a symbolic metaphor of the relationship of the individual to the cultural system. As such, dress can be an extremely powerful symbolic way of expressing and reinforcing subtle values, relationships, and meaning in human culture. Dress can contribute to the maintenance of cultural continuity by interaction with ritual to cause individuals to want to act as they must act in order to preserve their own cultural system.
Dimensional Stability of Ramie, Cotton and Rayon Knit Fabrics
Authors: Li Hua Hsu  , Cheek Lenore
Published: October 2007

Dimensional stability of ramie jersey knit fabric was compared to that of cotton and rayon jersey fabric. Three experimental laundering procedures were employed: hand washing with flat drying, machine washing with flat drying, and machine washing with tumble drying. Experimental fabrics knit from ramie, cotton, viscose rayon, and high wet modulus rayon and from 50/50 mixtures for each fiber were laundered five times using each of the three laundering procedures. Major findings were that ramie and ramie-cellulosic knits have better dimensional stability than knits containing only cotton and rayon. Ramie knits also exhibit little progressive shrinkage and growth. Both cotton and rayon knits exhibited progressive shrinkage in the wale direction and progressive growth in the course direction. In general, method of drying was found to be a greater factor in maintaining dimensional stability than was method of washing. Tumble drying after washing was found to result in less course-wise growth than flat drying.
Clothing and the Social Organization of Gender Perception: A Developmental Approach
Authors: Kaiser Susan B.
Published: October 2007

Young girls' symbolic associations of clothing styles with behaviors and personality traits were studied in relation to developmental factors. The Measure of Attitudes Toward Clothing for Play (MACP) was used to examine how and why four different clothing styles were matched with play activities in Study 1 and traits in Study 2. Ninety-five girls, aged 2 through 10 years in the initial testing, served as subjects for Study 1; 43 of these girls participated in the longitudinal and trait components of the study four years later. Both the cross-sectional and the longitudinal data from Study 1 revealed an increased tendency with age to associate unisexual styles with physically active and aggressive play behaviors. In contrast, girls of all ages, but especially the older ones, tended to associate the frilliest clothing style with doll play. Data from Study 2 revealed a trend for traits related to interpersonal attraction (e.g., concern with appearance and popularity) to be matched with the frilliest dress, while traits related to aggression, strength, and bravery were associated with the most unisexual style (jeans). Additional data suggested that, by middle childhood, females have not only the cognitive flexibility to develop compromise choices but also the ability to interpret clothing imagery using contextual qualifications. The data are discussed in light of a framework exploring gender and clothing imagery, taking into account symbolic, cognitive, and cultural considerations.
Attributions for Job Acquisition: Job Skills, Dress, and Luck of Female Job Applicants
Authors: Goudge Beth Schwartz , Littrell Mary Ann
Published: October 2007

Businessmen (N = 160) rated causal attributionsfor the importance ofjob skills, dress, and luck in acquisition of a middle management position in marketing, a traditionally male-linked occupation. Independent variables were the attire, resume, model, and success in job acquisition for female applicants. Overall, businessmen's ratings for the importance of dress were lower than ratings for job skills but higher than ratings for the importance of luck. Applicants' attire, which was at least minimally appropriate, did not affect the ratings for the importance ofjob skills. Luck was important when success in job acquisition was not logically matched with the applicant's level of resume or attire.
Future Needs for Faculty in Clothing and Textiles
Authors: Lind Charlene
Published: October 2007

In recent years departments teaching courses in clothing and textiles have been challenged from a number of directions, including qualifications and/or lack of academic productivity of some faculty members. The evolving nature of the discipline and changing employment opportunities for graduates also suggest the need for accurate information. This Association of College Professors of Textiles and Clothing-sponsored study provides data on characteristics of current departments and anticipated future needs for faculty.

The majority of the academic units teaching clothing and textiles are Home Economics departments with fewer than four faculty members teaching in the subject area. Anticipated retirements indicate a fluctuating but continuing demand for faculty who have terminal degrees. Future faculty will need different qualifications than the people they replace. Merchandising or other industry experience is important, as are teaching experience and research/publishing expertise. Some faculty hired in the past five years have lacked desired qualifications, indicating that the pool of clothing and textiles professionals is not great enough to meet current needs.
Discount Store Patronage Preferences of Rural and Urban Women
Authors: Summers Teresa A. , Wozniak Patricia J.
Published: October 2007

Rural and urban consumer discount store patronage preferences for apparel were investigated utilizing the concept ofperceived risk associated with the purchase of items. Apparel items were assigned a type and level of risk: low social, low economic; high social, low economic; high social, high economic. Rural (n = 170) and urban (n =139) females responding to a mail survey rated their willingness to purchase each item in a discount store on a scale of "prefer to buy, " "may buy, " or "never buy. " Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the influence of economic risk was much stronger in consumer patronage decisions in this study than in previous research. Consumer preference for purchasing in discount stores declined more sharply as economic risk increased than as social risk increased. Demographic characteristics of race, shopping responsibility, education, and totalfamily income were significantly related to both social and economic risks in patronage behavior.
Importance of Clothing and Self-Esteem Among Adolescents
Authors: Daters Catherine M.
Published: October 2007

Society recognizes the role of clothing as a communicator of information during social interaction and as an aid in the establishment of self-identity. As an adolescent builds self-identity, self-esteem and use of clothing to affect its enhancement become important aspects of his/her development. This study sought to (1) determine if there were differences in the importance of clothing comfort in three situations (social, school, and leisure) among adolescents in a metropolitan city (500,000 SMSA), and (2) to determine if there was a relationship between the rating on the importance of clothing comfort and the level of self-esteem in social, school, and leisure situations. The importance of clothing comfort was measured using the Clothing Comfort Dimensions, Importance by Situation, and self-esteem was measured using the Sliding Person Test of Self-Esteem.

One hundred ninety-seven female junior high students from a metropolitan city responded to a self-administered questionnaire. Statistically significant interactions were found among the three situations (social, school, and leisure) in each of the three dimensions (physical, social, and psychological) for the importance of clothing comfort. Adolescents acknowledge clothing comfort as being more important in social and school situations than in leisure, and they reflect limited differences in importance of clothing comfort in social or school situations. No significant differences were found among self-esteem scores across the five groups of individuals who placed the level ofclothing comfort importance as from Very Important to Very Unimportant. For this group of adolescents, self-esteem was not related to situational clothing comfort.
Influence of Physical Disability and Dress of Female Job Applicants on Interviewers
Authors: Christman Lisa A. , Branson Donna H.
Published: October 2007

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of dress and physical condition on employers' impressions of female job applicants. A dress (most appropriate, moderately appropriate, and inappropriate for an entry level management position) by physical condition (able-bodied, on crutches, in a wheelchair) by applicantfactorial design was used to determine employers'perceptions of the applicants. Videotapes of a female applicant in a simulated job interview situation served as the stimulus. Subjects rated the applicants on 22 employment characteristics. Factor analysis yielded four factors: Personality, Power, Competence, and Professionalism. Subjects also rated the applicants on six statements which were combined to become management potential. Analysis of variance revealed that the applicants were rated significantly higher when dressed in the most appropriate and moderately appropriate levels than when dressed inappropriately for all dependent measures. Employers also rated the applicants in the disabled conditions significantly higher than the able-bodied applicant for all dependent measures. Results were interpreted from the perspective of impression formation theory, particularly the way in which individuals combine various cues to arrive at an impression of an observed person. Implications pertain to rehabilitation personnel and clothing designers.
Apparel Sizing As it Relates to Women Age Sixty-five Plus
Authors: Woodson Eleanor M. , Horridge Patricia E.
Published: October 2007

The purposes of this study were (a) to compare body measurements of women 65 years of age or older to body measurements listed for commercial basic patterns and Voluntary Product Standard PS 42-70 and (b) to produce computerized basic patterns from these 65-plus measurements and to compare them with commercial basic patterns. Participants were 104 volunteer, ambulatory women, age 65 years or older, residing in residential housing or life-care communities in Texas. Vertical and horizontal body measurements were taken from a computerized Body Graph Measuring Device placed on the participant. Sample computerized patterns were drafted for sizes in which five or more participants were included. Findings showed differences between the measurements of the sample and the measurements ofPS 42-70 and commercial basic apparel patterns. Due to the variation of the body measurements and diversity ofposture of the 65-plus woman, needed adjustments were not confined to vertical and horizontal measurements but included adjustments for additional curvatures of the body.
Retailers' Perceptions of the Effects of Garment Complexity on Interest in Customized Patterns
Authors: Caldwell Lark F. , Workman Jane E.
Published: October 2007

Meshke (1961) theorized that anatomical structure, pattern design, and fabric affect the difficulty of customizing a pattern. The purpose of this study was to determine retailers'perceptions of the effect of these three components on customer interest in patterns customized by computer-aided design systems. A questionnaire was completed by 45 fabric retailers. Retailers were askedfor their perceptions of customers'interest in customized patterns for 13 body structures, 4 levels of design complexity, 10 garment styles, and 10 fabrics of varying complexities. Within-subjects repeated measures MANOVA and simple contrast t-tests were used to analyze the data. Retailers'perceptions were that customers would be significantly more interested in customized patterns for more complex anatomical structu, res, pattern designs, garment styles, and fabrics than for less complex components. The market for customized patterns could be described as women who are of irregular anatomical structures, who are constructing complex pattern designs, and/or who are using complex fabrics.
Impulse Buying Behavior of Apparel Purchasers
Authors: Han Yu K. , Morgan George A. , Kotsiopulos Antigone , Kang-Park Jikyeong
Published: October 2007

This study compared three samples offemale consumers (textiles and clothing [TC] and non-TC students and older non-student consumers) on four impulse buying dimensions and planned buying, other shopping behaviors, and demographic characteristics. The study also identified possible predictor variables of impulse buying. Non-student consumers were most likely to be planned buyers while students were most likely to be impulse buyers. Comparisons of the three groups of consumers on other shopping behaviors and demographic variables further supported the proposition that these groups made up different market segments. The TC students may represent young consumers especially interested in apparel. Multiple regression analyses revealed that impulse buying behavior could be predicted from other shopping behaviors and demographic variables, especially for the student groups. The findings provide a conceptual and empirical analysis of impulse buying and identify how specific variables are related to each of four dimensions of impulse buying.
Effects of Clothing as Nonverbal Communication on Credibility of the Message Source
Authors: O'Neal Gwendolyn S. , Lapitsky Mary
Published: October 2007

The study was designed to investigate the effects on credibility ratings and stated intent to purchase of clothing worn by a message source in an advertising situation. Two levels of dress of the message source and two advertising situations were crossed to constitute a 2 x 2 factorial design. The subjects, 102 Black female consumers, were randomly assigned to the four experimental manipulations. Each subject evaluated one advertisement and rated her impression of the credibility of the person pictured in the advertisement and her intent to purchase the product advertised When the source was appropriately dressed for the task demonstrated in the advertisement and photographed in the appropriate situation, the subjects assigned significantly higher credibility and intent-to-purchase ratings than for any other dress-by-situation manipulation.
"I was a pretty proud kid": An Interpretation of Differences in Posed and Unposed Photographs of Montana Cowboys
Authors: Wilson Laurel E.
Published: October 2007

During the 19th century, posed and unposed photographs were taken of Montana cowboys. Cowboys posed in studio photographs and on horseback display more stereotypical cowboy dress than those photographed while working on the range. This investigation explores some reasons for those differences. Cowboys served as symbols of freedom and individualism to 19th centuryamericans. Dress, emphasizing the heroic characteristics of the cowboy, was adopted by young men who became cowboys and who had their pictures taken to confirm to themselves and others that they had attained that status. More functional dress, however, was worn while working on the range.
Fashion Adoption: Theory and Pragmatics
Authors: Forsythe Sandra , Butler Sara , Mi Sook Kim
Published: October 2007

The Sproles'model of fashion adoption was selected to examine the adoption of the short skirt among employed women. Sproles'concepts of adopter identity and motivations were operationalized using measures from previous clothing-related studies of employed women. Results indicated that a large majority of the sample rejected the short skirt at the same time that retailers were heavily promoting the new style. Adopters and nonadopters differed significantly with respect to only two of the variables studied-age and perceived appropriateness of short skirts for work. Although factors not included in the study appeared to impact on the adoption process for employed women, Sproles' model allowed for the identification of variables which had value in predicting adoption of a new style. Theory-based empirical studies by retailers could be helpful in reducing the risk inherent in fashion marketing.
Clothing and Dressing Needs of People with Arthritis
Authors: Reich Naomi , Otten Patricia
Published: October 2007

Millions ofAmericans have some form of arthritis. The cumulative effects of aging can further negatively affect clothing dressing ease and the self-image of arthritics and elderly individuals. This research addressed clothing problems and solutions of nearly 800 Arizona residents with either rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. The majority (78%) who responded to the mailed survey were over age 50, and 77% were women. The subjects identified joint involvement that includedfingers, hands, knees, shoulders, and wrists and related effects of lack of mobility, dexterity, and lack of strength in hands and fingers. These physical effects of arthritis were manifested in clothing problems such as lack of comfort and unsuitable designs. Proper fit of clothing was a significant problem for females. Hands and wrist problems were significantly related to difficulty in manipulating fasteners. Difficult clothing design features included turtlenecks, long and set-in sleeves, and back closures for women and pullover sweaters, t-shirts, and ties for men. Suggestions for improving clothing design and dressing ease for arthritics included front openings, more give in waistlines, ease in shoulder area, larger openings for pants and skirts, larger armholes, and dressing straps.
Catalog vs Non-catalog Shoppers of Apparel: Perceived Risks, Shopping Orientations, Demographics, and Motivations
Authors: Kwon Yoon-Hee , Paek Soae L. , Arzeni Maria
Published: October 2007

The major objective of the study was to investigate how catalog and non-catalog shoppers perceived the risks involved in purchasing apparel from catalogs. The study also investigated catalog and non-catalog shoppers' shopping orientations and their demographic characteristics. The principal components analysis of the data collected from 131 female subjects revealed four types of perceived risks-financial risk, social risk, functional risk, and time risk—plus a Shopping Orientation factor. The results of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance indicated that non-catalog shoppers showed higher levels of risk perceptions of financial, social, functional, and time risks than did the catalog shoppers. However, there was no group difference on shopping orientation. Demographic variables also resulted in no group differences except in marital status. Sixty percent of the catalog shoppers were married, while only 47% of the non-catalog shoppers were married The authors recommend strategies, based on the results of the study, to catalog retailers of apparel.
Information-Seeking Patterns of Retail Apparel Buyers
Authors: Shim Soyeon , Kotsiopulos Antigone
Published: October 2007

The purposes of this study were (a) to identify information patterns of retail buyers of apparel who display different information source utilizations and (b) to investigate the relationship between each information search pattern and the characteristics of the individual, product, buying situation, company, and vendor selection criteria. Data were collected using 73 buyers from a variety of retail ownership groups responding to a self-administered questionnaire. Using principal components factor analysis on a number of information sources, five information patterns were identified and labeled: General Media/Printed Promotion, Fashion Trade, Personal Sources, Outside Sources, and Trade Show. Based on stepwise multiple regression analysis for each information source pattern, it was concluded that information sources utilized by retail buyers of apparel were influenced by various factors such as individual, product, buying situation, and company characteristics, as well as vendorselection criteria. The research results provided implications for apparel manufacturers, retailers, and theoreticians in the area of retail buying.
A Paradigm for the Study of the Social Meaning of Clothes: Complementarity of Social-Psychological Theories
Authors: Nagasawa Richard H. , Hutton Sandra S. , Kaiser Susan B.
Published: October 2007

This paper offers a paradigm for the study of the social meaning of clothes. The paradigm orders four basic models in social psychology: cognitive, behavioral, bio-volitional, and symbolic. Each model differs in its assumptions on the nature of human behavior. The paper also sketches the metatheory (or model) underlying each of the four theoretical perspectives in social psychology. It is argued that theories in social psychology differ only in the sense that the models on which they are based focus on different combinations of the paradigm elements: stimulus (S), organism or person (0), andresponse (R). Methods and strategies of inquiry related to individual models are also identified and subsumed under the paradigm. Finally, the metatheories of the four perspectives are outlined as they relate to the study of clothing. Metatheories sketched in this paper may be used to examine similarities and differences among theoretical perspectives adopted by clothing scholars and to pinpoint what is missing in our understanding of the social meaning of clothes.
Profitability of Women's Apparel Shops: Business Practices, Promotions, and Store/Owner Characteristics
Authors: Shim Soyeon , Drake Mary Frances
Published: October 2007

In this survey study small, women's apparel retail stores (N=104) were analyzed on their business practices, promotional activities and objectives, and store/owner characteristics in relation to the store's profitability. Profitable stores appeared to be associated with marketing orientation, customer-oriented promotional tools, promotional strategies designed for both reputation of the store and immediate sales increase, and effective media and promotion selection. However, store/owner characteristics did not appear to influence store's profitability. By identifying key features of profitable stores, this research not only provided the specific mix of business practices and promotions for profitable stores but also contributed to development of apparel merchandising curriculum as well as public policy making in the small business area.
Categorization as a Function of Body Type
Authors: Lennon Sharron J.
Published: October 2007

Research has revealed that obese or overweight individuals have been consistently devalued The current research was designed to determine the extent to which this devaluation of obese and overweight individuals extends to size-14 women who, according to apparel manufacturers, are the smallest of the large sizes. Student volunteers saw black and white slides of six women, three of whom wore size 6 and three of whom wore size 14. Concurrently they listened to an audio tape of a bogusperfume-marketing brainstorming session and then judged each model. The extent to which subjects categorized the models according to body type was also measured An analysis revealed differences in ratings of competence, friendliness, and judgments of work comfortsuch that the size-6 models received higher ratings than the size-14 models. However, for both groups of models, the mean ratings were above the midpoints of the scales. Furthermore, subjects were also found to categorize according to body type. These findings are congruent with a body of literature which supports the current cultural ideal of thinness.
Three and A Half Decades of Fashion Adoption Research: What Have We Learned?
Authors: Behling Dorothy U.
Published: October 2007

This investigation identified and analyzed published studies of fashion adoption in which researchers referred to Rogers' model. Analysis revealed three salient dependent variables that researchers have investigated-leadership, innovativeness, and adoption—as well as variables that were unique to a particular study. The aggregate findings from these studies strongly suggest there is only one dependent variable involved. This may reflect the uniqueness of fashion as the object of investigation, the characteristics of primarily middle-class subjects, or problems using this model.
A Conceptual Framework for Apparel Design
Authors: Lamb Jane M. , Kallal M. Jo
Published: October 2007

To encourage students to think of designing garments for special needs as part of a general designframework, a problem-solving approach that does not distinguish between functional apparel design and fashion design is presented. A model for assessing user needs and wants incorporates functional, expressive, and aesthetic (FEA) considerations. Examples of how the, framework has been used in design projects are presented Suggested uses for the FEA model are offered.
Greek Folk Dress: Application of the Ethnohistorical Method
Authors: Welters Linda
Published: October 2007

Ethnohistory, an interdisciplinary approach employing research methods from both anthropology and history, is applied to the study of women's folk costumes in Greece. Methodological considerations are discussed Observations are based on four research projects using documentary and ethnographic sources. A synopsis of the most recent project, entitled Costumes of Euboea, is presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the ethnohistorical method to the study of traditional dress.
What Colored the Transition from Madder to Alizarine?
Authors: Lopez Judith , Farrell-Beck Jane
Published: October 2007

Madder, an ancient natural dyestuff used in 19th-century textile printworks, demonstrated great persistence in the marketplace before it was gradually replaced by alizarine, a coal-tar synthetic discovered in 1868. Alizarine's cheaper price has been cited as the reason for the change. Available American company records from 1870-1890 were examined for consumption of these red dyes and the prices paid for them. Comparisons reveal that price alone does not explain the transition. Other factors including easier use, greater variety of color, advanced awareness of chemistry, and increased economic pressures may have played a part also.
A Comparison of Historical and Contemporary Skin Clothing Used in North Greenland: An Ethnohistorical Approach
Authors: Oakes Jill , Riewe Rick
Published: October 2007

Seamstresses played an integral part in the success of northern hunting and gathering lifestyles by providing functional clothing. Traditional clothing provided more than protection from the harsh arctic environment. It also communicated group identity, gender, age, and status. Changing lifestyles and the availability of new materials altered the procedures used to create traditional clothing styles. The purpose of this paper is to identify environmental, cultural, religious, and political factors influencing temporal variations in skin clothing production techniques used by seamstresses in highly traditional societies. Data was collected using participant-observation and attribute analysis in Qaanaaq, Greenland Cultural, economic, religious, environmental, and political factors influencing changes in style features, construction techniques, and materials used in traditional ensembles are discussed.
Mariano Fortuny's Delphos Robe: Some Possible Methods of Pleating and the Permanence of the Pleats
Authors: Kearney Kathleen
Published: October 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate some methods of pleating that Fortuny might have used in creating the fabric for the Delphos Robe and to test the permanence of pleats in silk fabric. Fortuny preferred using silk fabric from the Orient and was aware of Japanese art and craft techniques. Several Japanese shibori (dye resist) techniques create folds of pleats in fabric that are similar to the pleats in the Delphos Robe. In particular, the shibori pole-wrapping technique would have been an attractive alternative to more time-consuming hand pleating methods. Although some historians claim that the pleats of the Delphos Robe were permanent, they were not. Inspection of Delphos gowns in a museum collection showed loss of pleating in areas affected by moisture and pressure. In laboratory experimentation it was determined that pleats in silk fabric were permanent to dry cleaning but not to wet cleaning or moisture and pressure from wear.
Dress and Identity
Authors: Roach-Higgins Mary Ellen , Eicher Joanne B.
Published: October 2007

Development of a theoretical framework for understanding linkages between identity and dress depends on careful selection and definition of terms and development of a broad, holistic view of Social Aspects of Dress. A comprehensive definition of dress includes both body modifications and supplements to the body. Properties of these modifications and supplements can be cross-classified with sensory responses they evoke. Because dress functions as an effective means of communication during social interaction, it influences peoples' establishing identities of themselves and others. An individual's self incorporates identities based on assigned and achieved positions within social structures, especially those that organize kinship, economic, religious, and political activities. Identities communicated by dress are also influenced by technology and society-wide moral and aesthetic standards for dress. Specific types and properties of dress that communicate identity may change through time in response to economic, demographic, and other societal changes.