Marilyn DeLong

Perception testing of apparel ease variation.

The development of new computer technologies designed to custom-fit apparel has created a need for quantification of apparel fit characteristics. Fit perception and preference data are needed to improve sizing for ready-to-wear and custom-fitted apparel. Tactile responses of subjects to the fit of pants were investigated using an adaptation of an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) sensory perception test. The test was designed to establish thresholds in apparel fit: that is, the smallest difference in garment dimensions that can be consistently perceived and identified. The test samples for the study were a set of 15 pants, which varied in size, made for each participant from precise computer-generated patterns. Four female experts in apparel fit, who comprised the subject panel, each recorded their responses to these pants compared to a control. Control pants were custom-fitted to each panel member; the remaining pants in each set varied from the control by 0.5 to 1.5 cm at a single location (waist, hips, or crotch length). When the pants were presented in a blind test, the panel perceived differences as small as 0.5 cm in pants waist size from the control. Differences of 1.5 cm were perceptible at the hip and crotch. The subjects level of acceptance of the fit variations in the pants was then judged using a preference test. This test revealed differences among individual subjects in the acceptability of fit variations in waist and crotch dimensions; judgements of the acceptability of hip variations were more consistent among the subjects. Judging from the results of this testing, it is concluded that threshold levels at which fit differences can be perceived can be established for different areas of the body, and that perceptible fit variations can be quite small. This testing also showed that individuals vary in their tolerance for fit variations at different locations on the body.

Analysis of Body Measurement Systems for Apparel

Many methods have been developed to measure the body in an effort to capture its dimensions for clothing. Measuring the human body has been important in developing garments tofit the body, and systems have reflected technology, needs of the consumer, andfocus of the apparel industry. The U. S. apparel industry has developed many techniques to measure the body, including custom-fitted to the individual, mass-sized and produced, and now, mass-customized. This paper reviews and evaluates historic and current methods of capturing body measurements, which are presented as linear methods, multiple probe methods, and body form methods, that use one or more of the following elements: point, length, surface, shape, and volume.

Perception of US branded apparel in Shanghai

This study focuses on perceptions of registered brands sold in Shanghai. Brand identity has been studied in Western settings; this study expands understanding of brand identity from a Chinese perspective. Chinese shoppers in Shanghai shopping malls were asked to compare US and Chinese brands in a survey about their perceptions of product attributes, brand identification and store environment. In the analysis of data, US brands were evaluated more positively than Chinese on attributes of design innovation, workmanship, brand image, service, and display of products, while Chinese brands received more positive marks on fit and price satisfaction. Low brand loyalty among the Chinese shoppers meant that brand image and competition among brands are keen. To remain competitive, US companies which plan to increase their market in China need to pay attention to product quality and how brand identity is interpreted within Chinese culture.

Measuring Visual Response to Clothing

Two groups of females differing in age, students and nonstudents, were presented with five photographs of clothed bodies. Each subject was asked to respond to each photograph using an instrument made up of 56 semantic scales. The scales were chosen to represent a range of responses encountered in the visual perception of the clothed body. Multivariate analysis methods were used to test for differences among the costumes, the two observer groups, and the observers within the groups. Consistency in response to the costumes was found between the two groups. The residual vectors were analyzed by principal components and word pairs which were rated similarly were grouped and interpreted. The evaluative component which explained the largest variance included words such as like-dislike and fashionable-unfash ionable. The next four components included word pairs relating to uncertainty, complexity, and potency.

Hooked on vintage

All authors are at the University of Minnesota and interested in women, dress, and aesthetics— from alternative youth styles to mature fashion mavens. Marilyn DeLong is Professor of Clothing Design and Curator of Historic Costume in the Goldstein Museum of Design; Barbara Heinemann and Kathryn Reiley are doctoral students in the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel. mdelong@che.umn.edu; bheinema@umn.edu; kreiley@che.umn.edu Hooked on Vintage!

Global products, global markets: Jeans in Korea and the United States

This cross-cultural study illustrates how products selected for their basic similarities are distinguished in use by cultural context. Jeans, a product manufactured in both South Korea and the United States, were selected as the research stimuli. Subjects were regular wearers of jeans, 32 of whom were from the United States and 34 from Korea. All were females between the ages of 18 and 24, and students at one of two large metropolitan universities in their respective countries. Participants responded to four brands of jeans similar in appearance: two were U.S. brands (Levi’s and Gap) and two were Korean brands (GV2 and Bang Bang). Subjects’ perceptions of the products were explored for similarities and differences in criteria for wear and purchase of jeans. Country of manufacture mattered less than country of origin, appearance and other factors related to use in a cultural context. For both groups, color, fit, tactile qualities and price also were important criteria in wearing and purchasing jeans. Though respondents used similar criteria in this cross-cultural comparison, differences in weighting of those criteria yielded significantly different results.

Knitwear product development process: A case study

A well-defined product development process assists the organization to determine its future direction, plan for rapid changes, create new product line profits, and plan for technology adoption and implementation (Thomas, 1993). The goal of this research was to propose an optimal product development process for knitwear companies by examining the process used by a major U.S. sweater company and comparing its process to established processes. Yin’s (1984) single case study and Patton’s (1990) qualitative research approaches were adapted for data collection. Various methods of collecting data were employed, including interviewing key personnel, making direct observations, and examining written documents. Preliminary suggestions for improving the product development process included extending market research to include end users, using pre-costing early in the process, integrating quality assurance, and using computer-aided-design and product development management software.

Use of Perceptions of Female Dress as an Indicator of Role Definition

The purpose of this study was to compare 60 male and 59 female responses to social and business female dress. Suits and dresses were selected as stimuli to represent a social-to- business continuum. A semantic differential instrument was adapted for use from a previous study. Use of word pairs was similar in nature for male and female responses, although there was a difference in relative influence. Separation of responses was mostly evaluative in nature. The social-to-business continuum was a key parameter in male-female differences in response. Commonality in female response led to the conclusion that females accepted the business image represented by the stimuli. The male response was more diverse for business and social images.

Predicting garment pattern dimensions from photographic and anthropometric data.

Traditional linear measurements (lengths and circumferences taken over the body surface with a tape measure) were compared with measurements of frontal and lateral view photographs for usefulness in determining pattern dimensions for the upper torso of the female body form. The statistical regression models developed indicated that, while linear measurements provided slightly more accuracy in predicting a few of the pattern dimensions, the photographic measurements were more accurate in predicting others, particularly pattern angles. Photographic measurements hold promise as an alternative to the more intrusive linear measurements for predicting pattern dimensions.

Dress in a Postmodern Era: An Analysis of Aesthetic Expression and Motivation

Aesthetic expression of dress was examined by interviewing 15 midwestern university students. The objective was to understand the style development process and the motivations for clothing selection. The responses of participants selecting clothing from a variety of purchasing locations were analyzed. The purchasing sources examined were vintage or used clothing stores, a variety of sources used by cross-shoppers, and mainstream or mass market locations. In-depth interviews were analyzed for content. Aesthetic themes or categories emerged that helped to define differences: event dressing, imaging gender, variety clothes versus signature clothes, apparel meanings, process of ensemble, and customization of clothing purchases. These categories were analyzed and compared with those identified in the literature and with postmodern characteristics outlined by Evans and Thornton (1989). Understanding individual motivations in aesthetic expression and sourcing locations will aid in the study of fashion change.