Sara J. Kadolph

Toward a Model of the In-Store Purchase Decision Process: Consumer Use of Criteria for Evaluating Women's Apparel

To identify criteria considered by consumers while making garment purchase decisions, free response interviews of 80 female customers were conducted at point of purchase in two specialty apparel stores. Subjects described the criteria they used to evaluate a garment they had tried on. The most important criteria for apparel assessment were related to aesthetics. Comparison of responses of customers who purchased and customers who did not purchase their garments revealed that different criteria had primary effects in two stages of the purchase process. During the Interest phase, color/pattern, styling, and fabric were most critical in influencing selection of garments from the display racks. Fit, styling, and appearance on the body were more important in determining rejection or adoption of the garments during the Trial phase in the dressing rooms. The research begins to fulfill a need for store intercept data collection, study of free responses minimally shaped by the researcher, and development of theoretical models of the apparel purchase process.

In the Bag: Contact Natural Dyes

Contact dyeing is a practical alternative to the more common immersion method of natural dyeing. Contact dyeing is a very low liquor ratio method where the actual natural dyestuff is placed around and between the goods to be dyed. The dyestuff and goods are compressed into a bundle that is placed in a plastic bag and heated by using steam, a microwave oven, or solar energy. The focus in most dyeing is on duplication and replication of color and motif. In contact dyeing, the focus is shifted to use of innovative materials such as organic waste, found objects, and pantry or kitchen items. Appropriate dyestuffs, materials, and equipment are described, but specific results are unpredictable. This chance factor is the primary goal in contact natural dyeing: to create complex, random patterns and colors easily and inexpensively, without the use of chemical mordants that are used with immersion natural dye methods.

University Historic Clothing Museums and Collections: Practices and Strategies

University historic dress collections and museums provide unique opportunities to actively fulfill critical mission statements of the university, including possibilities for research projects, providing firsthand opportunities for students to view real-life objects, and outreach/service opportunities to the public. Despite the importance of collections in fulfilling university missions, research about current practices and best practices is scarce. The purpose of this study was to document practices, challenges, and opportunities for excellence experienced by university collections within the United States. To explore the topic, a qualitative methodology in which 14 curators and collection managers were interviewed was utilized. The results of this study suggest that many curators and collection managers endure many similar struggles within their departments, such as lack of financial resources, time, and support from upper administration. Yet, all of the participants stated the significant contributions and impact material culture can have on the mission of their institutions.

Equipment Experts: Enhancing Student Learning in Textile Science

Student equipment experts promote active learning in a product and materials analysis class. After preparation through reading about a specific piece of equipment and meeting with the instructor to see and practice with the equipment, the student demonstrates its use to the class and answers questions from the class. While this activity is time intensive for the instructor during the training period, use of equipment experts has produced more interest from students during class, better attention during demonstrations, and one-on-one interactions between the instructor and students. An unexpected benefit is the assistance of equipment experts during laboratory work. Equipment experts in a lab class enhance active learning and student comfort with lab work.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Textiles and Apparel

The purpose of this issue is to encourage an understanding and appreciation of the contribution of teaching and learning scholarship. The introduction to this focused issue explores teaching and learning in textiles and clothing as scholarship. Contributions to this issue represent diverse subject areas in clothing and textiles and showcase teaching methods used in the discipline. This paper describes changes made in the CTRJ Guide for Authors and Reviewers intended to make it more inclusive for all forms of scholarship. The review process for the focused issue is also described. A demonstration of the similarities and differences between teaching articles and traditional research articles is presented.

Promoting Critical Thinking in Product Development: Connections between Textile Science and Consumers' Aesthetic Value

Educators and researchers alike have written extensively about the importance of integrating critical thinking experiences across the undergraduate curriculum. In the present paper we discuss critical thinking, explain the importance of critical thinking for apparel professionals involved in product development, and provide integrative structures and applications to help students think critically about aesthetics and textiles subject matter, both of which are central to the product development process. Specifically, we propose a model and adopt a taxonomy to help students understand (a) the important role played by consumer value in professional decisions, and (b) the range of benefits culminating in the value of a product, respectively. To better prepare students for a total customer integration approach to product development, we also propose connections between subject matter areas of textile science and aesthetics and provide example exercises where students integrate textile science and aesthetics subject matter. Graduates of textiles and clothing programs need to understand a total customer integration approach that entails providing the specific benefits or value in a product desired by the customer.

Managing Variation In Textile Science Abstracts and Reports Through A Comprehensive Format and Generic Structure

Analysis of published textile science research papers revealed structural and rhetorical variations within and across published works suggesting that the needs and expectations of readers were not being met. This paper proposes a format and generic structure for both abstracts and full research papers so that written works in textile science are effective tools of communication. The format and structure identifies eleven critical elements and suggests a framework that helps readers of research recognize the validity, reliability, significance, and credibility of any research. Contributions to the development of the field of textile science through the use of the format and generic structure are offered.