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nia at Davis, who a!so made some helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. A social-cognitive framework for the study of special clothing features is presented in this paper, along with supporting data derived from a series of focused group interviews with 36 physically disabled students. The context of clothing styles was explored in terms of the consequences of potential stigmatization as compared to personal evaluations of the styles per se, without accompanying social cues. The students tended to express ambivalence about specific clothing styles and about the general concept of functional clothing, particularly in relation to functionality versus perceived image and stigmatization. Suggestions to ameliorate the negative social consequences of functional apparel included: (a) personal adaptations to normative attire, (b) networking to facilitate dissemination of the ingenious strategies developed by disabled persons themselves, and (c) increased attention to the incorporation of functional features into all clothing.

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This paper provides data on perceptions of functional clothing, augmenting a theoretical framework integrating symbolicinteractionist and cognitive approaches. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 322 physically disabled university students throughout the nation. One half of the students evaluated line drawings of only one view of each clothing style, whereas the other half rated illustrations presenting an additional view detailing the special, functional feature of the garment. The students responded more negatively to the functional clothing when the special feature was made salient. Factor analyses revealed the multidimensionality of meanings assigned to functional clothing, with evaluative, functional, and noticeability dimensions being most common. The complex, joint effects of sex, onset of disability, and wheelchair usage upon the students' responses point to the problematic nature of identifying common needs among persons with physical disabilities. Theoretical and real world implications are discussed. fies three interrelated areas of uncertainty in relation to physically disabled persons' perceptions of functional dress: (a) salience of functional features as perceptual stimuli, (b) complexity or multidimensionality of meanings assigned, and (c) personal characteristics that help to differentiate the symbolic orientations of persons with physical disabilities.The authors wish to express their appreciation to Joan L. Chandler for technical assistance in data analysis.

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