An understanding of youth culture is fundamental for attracting new consumers. However, few qualitative studies have analysed adolescent fashion consumer behaviour. Utilising a dramaturgical framework, this qualitative research aims to understand the adolescent's relationship to fashion by identifying the values guiding adolescent social performance. The ethnographic study proceeded with 16 participants between the ages of 13 and 18 from various socioeconomic strata in Medellín, Colombia. Four value segments were used to describe these teens' performances: Trendy, Undercover, Luxury Pink, and Free Style. The values of these adolescent consumers prioritised 'being well respected', 'a sense of belonging', 'excitement', and 'fun and enjoyment of life'. Findings indicated that while some of these emerging market adolescents adhered to global generalisations made about teenagers, certain specific contextual influences were found to express their values and, by extension, their fashion wants. Additional theoretical contributions were found by examining differences in the expression of values across value segments.
Despite the importance of the baby boomer generation, there is relatively scarce research focused on that consumer group. Based on the framework of product experience, this study explores the experiences of older baby boomers associated with consumer-clothing attachment. The interpretive approach utilized in-depth interviews with 18 older baby boomers born between 1946 and 1955 to enquire about their experiences with attached clothing. Participants were asked to bring to the interview photographs of the clothing they had become more attached to. Findings indicate that the experiences of older baby boomers with attached clothing are mainly created, developed, and maintained via all three dimensions of product experience; aesthetic properties of the product, positive emotions triggered by the product, and the symbolic and instrumental meanings associated with the product. However, the aesthetic properties and positive emotions related to those products were bound to its assigned meanings. Meaning varied and was classified as associations with: identity or the belief that the object is a self-extension; memories or the connection with the past; social standing or sense of status; and strong associations with utility. For all participants, the stronger the experience of meaning with a specific product, the stronger the level of attachment towards that product. This qualitative investigation extends the understanding of the framework of product experience and the concept of consumer-clothing attachment. Contributions offer opportunities to marketers and designers who seek to better understand the experiences behind baby boomers’ clothing attachment.
Carter and McGoldrick (2005) stress the importance of seeing family as a moving system that goes through cycles. From the perspective of a traditional wedding, the family life cycle stage that a bride experiences corresponds with joining two families in marriage, realigning of relationships with extended family and friends, and sometimes, leaving the parents' home (Carter and McGoldrick 2005). This stage may vary depending on the cultural background of the bride, as well as of the groom. In particular, a bride in Western cultures faces stress related to the transformations taking place in her family system and her personal and social life, along with the possible conflicts she might be experiencing due to these transitions. The bride also is generally under a lot of pressure to plan the perfect wedding and select the dream wedding dress. Therefore, the changes in the family life cycle and the possible conflicts generated during this transition to married life explain the context in which the bride is immersed during the wedding preparations and the selection of the wedding dress. The wedding dress is a high involvement purchase (Choy and Loker 2004) and an object that holds deep symbolic meaning. It is regarded as one of the main symbols of the wedding. Whereas the bride is ultimately the individual who wears the dress, the decision-making process during the selection of the dress may be influenced by other
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