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This study examines the relationship between physical and psychosocial attributes of the body, and aesthetic attribute preferences in clothing. Building upon a clothing comfort model, the purpose is to determine whether women's aesthetic response to apparel is related to their body size, body cathexis and body image and if so, to provide insight into underlying patterns of similarity in their response. An Internet survey was administered to a random sample of 199 female undergraduate students. The results indicated that body image and body cathexis had a negative linear relationship with aesthetic preference in styling, implying that lower body image and body cathexis correlate with preference for greater body coverage through clothing and vice versa. Body size showed a positive linear association with styling preferences, implying that increase in body size correlates with preference for greater body coverage in clothing and vice versa. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the combinatorial effects of enduring and momentary mechanisms of cultural identity salience on identity-based apparel brand choices of three Hispanic acculturation segments (Hispanic-dominant, mainstream-dominant, and balanced-bicultural). The hypotheses were empirically tested among Hispanic students at a midwestern university in the U.S. employing a two-session online experiment. Results revealed that the influence of cultural primes (momentary salience of the cultural identity) on subsequent brand choices of Hispanic consumers is moderated by their bidimensional acculturation (enduring salience of the cultural identity). As posited, the current study found that the same cultural primes had differential effects among the three Hispanic acculturation segments, with the largest effect size among the balancedbicultural segment. Specifically, the results indicated that Hispanicdominant and mainstream-dominant consumers were less responsive to cultural cues in the environment and were less likely to demonstrate significant preference shifts in response to cultural primes. However, balanced-bicultural consumers demonstrated significant shifts in their attitudes and purchase intent for Hispanic and mainstream apparel brands when exposed to cultural primes, such that their brand choices assimilated toward the primed identity. Results are discussed in the context of social identity theory, the self-stereotyping process, cultural frame shifting, and the bidimensional acculturation model.