Body shape and fit preference in body cathexis and clothing benefits sought for professional African-American women

Abstract

Little survey research exists that categorises the body shapes of African-American women or attempts to understand how these impact their clothing choices. This study profiled 153 professional African-American women regarding the influence of body shape and fit preference on their perceptions of body cathexis (degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with one's body) (Secord, P. and Jourard, S., 1953. The appraisal of body cathexis: body cathexis and the self. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 17, 343-347) and clothing benefits sought (Hwang, J., 1996. Relationships between body-cathexis, clothing benefits sought, and clothing behaviors, and effects of importance of meeting the ideal body image and clothing attitude. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg) for tailored career apparel. The body shapes (hourglass, rectangle, pear and inverted triangle) were self-reported. Fit preference was selected from a set of line drawings depicting a tailored jacket and pant as fitted, semi-fitted or loosely fitted. Body cathexis was rated for 19 body components. The assessed clothing benefits included fashion image, figure flaw compensation, sex appeal, clothing emphasis and fashion innovativeness. Analyses indicated an interaction effect between body shape and fit preference with several direct correlations for body cathexis and clothing benefits sought. The methods and practical implications are discussed.

Age, Body Size, Body Image, and Fit Preferences of Male Consumers

“…Chattaraman and Rudd (2006) had similar findings—increases in body size among women correlated with preferences for tops with looser fits. With respect to age, Manual et al (2010) similarly found that female participants in their 20s preferred a fitted jacket, whereas those in their 30s picked a loose fit.…”

“…This procedure was repeated for each garment type and ensured that the men evaluated garment fit based on perceptual analysis of fit classifications for each garment type. The scale merges two methods: one developed by Chattaraman and Rudd (2006) and another depicting 3 levels of fit variations in specific women’s style types (Alexander et al, 2005; Fu, 2004; Manuel et al, 2010; Pisut & Connell, 2007). A pilot study with 5 male students enrolled at the university (recruited through snowball sampling) was conducted to assess the comprehensibility and clarity of the questions and validity of the various measures.…”

“…Manuel, Connell, and Presley (2010) segmented their sample of African American women by age and found a difference for jacket fit preference when employing a new scale first published by Alexander et al (2005) and Pisut and Connell 2007). Participants in their 20s preferred a fitted jacket, whereas those in their 30s preferred a loose fit.…”

Impacts of female body shapes on patternmaking

“…Results showed that, 37% of Turkish women had hourglass, 31% had triangle, 19% had rectangle and 13% had an inverted triangle body shape [8]. Manuel et al (2010) categorized the body shapes of African-American women in their study and examined how these body shapes affected women's clothing preferences [9]. Vuruşkan and Bulgun (2011) asserted that the methods used currently to determine the female body shapes generally depended on subjective and visual decision-making approaches.…”

The role of fit information in consumer online reviews and individual characteristics in consumer's online purchase decisions

“…While many studies of fit perception were conducted with either female or male consumers, Shin (2013) qualitatively investigated gender differences in overall fit satisfaction and fit problems and experiences. In Shin's (2013) study, while both male and female young consumers were neutral to slightly satisfied with fit regarding ready-to-wear clothing in general and all three dimensions of fit were used by both male and female participants to describe fit, male participants were more likely to report fit problems in physical and functional aspects while female participants tended to mention aesthetic fit problems more frequently, especially those related to attractiveness Furthermore, previous studies on fit satisfaction and fit preference related to age showed that older women had greater dissatisfaction with garment fit (Plutt, 2011;Shim & Bickle, 1993) and preferred loose fit (Howarton & Lee, 2010;Manual, Connell, & Presley, 2012;Pisut & Connell, 2007;Simmons & Istook, 2003). Plutt (2011) found that women's age was negatively related with their fit satisfaction, indicating that the degree of fit satisfaction decreased as age increased.…”