Searching Apparel Online: What Words Do We Use?

Abstract

Background and Significance: Patterns of searching for apparel products online are important to examine because most consumers (87%) begin shopping by searching online (Alaimo, 2018). For the industry, using concise and accurate words can facilitate clear communication. Organizations such as the ASTM (1996-2020) identify particular words to describe apparel components. It is also an important topic to museums with apparel and textile collections because standardized terminology eases access to artifacts in a digital catalog (e.g., Kirkland et al., 2016). In addition, examining words to describe apparel is valuable to educators when teaching and developing instructional material. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review: Quality is defined as the 'degree of excellence and conformance to requirements or the extent to which a garment meets expectations' (Brown & Rice 2011, 46). Quality depends on both intrinsic (physical and performance characteristics) and extrinsic (related contextual variables) properties of a product. Intrinsic physical features include material, construction, and finish. Intrinsic performance properties encompass aesthetics (color, texture) and function (utility). Garment intrinsic features, particularly fit, color, pattern, style, and appearance sway purchasing (e.g., Eckman, Damhorst, & Kadolph, 1990). More specifically, construction features of apparel, such as hem and sleeve type influence fit and style. For example, a low-cap set-in sleeve when the underarm and the side seam are sewn in one step has a looser fit than a sleeve that is set-in when the bodice and the sleeve are sewn before the sleeve is attached (Brown & Rice, 2011). Google has grown 20% in women's "best" searchers in the apparel category over the last two years (Duarte & Thomson, 2019). An examination of searching for apparel online found differences in searching terms used based on the type of item. Searching for a dress usually began with the occasion (e.g. "wedding dress"). Gender terms were used when participants searched bottoms, such as "women's shorts." This study also found, color terms were commonly used when searching online for apparel. There are books that identify and define apparel terms, such as The Visual Dictionary of Fashion Design (Ambrose & Harris, 2007). In the museum field, there classification software and websites exist such as PastPerfect (2010) where fields and words are found in related dropdown menus and category fields. Within this general cataloging system, clothing categories include "Clothing Accessories,