Dress, Appearance and Performance: Is There A Relationship?

Dress, Appearance and
Performance: Is There a
Relationship?
Lorynn R. Divita, Assistant Professor

Judith Lusk, Professor
Department of Family
and Consumer Sciences
What is Dress?
Any body covering, attachment or

treatment – our appearance
Dress is unique to humans
Both a social as well as a personal
behavior
Dress is a cultural universal
Other cultural universals – food, law,
language
Dress Messages
Dress sends messages to every other

sighted human being with whom we
come into contact.
These messages cause others to

form an idea about us and to hold
certain expectations that can
influence our relationship with them.
Why do we adorn ourselves
Why do we adorn ourselves?
We dress in order to copy the cultural

ideal, and by doing so:
We enhance our sense of self-
esteem
We increase our sense of
belonging to the group
We become more confident
We improve our self concept
Apparel and the self
Self-concept: Beliefs, feelings and ideas
and individual has about themselves.
Conscious and unconscious
Apparent Self: What we think others
want us to be
Phenomenal Self: True identity
Ideal Self: The way we’d like to be
Clothing can be used to help the
apparent self appeal to the group, and
bridge a gap between the phenomenal
self and the ideal self
Fashion and Group Dynamics
Fashion is always a group behavior

because it means something has
become aesthetically pleasing to
most of the people in the society or
culture
Huge changes in taste show a
change in the way people feel in the
world around them
Fashion as...
Popular Culture
 Trivial
 Transient
 Extreme
 Frivolous
Fashion change is never entirely arbitrary,

but ugly things are sometimes in vogue.
—Laver, 1937; Simmel, 1904
Behavior
We usually dress to cloak ourselves in

the security of fitting in with a particular
situation
When dress is appropriate for a
situation, individuals tend to feel more
confident and competent. The reverse
is also true.
Communicative Variables
Three communicative functions of

dress:
Communication
Roles
Status
Communication
The transmission by symbols of

information and ideas.
Not a likely function of early dress.
For dress to be a language, a shared
understanding must exist of its
symbols.
Unfortunately, communication happens
whether or not a shared understanding
exists.
Communication - First
Impressions and Stereotypes
First Impressions: Formed within the first
few seconds
Includes judgments and assessments of the
individual, including personality, social roles
and status.
Stereotypes – Assumes that a group of
traits automatically go along with one
attribute.
People have been found to cooperate with
other individuals whose appearance is
similar to their own.
Communication-First Impressions
and Stereotypes
Does this look like
someone who
would establish
trends in high
fashion?
Do we expect a
different clothing
behavior?
Roles
Define the individual in society by
describing the special tasks or
functions he or she has in that
society.
Roles are learned.
The more clearly defined a role is, the
more specific the dress.
Roles in the U.S. are becoming less
defined, so dress is less specific.
Dress and Performance
Dress can help
someone assume
a role by helping
performance and
persuading others
he or she belongs
in the role.
What Is A Fashion?
A widely popular
expression (in apparel,
homes, art, music and
so on).
How does fashion
differ from style?
Style = an item’s
characteristics: crew
or “v” neck sweater; it
may be in or out of
fashion.
D-square fall 06
Spirit of the Times
(Zeitgeist)
Fashion is a reflection of the times in which
they are created and worn.
Style Interactions
 Apparel
 Cuisine
 Sports
 Architecture
 Interiors
 Automobiles
 Toys
 Avocations
 Pastimes
Spirit of the Times
(Zeitgeist)
Fashion is a reflection of the times in which
they are created and worn.
Nystrom’s Framework (1928)
 Dominating events
 Dominating ideals
 Dominating social groups
 Dominating attitude
 Dominating technology
What Is A Trend?
A trend is the movement of fashion.
Acceptance – consumers must buy and
wear a style to make it a fashion
“There’s no fashion if nobody buys it”

- Karl Lagerfeld
Timeliness – Change; what is in fashion

one year (or season) will be out the next
makes fashion exciting
Fashion Trends
“New”…because it has
been missing or scarce in
the marketplace
But also
 A logical evolution from a precursor
 Building on a successful trial balloon
 A response to social change
 An expression of cultural drift
Fashion Cycles
Multiple Trends as Part
of Long Wave Change
NUMBER OF
ADOPTERS
CASUAL
UNSTRUCTURED
SUITS
TUNICS OVER
LEGGINGS
Fashion Lifecycle Phases
Innovation – Fashion General Acceptance –
leaders pay high Look maximizes its
prices for new looks. sales potential, can
Rise – More people find anywhere.
start to adopt looks Decline – Sales
Acceleration– Many diminish; retailers
knockoffs; looks lower prices, replace
adopted by fashion the look for a newer
followers. trend.
Obsolescence – “Out”
Diffusion of Innovation
(Rogers 1962)
Number
of
Adopters
13.5%
2.5%
EARLY
ADOPTER
or
OPINION
LEADER MAJORITY
or LATE
INNOVATOR FASHION ADOPTER LAGGARD
LEADER
Time
Change Agents Fashion Followers
Differences Within the
Fashion Cycle
Classics – Never become completely
obsolete, but remain accepted for an
extended period
Fads – Short lived fashions, come and go,
lack the character to hold consumer
attention for very long
Cycles within cycles – Design elements
(color, texture, silhouette) change as the
style stays popular
Who Leads or Follows Fashion?
Fashion innovators – earliest
communicators of a new style or look to
other fashion consumers.
May or may not be influential in making other
people like the style, but create awareness
Provide visual display and initial exposure of
the style
These people feel more socially secure and are
more interested in fashion than other people
Fashion Opinion Leaders – Legitimize a
style for fashion followers.
Influence people in their social world
Stay within the social norms of their groups
May adopt slightly modified or toned-down
versions of a style or a look after
innovators have received attention from
others
Diffusion of Innovation
LAGGARDS
S-CURVE Form
LATE
MAJORITY
EARLY
MAJORITY
EARLY
ADOPTER
INNOVATORS
Innovative communicators – People

who are both innovators and opinion
leaders
Appearance-conscious, spend a lot of
money on clothes, know a lot about
brands
Fashion followers – Look to others for
behavior guidelines rather than follow
their values system or marketers
High Fashion vs. Mass Fashion
High fashion looks Mass fashion is
are created by made by
designers and manufacturers and
exclusive stores. retailers at many
Fashion leaders buy prices.
these looks during the
introduction and Fashion followers
growth stages. (most people
interested in fashion)
The goods are
wear mass fashion.
expensive but
exclusivity is what Fashion laggards
fashion leaders crave. want good value;they
buy late.
Fashion, Fads, Classics
NUMBER OF
ADOPTERS FASHION
CLASSIC
FAD
TIME
Theories of Fashion Acceptance
These theories explain how fashions

move from one socioeconomic level of
society to another.
Trickle down. Fashions move from higher
social levels to lower. How?
Trickle across (horizontal, diffusion). Fashion
looks are similar at Saks and Target. Why?
Trickle up (upward flow). Fashions originate on
the street and move up. When?
Transforming Basics
into Fashion
Marketers change customers’
attitudes by transforming rational
buying motives reasons into
emotional ones.
They offer new features and benefits
such as color and texture, styling, and
details.
What Influences Fashion
Changes?
Technology Celebrities
Economic Hollywood
Conditions
Globalization
Social Conditions
Business Begins and Ends
with the Consumer
The apparel supply chain
has one purpose
 To provide an appealing
and desirable product
 To satisfy customer
needs, wants, or aspirations
The Fashion Industry
Today fashion is an integral part of our
economy and our culture.
It is hard to find a product that does not
contain some element of fashion!
Retailers promote fashion through
advertising, sales promotion, product
presentation and direct selling.
Fashion drives sales but makes the
retailer’s job more complex.
For some help with fashion issues
Consult WWW.fashion.about.com
There are videos on how to solve
fashion issues in your life.

Dress, Appearance and Performance: Is There A Relationship?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dress, Appearance and Performance: Is There A Relationship?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dress, Appearance and Performance: Is There A Relationship?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dress, Appearance and

Lorynn R. Divita, Assistant Professor

Any body covering, attachment or

Dress sends messages to every other

These messages cause others to

We dress in order to copy the cultural

Fashion is always a group behavior

Fashion change is never entirely arbitrary,

We usually dress to cloak ourselves in

Three communicative functions of

The transmission by symbols of

“There’s no fashion if nobody buys it”

Timeliness – Change; what is in fashion

Innovative communicators – People

These theories explain how fashions

You might also like