The Sproles'model of fashion adoption was selected to examine the adoption of the short skirt among employed women. Sproles'concepts of adopter identity and motivations were operationalized using measures from previous clothing-related studies of employed women. Results indicated that a large majority of the sample rejected the short skirt at the same time that retailers were heavily promoting the new style. Adopters and nonadopters differed significantly with respect to only two of the variables studied-age and perceived appropriateness of short skirts for work. Although factors not included in the study appeared to impact on the adoption process for employed women, Sproles' model allowed for the identification of variables which had value in predicting adoption of a new style. Theory-based empirical studies by retailers could be helpful in reducing the risk inherent in fashion marketing.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Behling, D. (1985-86). Fashion change and demographics: A model. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 4 (1), 18-24.
2.
Blumer, H. (1969). Fashion: From class differentiation to collective selection. The Sociological Quarterly, 10 (1), 275-291.
3.
Cassill, N., & Drake, M.F. (Fall 1987a). Apparel selection criteria related to female consumers' lifestyle. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal , 6 (1), 20-28.
4.
Cassill, N., & Drake, M.F. (1987b). Employment orientation's influence on lifestyle and evaluative criteria for apparel. Home Economics Research Journal, 16, 23-35.
5.
Conant, J., & Wingert, P. (1987, April 27). Hold on to those hems. Newsweek, pp. 69-70.
6.
Dillman, D. (1978). Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method . New York: John Wiley.
7.
Douglas, S.P., & Solomon, M.R. (1983). Clothing for female executives: Fashion or fortune . In P. E. Murphy & G. R. Laczniak (Eds.), AMA educators proceedings (pp. 127-132). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
8.
Ericksen, M.K., & Sirgy, M.J. (1985). Achievement motivation and clothing preferences of white-collar working women. In M. R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 357-367). Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.
9.
Fairhurst, A., Good, L., & Gentry, J. (1989). Fashion involvement: An instrument validation procedure. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 7 (3), 10-14.
10.
A fashion revolt. (1988,December5). Newsweek , pp. 60-65.
11.
Forsythe, S. (1985). Analyzing the changing market for women's and children's apparel: Implications for small retail firms. In Center for Business and Economic Studies monograph (pp. 85-105). Athens : University of Georgia, Small Business Development Centers, Institute for Business.
12.
Kaiser, S.B. (1990). The social psychology of clothing (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
13.
King, C.W., & Ring, L.J. (1979). The dynamics of style and taste adoption and diffusion: Contributions from fashion theory. Advances in Consumer Research , 7 (1), 13-16.
14.
Koch, K.E., & Dickey, L.E. (1988). The feminist in the workplace: Applications to a contextual study of dress. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 7 (1), 46-53.
15.
Mason, J.B., & Bellenger, D. (1973-74). Analyzing high fashion acceptance. Journal of Retailing, 49 (4), 79-94.
16.
Michals, D. (1988, October 25). SA likes the longer story. Women's Wear Daily, pp. 8-9.
17.
Mini market, ahem! (1987, November 9). Fortune , pp. 8-9.
18.
Press, S.J., & Wilson, S. (1978). Choosing between logistic regression and discriminant analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association , 73, 699-705.
19.
Rabolt, N., & Drake, M.F. (1984-85). Reference person influence on career women's dress. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 3, (2), 11-19.
20.
Reynolds, F., & Darden, W. (1973). Fashion theory and pragmatics: The case of the midi. Journal of Retailing, 49 (1), 51-62.
21.
Robertson, T.S. (1971). Innovative behavior and communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
22.
Rogers, E.M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations. New York: The Free Press.
23.
Shim, S., & Drake, M.F. (1988). Apparel selection by employed women: A typology of information search patterns. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 6 (2), 1-9.
24.
Sloan, P., & Graham, J. (1988, April). Skirting matters for fall. Advertising Age, p. 32.
25.
Solomon, M.R., & Douglas, S.P. (1985). The female clotheshorses from aesthetics or tactics? In M. R. Solomon (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 387-401). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
Sproles, G.B. (1981). Perspectives of fashion. Minneapolis : Burgess.
28.
Statistical abstracts of the United States. ( 1988). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings . Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
29.
Tigert, D.J., Ring, L.J., & King, C.W. (1976). Fashion involvement and buying behavior: A methodological study. Advances in Consumer Research, 3 (1), 481-484.
30.
Toufexis, A. (1988, April 25). A rousing no to minipulation. Time, pp. 91, 94.
31.
U.S. Department of Commerce. (1980). Standard occupational classification manual. p.10. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
32.
Walker, S.H., & Duncan, D.B. (1967). Estimation of the probability of an event as a function of several independent variables. Biometrika, 54, (1), 167-179.
33.
Winakor, G. (1988). Research in fashion merchandising: The need for a theoretical base. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal , 7 (1), 31-35.
