A Study on the Clothing and Purchase Behavior for the Handicapped

The goal of this study is to investigate the current conditions of apparels for the handicapped, identify the problems and recommend what are appropriate and functional apparels for the handicapped. The research method was to statistically process a survey on 200 handicapped by frequency analysis and cross tabulations. The study results are as follows. First, the degree of discomfort in daily activities was shown during toilet use and eating. Among clothes categories owned by the handicapped, most discomfort was felt in the order of everyday clothes, workout clothes, underwear, athletic shoes and working clothes. Second, children's clothing was most commonly preferred clothing style by handicap for the dwarfism. Comfortable clothes was preferred and relaxed, decent, and unique styles were preferred in the order. Soft feeling texture and absorbency was considered important as preferred clothing material. Third, sizes and designs were improvements wanted by the handicapped in apparel in the order. In addition, they wanted to wear apparel sensitive to the fashion just like the non-handicapped without showing the handicapped parts. There is a necessity for the government or municipalitiesto establish and run protected workplaces or independent workplaces for those who have studied apparel. The field is thought to require continuous and numerous follow-up studies such as researches on different physiques, standardization of apparel, segmentation of sizes and methods of producing custom apparel by function and handicap.