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Plus-size Women and Appearance Management with a Focus on Clothing -Grounded Theory Based Exploratory Study-

근거이론에 기초한 플러스 사이즈 여성 소비자의 의류를 중심으로 한 외모관리에 관한 탐색적 연구

  • Yu, Haekyung (Dept. Fashion & Industry, Incheon National University) ;
  • Ko, Sunyoung (Human Science Research Center, Incheon National University) ;
  • Kim, Chanju (Dept. Fashion & Industry, Incheon National University)
  • 유혜경 (인천대학교 패션산업학과) ;
  • 고선영 (인천대학교 생활과학연구소) ;
  • 김찬주 (인천대학교 패션산업학과)
  • Received : 2012.09.17
  • Accepted : 2012.11.23
  • Published : 2013.04.30

Abstract

This study explores various issues of appearance management behavior for plus-size women in Korea with a focus on clothing. In-depth interviews and focused group interviews were conducted with 24 plus-size women. The interviews were recorded and the transcripts were analyzed based on grounded theory. Discomfort was the main phenomenon involving the experience of plus-size women related to appearance management. Psychological as well as physiological/physical discomfort, unmet needs (regarding clothing) and inconvenient shopping experiences were frequently mentioned. Causal conditions for discomfort were obesity, social stigma, and an underdeveloped clothing market for plus-size consumers. Interviewees developed strategies to cope with discomfort (suppressing clothing need, loss of interest in clothing, diversion from clothing needs, sole focus on physical comfort, dress-up and increase in shopping channels, and change in shopping patterns) that depended on contextual conditions (such as duration of obesity and attitudes of people) close to the interviewees. The discomfort of interviewees decreased or continued depending on if they became ambivalent about their obese condition, lost weight, or utilized plus-size specialty stores.

Keywords

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