The elderly are faced with unique problems in regard to their clothing life, which require solutions from various perspectives. Given these facts, this study was aimed at reviewing and comparing the clothing behaviors of elderly people in order to provide some basic data which apparel businesses targeting the elderly might find useful. The elderly people aged 55 and older and living in Seoul were sampled at random for a survey. The survey used the methods of interview and self-administered questionnaire. 418 questionnaires were distributed to women, and 504 to men. The collected data were processed using SPSS/PC for factor analysis, correlation, single-factor ANOVA and T-test. The results of the survey can be summarized as follows ; 1. Among 8 factors determining the clothing behaviors of elderly people, the importance of clothes and manageability of clothes scored highest on average, while conformity with one's peers scored lowest. 2. The clothing behaviors of elderly people differed significantly depending on their demographic variables. 3. The level of satisfaction with one's life and appearance differed significantly depending on their demographic variables. 4. Clothing behaviors of elderly people were closely correlated with their level of satisfaction with their life and appearance.

Venture industry is becoming a driving force of Korean economy in the digital age of the 21 st century. The success of venture business depends on innovative technology, capital investment, and optimal environment providing industrial flexibility. Although venture business is starting to settle down in Korea, many barriers and challenges still remain. The current study analyzes the present status of venture business including fashion business and issues concerning the venture fund raising and provides prospective views to promote and improve venture industry in Korea.

The purpose of this research was to understand changes in Korean shrouds and to enhance practical usage of them by examing the items and shapes of Korean shrouds classified into two categories, traditional and current. We first examined the history of shrouds and funeral ceremonies from the prehistoric age to the Chos o n dynasty, and second, examined the items and shapes of traditional and current shrouds. As for the items, no big changes were recognized though there had been some changes in the way of using Keum(衾), Po(袍), and Kwadu(裏　). Overall, the items had becamesomewhat simplified The traditional shapes of shrouds are relatively well-maintained despite some changes in current shrouds Aksu, Yeomo(女帽), etc, which had been made easier to put on.

This research investigated the difference in fabric preference over formal wear attire of 1999 Spring/Summer season between Korean and American female consumers. 25 Korean and 25 U.S.A. fabrics were used as fabric samples, and the respondents for the survey included 50 Koreans and 50 Americans in the 20s and 40s age groups. All six population groups showed similar dislike rankings toward the total fabrics (n=50). When the Korean fabrics and the U.S.A. fabrics were considered separately, the 20s and 40s age groups, especially between Korean 20s and Korean 40s, showed significant similarities in the dislike rankings. When the dislike preferences between Korean fabrics and U.S.A. fabrics were examined for different population groups, all the groups showed somewhat similar dislike rankings and in all cases U.S.A. fabrics were disliked more than the Korean fabrics. The most apparent difference in the physical characteristics of disliked fabrics was observed in jabric color. The Americans, especially the 40s age group, disliked fabrics with dark compound colors, whereas the Koreans in all age groups dislike fabrics close to bright pure colors.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of demographic characteristics and general buying characteristics of knitwear consumers on evaluation criteria and information source searching. In this study, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to young career women and female undergraduate students. Of 580 questionnaires, 496 were used in the following analysis. The data was analyzed with the SPSS package. The research method used factor and reliability analysis to segment consumers by their knitwear evaluation criteria. T-test, one-way ANOVA and χ²were used to characterize the impact of characteristics of the consumer on knitwear evaluation criteria and information source searching in buying knitwear. The results of this study were as follows. First, the information sources of consumers were significantly different depending on their demographic characteristics(age). According to the difference in relationship between the age of consumers and information sources, the younger the consumer, the more information in fashion magazine, the older, in fashion advertisement on catalog. Second, the knitwear evaluation criteria of consumers was classified according to six characteristics - quality, price, aesthetic, situation, self-expression and external. Their knitwear evaluation criteria were significantly different depending on demographic characteristics(job, age, education, marital status) and the general buying characteristics of knitwear(annual knitwear/clothing buying expense and frequency). Career women and married women placed significant importance on practical aspects like quality and price characteristics, while undergraduate students and single women placed significant importance on practical aspects like quality and price characteristics, while undergraduate students and single women placed significant importance on aesthetic and self-expression characteristics. Also, a group with higher annual knitwear/clothing buying expense and frequency considered aesthetic and self-expression characteristics more important. The lower the annual knitwear/clothing buying expense and frequency, the higher a group considered quality and price characteristics more important.

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the factors of consumer dissatisfaction with backpacks and to examine if the levels of dissatisfaction with the factors differ significantly among the groups determined by demographic characteristics and purchase behaviors. The differences in the purchase behaviors of backpacks were also tested among the groups determined by demographic characteristics. Data collection was consisted of two pilot tests and the final test. The questionnaire was distributed to 40 students of universities in Seoul from July 1 to 13 in 2000 and 351 were usable. Data were analyzed by factor analysis, t-test, χ²analysis, MANOVA, ANAOVA, Duncan's multiple range tests using SPSS PC/sup +/ Program. Five factors were formulated : durability, ease-of-care/color fastness, dimensional stability, wearability and design. Subjects were most dissatisfied with the dimensional stability of backpacks. Different demographic characteristics and purchase behaviors resulted in significantly different levels of dissatisfaction with selected factors. Significant differences were also found in selected selection criteria and purchase behaviors among groups determined by some demographic characteristics.

Today's advanced transport and mass media enables people to access easily and frequently to traditional costumes from different countries in the world. Consequently, fashion designers who are fascinated by the variety and beauty of traditional costumes, tend to adapt them to modern fashion design. The continuous study of traditional costumes at such time contains a meaning as a source of inspiration for the creation of a new fashion design. Therefore, among various costumes of the world, this study will focus on the costume of Palestine, that is situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Afria and has exchanged various historical cultures with other cultural regions. It, especially, expects to provide a unique idea in the material modification field of today's fashion design by examining mainly the embroidery ornament which is the most distinctive feature of Palestinian costume. The conclusion was revealed that Palestinian women's costume largely consists of embroidered silk and cotton garments with a V-slitted square panel (gabeh) attached to the chest part. And a variety of luxurious embroidery was employed to emphasize different parts of the dress. These embroideries differ from area to area. Especially the embroidery from Bethlehem was well-known in many places and influenced those of other regions.