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http://dx.doi.org/10.5850/JKSCT.2015.39.5.755

Does Economy Dictate Hemline Move? -Verification of the Hemline Theory-  

Ahn, Insook (Dept. of Fashion Design, Chung-Ang University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles / v.39, no.5, 2015 , pp. 755-764 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study investigates if the relationships between hemline and macro-economic factors (rGDP, recession, and unemployment) are still applicable as well as analyzes time lags that reflect economic factors on the hemline index using U.S. data. The hemline theory and fashion cyclical theory were applied to propose the relationships studied. The data for the hemline measurements of women's day-wear were obtained from US Vogue spring and fall editions from 1950 to 2014. Data were standardized by dividing the length from shoulder to hemline by the length from the shoulder to ankle. I aggregated 2260 samples and hemline data to create a yearly average. This study used OLS of Stata 13 program to explore the relationship between macro-economic factors and hemline. The main findings were the recession and unemployment influenced hemline length for four years in a positive direction. Furthermore, the effects of previous recession and unemployment on the current hemline were very close to the significant level respectively. This finding supports the hemline theory in that a recessionary economy is related to longer hemlines and hemlines become shorter in flourishing economic periods.
Keywords
Hemline; rGDP; Unemployment; Recession;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 3  (Citation Analysis)
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