• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1009-1020
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• 2009

This study aims to express the androgynous image via shirts as a fashion item. Shirts are widely worn as a fashion item regardless of sex and age, with growing importance as a casual outer, with the increase in leisure activities driven by the recent implementation of the 5-Day Work Week system in Korea. As for the theoretical background, the study was reviewed previous studies of books, thesis, a series of publication, and the Internet sites on this topic. Through a careful analysis of these previous studies, it designed and made shirts that inspired by androgynous image. Conclusions of this study are as follows: First, the study found that meanings of symbolism in clothing continue to change, not fixed at all, depending on historic and cultural environments, and so does symbolism for femininity and masculinity of clothing. Second, shirts are widely worn as a fashion item regardless of sex and age, with growing importance as a casual outer, with the increase in leisure activities driven by the recent implementation of the 5-Day Work Week system in Korea. Third, two patters were used for the work in this study in order to emphasize its form, along with mono color white and stripe patterns. For materials, cotton and blend as a most basic material for a shirt were used with unique variations in the form. Fourth, decorative details or trimming such as ribbon tying methods, shirring, attaching in layers, and irregular pleading widely used for women's wear were applied, and silhouettes with strong drape feelings were used to add feminine feature to men' shirts, in an effort to propose a fashion design of the androgynous look. Fifth, clothes proposed in this study are different from feminine clothing item blouse, because they are androgynous shirts mixing masculinity and femininity. Stiff pads were used in collars and cuffs characteristics of men's traditional shirts to maintain masculinity of a shirt, and design was developed by adding feminine decorative elements, which is different from women's blouse.