• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.327-338
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• 2001

The purpose of this thesis is to study the aspects of sex identity in the contemporary mens fashion expressed through sexual image and taste in the half of twentieth century. The aspects of sex identity expression in the contemporary mens fashion can be classified by image, that is, homosexual, heroic, bisexual, and fetish. 1. The homosexual image has shown the tendency to emphasize the masculinity since 1950.60s. It can be found in \"Cowboys costume\" which is typical of American traditional fashion, and jeans and underwear fashion expressed by muscular men has homosexual characteristics which contain narcissism. 2. Based on mens traditional gender role, the heroic image emphasizes mens physical characteristics and expresses tough and offensive masculine beauty in mens suit which is free from the authority and formality. 3. The bisexual image denied the division of gender role by costume and destroyed the traditional sex model by resolutely applying womens costume such as skirts to mens fashion. 4. The fetish image is similar to bisexual image in that they wear womens costume, but different in that it expresses sexual desire or fantasy. It is expressed through brilliant color, leather and metal ornaments, and sensual element of women which emphasizes \"body\". This shows the sex identity of contemporary men who want more sensible and free life.sible and free life.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.43-55
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• 2010

With the sex role changes in the post-modern society, men are becoming increasingly interested in appearance and their bodies. Male muscles in particular, which also is a visual manifestation of masculine strengths, has become the focal interest for those men who care about appearance management. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which Korean culture emphasizes muscles in defining masculine body, and to understand Korean men's perception of muscle building and their bodies. For this purpose, a content analysis and a survey were conducted. The content analysis aimed at identifying the ideal masculine image represented in the ads featured in male fashion magazines. For the purpose of comparison, U.S. magazines were also examined. The result showed that male models' images shown in Korean magazines were not significantly different from the male images in American magazines in terms of the body size, muscularity, and the nudity of the models. A survey to 339 men aged between 20 to 50 living in Seoul area was conducted to explore the motives of muscle building, the criteria men use to evaluate muscled bodies, and the influence of muscle building on body satisfaction. Factor analysis and analyses of variances followed by Scheffe multiple comparisons were conducted for data analysis. The results showed that physical appearance improvement is one of the motives of muscle building especially for younger men. Muscle building in general is found to contribute positively to men's body satisfaction.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.676-690
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to investigate the symbolic meaning in body image and fashion style portrayed in Korea and American movies in aspects of sex, race, nature, and technology. The researcher analyzed movies in Korea and USA, and the results were as follows. In aspects of sex, movies portrayed new masculinity and femininity escaped from previous gender stereotypes, and the clothing styles characterized sex identity and sex roles. In aspects of race, more various races appeared in America movies than Korea＇s, and the appearance and stereotypes related with race were blurred by the globalization and the change of film market environments. In aspects of nature, Korea movie portrayed the human being as lyrical appearance in nature, and America movie expressed the human as a strong men conquering the nature in adventure movie or super human image combined with nature thing which endowed nature＇s superior characteristics to human body in fantasy and science fiction movies. In aspects of technology, the human bodies were described as cyborg, alien, or super human, which symbolized the do-identification in digital world, de-boundarization between human and machines, and the human＇s uncertainty.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1-12
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• 2009

This study looked into the characteristics of participants in dance sports, which is being positioned to be one of everyday athletic activities among people, and investigated the actual purchasing of dance sports wear with the subjects of its participants as a preceding study for the development of dance sports wear to consider their characteristics. The questionnaire method was used, and descriptive and crosstabulation analysis was conducted with a spss 12.0. The findings are as follows. 1. As the results that examine general characteristics of dance sports participants, the number of those in their 20's was the largest, while the number of women was larger than that of men. Regarding the practicing period, those of one year or longer up to 4 years occupied the largest proportion, and the rate of Latin American dance participants was larger than that of modern dance ones. 2. As to the actual purchasing of dance sports wear, the purchase motivations were found to be in the 'contest participation' for teenagers and those in their 20's, while those in their 40's or over purchased their wear for the purposes of 'following the fashion' or 'club gatherings.' As for the sources of information at the time of purchase, teenagers relied on internet and those of 20's or over got the information through the persons nearby. As their ages got higher, the ready-made sports wear was preferred, while as their practicing periods got longer modern dance participants purchased the sports wear of higher prices. Participants in their 30's and those practicing 7 years or longer possessed a comparatively larger number of dance sports wear and they considered importantly of designs and fit at the time of purchase. Therefore, the development of dance sports wear designs should be made to accord with the participants' age groups so that they might be sensitive to the fashion and clearly represent their personality for the junior group and durable enough to last long for the senior group.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to compare consumers' post acquisition behavior by analyzing the influence of consumer involvement, product price and discount. The data were collected through a survey based on three stages: two pre-tests and a main survey conducted in the U.S and Korea. A total of 520 participants from each country were used. The results of this study are as follows. First, clothing involvement, price and discount had no difference, but there was relationship on discount rate between countries. In addition, there were gender differences in involvement between the countries, and Korea showed a significant relationship in price discount. In general, the involvement of both American and Korean students was high and women had higher involvement than men indicating that women showed more interest in clothing than men. The discount rate was higher in the U.S and had a wider range of discount than Korea. Second, consumer involvement and price discount affected the satisfaction of Korean students whereas only involvement affected the satisfaction of American students. This study will extend understanding of consumer satisfaction between Korea and the United States. With the results of this study, apparel marketers will be able to understand how consumer involvement, price and discount may influence consumer satisfaction and develop effective marketing strategies for their profit.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.91-100
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of T-shirt as a movie costume on the modem mass fashion. The way of study is to analyze the changes of men's image with T-shirt as Hollywood actors costume in 50's and 60's. The costumes create the characters with meanings and symbols moreover they lead fashion as well as promoting artistic value of films. At the end of the 19th century, this shirt learnt the ropes in the U.S. Navy well before it won the hearts of sportsmen and workers alike, with its twin virtues of comforts and hygiene. When American soldiers returned home after World War II showing their T-shirts in the sweltering heat of the Tropics, their shirts were as heroic as they were. Furthermore the new stars of Hollywood, going by such names as Marlon Brando and James Dean, gave the T-shirt its rebel cachet and showed the whole world. Be it tom open on Marlon Brando's torso in Elia Kazan's 'A Streetcar Named Desire', or peeping out dazzlingly white from under James Dean's red jacket in 'Rebel Without a Cause', the T-shirt flaunted its sexuality and emanated the sweet smell or revolt. It would be the banner of rebellion for a whole generation. The T-shirt had finally found its way into the history of fashion and was there to stay.d was there to stay.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.75-95
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• 2023

This study aims to investigate the color characteristics and utilization of Amekaji fashion in the domestic casual market, with a focus on menswear. A total of 1,882 color data were extracted from 11 representative brands of Amekaji. This results of the study showed that PB, Bk, YR, and Y colors were highly utilized in the overall color, and dkg, g, ltg, and p tones were highly utilized. In particular, R color was highly utilized in the point color, as it was developed into six tones, including v, with high saturation. The analysis by the brand showed that the highest number of colors were extracted from 'Kapital', which is famous for its vintage-style patchwork and dyeing, and that 'PB' and 'Bk' were heavily utilized. By the item, PB colors were mainly utilized for denim, and shirts were diversified with 9 tones. W, a neutral color, was mainly used on clothing tops such as shirts, knits, and T-shirts. This study provides valuable insights into the color sensitivity of Amekaji fashion, which can be used as a useful resource for design development and product planning in the industry. As a future study, we suggest analysis of the utilization of Amekaji colors in the Korean men's casual market along with American and Japanese brands.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.1-18
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to investigate Modernism of Gabrielle Chanel in respect to her fashion business. Chanel always considered the work of a fashion designer 'a technique, a craft, a trade' and chastised couturiers who looked upon themselves as artists. She was the first to cater to the public in its broader sense and to produce standard which appealed to every taste, the first to democratize the art of dressmaking for purely economic reasons. The results were as follows; 1. Chanel personified ~his new spirit of independence and evolved a style of dress for the modern, liberated woman. 2. Chanel excelled at fabrics, their interpretation, and an ability to use them. She had taken a humble material, one that was used by men and that they had shunned, and turned it into a fashionable fabric. In the process she also accelerated the growth of the ready-to-wear industry for it was a fabric within the financial reach of the majority of woman who wanted to dress fashionably but were not well off. 3. Chanel thought black chic and would never go out of fashion. As American Vogue for 1 October 1926 prognosticated, her little black dress became a kind of uniform. 4. Chanel represented an exception among couturiers because she was flattered that her styles were so popular and widely copied. She believed that her style would be affirmed by high-street copies-after all, copying is the sincerest form of flattery. 5. Chanel changed the concept of costume jewellery. It was not an original idea of Chanel's. Whereas Poiret had pioneered the original idea of costume jewellery, it was Chanel's avant-garde way with it not to mention her usual deceptive simplicity and supreme artistry that made costume jewellery evolve a successful and lucrative part of the fashion industry.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.657-669
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• 2006

This study is to investigate the previous cases of plural eclecticism through the works of Vivienne Westwood, who contributed to the spread of innovative and eclectic English fashion out to the world as well as to review plurality and its phenomena since the 20th century more systematically. In terms of research methodology, the phenomena of plural eclecticism were examined from social and cultural perspectives, whereas bibliographic research and case study were performed for the phenomena of eclecticism in fashion. From the perspective of plural eclecticism, the results from analyzing the works of Vivienne Westwood by the divisions of temporal eclecticism, spatial eclecticism, and contingent eclecticism are described in the following. First, Vivienne Westwood emphasized historicism tendency of temporal eclecticism. Her efforts to try to modernize history went beyond ages and social classes including men's clothing, prostitutes' costumes, craft items, and dresses for royal family. Second, her spatial eclecticism was reflected on the first collection themes inspired by the American Indians or borrowed from the names of Voodoo in the Tropics. Finally, infra-fashion as an expression of contingent eclecticism of Vivienne Westwood's works can be interpreted as plural eclecticism which shows contingent eclecticism and historic eclecticism at the same time. This study aimed at proving preceding implications concerning recent plural eclecticism through the analysis of the works of Vivienne Westwood who tried a radical design of plural eclecticism in an effort to modernize the tradition of England in the circumstances where a number of trends and styles exist together, with their own uniqueness and values.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.83-103
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• 2013

This paper focuses on the function of suicidal images in the history of art including literature. Death has been romanticized or repoliticized into an existential act of defiance and rebellion in literary works, so questions remain about the correlation between literary suicide and the essence of suicide. Although Jacques Ranciere insists that the order of art contrasts with the order of common people whose acts and gestures can express either their specific purposes nor the rationalities of their frustration, literary suicide reflects the outside life of readers. In fact, images of suicide produces the order of things about the real world. William Shakespeare's Hamlet handled two oppositional self-murder significantly. As Ron M. Brown pointed out, Hamlet, by choosing confrontation, seeks out an end which is voluntary, thus he avoids self-destruction and feels triumph of heroic fashion. Ophelia's self-chosen death stems from loss, frailty and the disintegration of reason, which demeans the act and diminishes her from the tragic to the pathetic(16). In the $19^{th}$ century, the resurrection of Ophelia acted as the context for later periods where life itself is fictionalized from the differing periods of network of signifier and texts. Finally, in Ophelia's case, fiction became life(Brown 285). Her suicidal image was fixed in the Victorian Culture whose visual discourse was strikingly similar to that of the men. Likewise, the ambiguities of the suicide became intertwined with the social, cultural issues of a certain period, and the paradigm of suicide was conformed to the changing needs of successive generations. However, if literary art understands that a European culture grappled with the almost impossible task and coming to terms with this strangest and most persistent of phenomena, it will be able to focus on of the multi-layered suicide by recognizing the inherent instability of the verbal sign which cannot reveal the design and grammar of truth.