• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.780-793
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• 2011

This study investigates the breast cathexis and brassiere design preferences of Chinese citizens living in Hong Kong in order to provide marketing intelligence for bra manufacturers whose target customers are from this group of potential customers. A questionnaire composed of questions concerning breast shape evaluations, brassiere design preferences, and brassiere purchase and wear practices was administered to 165 Hong Kong Chinese female undergraduates(N=165). For an analysis of our data, we used the SPSS program(version 14.0). The results indicate that a majority of Hong Kong Chinese female undergraduates perceive their breasts as 'slightly smaller than normal' (n=59, 35.8%) or 'normal'(n=78, 47.3%) in volume, and 'conical'(n=77, 46.7%) or 'flat'(n=46, 27.9%). The results also suggest that Hong Kong Chinese women possess positive breast cathexis, with only a third of the respondents reporting dissatisfaction with their breasts. Women with dome-shaped breasts expressed the most positive breast cathexis, followed by those with cone-shaped breasts. The results also show that Hong Kong Chinese typically purchase 2 brassieres per year, which is a lower purchasing rate than their counterparts in Korea(Cha & Sohn, 2010) and Taiwan(ICT Life Style Research Center, 2004). The findings also demonstrate that the preferred brassiere color is black(57%), unlike in Korea, where women prefer skin-colored brassieres.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.33-41
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• 2014

The bra is one of the most essential pieces of women's underwear which gives support for the breasts and holds them in position to make better outer appearance of upper body. Despite being worn by most women of all ages, brassiere manufacturers often use brassiere sizes and shapes that are close to the body measurements of women in their 20s, which raises questions whether the bras are suitable for older women's physique. Also, many lingerie markets tend to center on designs and tastes of younger women, leaving those of older women are largely ignored in the manufacturing process despite the fact that their purchasing power and market shares are expected to grow in conjunction with the aging of the global population. Against this backdrop, this study attempts to provide information about bra preferences and breast perceptions of the middle-aged and older US women over the age of 40 years to help manufacturers better understand the bra purchasing priorities and bra elements of older women and prompt them to design bras with a high level of fit and comfort that are appreciated by the population groups as a means to ultimately acquire competitive edge in the fast growing aging market. An email survey and interviews were conducted with 301 US women who live in New York City. The findings of this study suggest that there are internal and external factors such as changes in body and breast shapes with age influence the level of fitness and effectiveness of bra components, and thus the responses to the questions on bra preferences and breast perceptions varied between the researched age groups.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1093-1101
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• 2009

To provide basic data to manufacture superior brassieres, we performed a survey on the wearing and buying habits, and preference of functions and materials of brassieres for 189 women subjects in their twenties. The results of this research are as follows; Style and size are the most important in purchasing brassieres. Flat breasted and sagging breasted subjects were dissatisfied in the fit of the upper cup. 70% of the subjects were ignorant of their brassiere size. Sagging breasted subjects were less satisfied with smoothness, softness, and weight when wearing their bras in comparison with the other types. Conical type breasts were common amongst women in their 20s. They are more likely to wear size 75A and 80A where the full bust girth is 10cm larger than the under-bust. They preferred demi cup brassieres with thin or moderate padding to full cup brassieres with thick padding. On the other hand, 56.8% of subjects wore brassieres all day. The subjects were dissatisfied with the slipping down of the shoulder straps. Large-breasted subjects were concerned more with dampness and the fit on the center front of the brassiere, and brassieres with too thick padding had a poor fit on the center front. Sports-brassieres which fit close to the skin and used stretchable fabric caused more itching and dampness and dissatisfaction in removal of the brassiere.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.60-70
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to survey the sales of brassieres positively those of elderly women's (aged 50 or older) ones in particular through 72 sales outlets and thereby, in order to present the more comfortable brassiere models which can serve to reinstate elderly women's constitution and provide the useful basic data to brassiere makers and distributors for their business. The results of this survey and the suggestions therefrom can be summarized as follows; 1) Brassieres usually sell at 10,000-20,000 wons, which allows for 15% or more margin rate. Brassieres are disposed through bargain sales once or twice every year where their price are discount 10% or higher. Meanwhile, the majority of the brassieres distributors maintain more than 15% stock rate. The accumulated stocks are primarily disposed through return to makers or bargain sales. About 15% of the brassieres sold are returned by consumers to distributors to be replaced. 2) About a half of distributors operate some or other types of sales education programs. Most of these distributors feel that their educational program have been effective which suggests the effectiveness of sales educational program. On the other hand, 83.3% of the distributors operate in-house repair shops, while the absolute majority of them brief their customers on how to wear brassieres or clean them. 3) Because elderly women's understanding of brassieres sizes is very poor, they tend to ask help of the 'sales people about their sizes before purchasing and proper one personally. In other words, it has been disclosed that old women respond positively to seller's recommendation for their brassiere sizes. 4) It has been found that the brasseries sizes purchased by old women most are. 85A, 90A and 85B in their order, which suggests that the most popular size for under bust circumference is 85~90cm, while their primary cup size is "A". 5) The type of brasseries favored most by elderly women is the "full-cup" type, while their most favorite brassiere design is a soft and simple one. The colors preferred most by them are white, beige and pink in their order. 6) When being consulted by elderly women, sales people experience various difficulties due to their poor understanding of sizes and complaint about prices. Lastly, it has been found through this survey that elderly women want to see some sales promotion material featuring their brassiere sizes and their production arid ask the brasseries makers to produce more diverse brasseries sizes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.673-685
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• 2010

This study evaluates the fitness of brassieres through size measurement, comparative pattern analysis, cross section map analysis, 3-D shape analysis number, and fitness evaluation with a focus on domestic and overseas brands. Experimental brassieres were selected as mold brassieres of 3/4 cup in 75A size that is considered a popular design. Brands of selected brassiere were 2 domestic brands (A, B), 1 licensed brand (C), and 2 overseas brands (D, E). Subjects were 8 women in their early 20's. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, reliability analysis, and factor analysis. The results were as follows; the size and pattern of brassieres showed a difference by each brand even though brassieres are the same design. In the wearing effect of brassieres, overseas brand brassieres played a major role in the breast-up effect, but they were not appropriate for the somatotype of Korean women. Domestic brand brassieres showed the volume-up effect, that was confirmed by the increasing bust circumference, bust depth when subjects wore it. In addition, the licensed brand brassieres showed the correction effect of body shape. Therefore, when purchasing a brassiere, the most important condition is to consider the individual characteristics of the somatotype. The results of factor analysis through a functional evaluation show that wearing satisfaction, size satisfaction, and the position of the bust point were important factors for fitness satisfaction and purchase.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.587-592
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• 2010

This paper deals with the performance evaluation of determining production size specifications. A customer who does not find the size specification he or she wants may purchase rather a larger or smaller one, but the purchasing desire decreases as the difference between the required and the prepared sizes increases. Introducing a generalized quality loss function which reflects how much the purchasing desire changes according to the difference, Park and Kim(1992) formulated a mathematical model for determining the size specifications so as to minimize the expected loss. Afterward the model has been applied to the determination of sizing system for mail order clothing and brassiere (Lee and Choi, 1996; Chun, et.al., 1996). The performance of the size determination method proposed by Park and Kim is evaluated in this paper. Usually the intervals between two successive size specifications are determined to be equal, but the size determination method compares favorably with the equidistance case, and more favorably if the population distribution is more skewed.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.72-86
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• 2008

This research focused on determining the brassiere preference index and wearing status of chinese ladies in their 20's living in the Shanghai region of China, to help Korean lingerie companies in their development of bras to successfully advance into the Chinese lingerie market. The main research tool of this research was various different surveys, and the results of the surveys were evaluated using the SPSS 12.0 for Window program. The results of the survey can be summarized as: 1) consciousness and satisfaction level of the body. The satisfaction level of the brest was proportionate to the size of the brassiere, thus, people showed higher level of satisfaction for cone-shaped, semi-circular shaped, prominent-shaped(exposing), lifted-shaped brest over flat-shaped brest. Concerning the relationship between the shape of the brest and the age of the customers, people under 22 years of age preferred flat-shaped, and those between 23-24 years of age preferring exposing and lifted brest, thus as females mature and get older, the size of their brest increases, thus having preference on more circular and lifted-shaped brest and bras. 2) Status of bra wearing in China When we look at the size of the bra in relation to the shape of the brest, those classified as having 'flat-shaped' brest showed a high proportion of A-cups, ranging from 75A, 70A and 80A, where as those of 'cone-shaped' brest represented high ration of B-cups, ranging from 75B, 75A and 80B. Majority of those classified as having 'semi-circular shaped' and 'prominent-shaped(exposing)' brest showed a high ration in the size 80 range. And vast majority of those classified into the 'lifted-shaped' brest group, were reported of having C-cup size bras. 3) Status of Bra Purchasing As people mature, the main reason behind choosing a bra was the actual design of the bra, where they emphasized the importance of aesthetic values. People classified as having 'flat-shaped' and 'cone-shaped' brest emphasized the importance of design and beauty, while those having 'semi-circular shaped,' 'prominent-shaped(exposing),' and 'liftedshaped' brest groups emphasized the importance of hygiene and the material(fabric) of the bra. This shows that when people have relatively smaller brest, they emphasize the importance of external appearance whereas when the size of the brest increases, they pay more attention to the function of the bra rather than the external appearance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.303-317
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• 2010

This study helps in the production of brassieres suitable for female adults by researching the actual wearing conditions and purchasing status, satisfaction rate, and preferences of female college students in their early 20's. The collected data was analyzed by a SPSSWIN 13.0 Program and the results of the research are as follows. 1. There is a noticeable difference between the breast satisfaction rate and breast size, in addition the satisfactory rate was higher in the normal breast size or a little ample size than in the very small or very big size. According to the shape, the satisfactory rate for the breast appeared to be high in the case of the recognition and evaluation of the hemisphere type than the flat, cone, pop out, and downward type. 2. For fitness, the looseness at the top of the cup (pressed between the breasts at the upper part of the front middle), pressing and looseness at the upper sides of the cup, inappropriate size of the cup, tightness of the wings, tightness at the bottom round of the breasts, the narrow width of the wire, wide space of the shoulder strings, and the sliding of the shoulder strings had problems that needed improvement. 3. The major priorities for purchasing brassieres are size, fitness, and aesthetic qualities. As a result, the size and the fitness are more important than the trend or decorations since the brassiere has the function to support the breasts that shows that hygiene and sanitation are recognized as an important standard for undergarment selection. The size and the fitness are important factors regardless of breast types in the examination of the selection standards of the brassieres for each breast type, but the cone and hemisphere types have higher preferences for design; the pop out type has more considerations for the material of the cloth. The result show that appearance is more important for smaller breasts, but the functionality of the brassier is more important than the appearance for medium and larger breast sizes.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.267-279
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• 2023

The current bra market and the purchasing behavior of women of the MZ generation in Korea are reviewed in this study. Therefore, basic data for bra product planning for women of the MZ generation are presented by investigating the wearing status and satisfaction. Through online surveys, 272 questionnaires were obtained and were analyzed through frequency analysis, cross-analysis, t-test, and variance analysis. Generation M and Generation Z share digital culture, but, due to age differences, they are compared by generation. There was, however, little significant difference between these groups. In addition, there was no significant difference between groups when factoring for the time of wearing, place of purchase, and material of bras. However, there were big differences between groups depending on whether bras had wires, lace, and their size, especially in body correction items. According to the results, it is pointless to target each generation when making a bra. Also, the young generation consumers are more interested in functionality than in the design compared to 10 years ago. It will improve consumer satisfaction if two different types of bras are produced; one that corrects the body and one that fits well even if the body is less corrected.