• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.780-791
• /
• 2013

This paper is concerned with the development of the silk trade and in particular with silk-ikat production. Early origins are explained and issues relating to the development of long-distance trade are discussed. The principal trading participants are identified and the focus is turned to silk-ikat production in Central Asia. It is recognised that the vast bulk of trade, along what became known as the 'Silk Route' (or 'Silk Road'), did not involve straight-forward or direct exchange between powers to the far east of the route and powers to the far west, but rather was done in stages between adjacent or not too distant locations. Diffusion of ideas was not therefore immediate and operational at one eastern or western extreme of a trading network but, rather, was a gradual process influencing adjacent participants, at stages between the geographic extremes over a long period of time.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.206-219
• /
• 2013

In this study, it is explored how fashion brand slogans are categorized by linguistic characteristics and which linguistic characteristic is effective to improve consumer responses. Only 28% out of 1,346 fashion brands that are investigated are using slogans. Sportswear and men's wear are two product categories more often adopting slogans. A total of 11,113 consumers participated in the experimental study to evaluate slogan characteristics (familiarity, understandability, newness, pleasure), slogan attitude, and brand recall of 30 slogan-brand sets that were categorized by Park's 10 linguistic characteristics. In findings, slogans generating positive attitudes toward slogans and a good rate of brand recall tend to have no brand name in slogan, be written in the second-person view, include a futuristic message, and have information weighted on specialties. Slogan typology suggested based on results may be used for the future research as a basic guideline for the research on fashion brand slogans.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.301-308
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this research is to classify fashion consumers based on their attitudes, goals and values of life. It is to understand what drives human behaviors as well as to learn the various directions people live in society using Bangkok people as the samples. Online and on-site questionnaire survey is employed. Questions are designed to focus on 7 aspects of life, ranging from private life, professional life, social life, politics, culture and information interaction, household business and finance, and consumption of products and services in the main market. The research results can be used to classify consumers' lifestyles into 20 major and numerous minor groups of lifestyle. Lifestyles of male and female samples are compared to investigate their different patterns and directions. Fashion trend diagram is used to analyze the overlapped lifestyles of mass consumers. The lifestyle segmentations would benefit to designer and fashion branding team in understanding their target group deeper inside the background of their behaviors.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.629-638
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study is to predict skincare behavior from the perspective of theories about planned behaviors and a systematic structure for identifying influences on human behavior; Consequently, this study attempted to undertake a concrete analysis of influences on skin care behavior. The results showed that: an attempt was made to analyze structural equation modeling as to whether or not to apply Ajzen's theory of planned behavior to skin care behavior. This study found the possibility that the theory of planned behavior might be applicabled to the research model composed of skin care attitude, the norms of skin care, behavioral control on skin care, behavioral intentions of skin care, and skin care behavior at the appropriate level in their entirety. This study found that external control factors of skin care behavior had the highest effect on skin care behavior among other factors.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제21권5호
• /
• pp.699-707
• /
• 2013

The natural dyeing of silk fabric with Thuja orientalis extract was investigated. The proper colorant concentration, dyeing temperature, dyeing time, and pH for the dyeing of silk fabric with Thuja orientalis extract were 100% v/v, $80^{\circ}C$, 80 minutes and pH 3, respectively. In various mordanted methods, the K/S values of mordanted methods were higher than those of unmordanted methods with increasing mordant concentration. Light colorfastness and washing colorfastness of Cu or Fe mordanted silk fabric was improved by mordanting. The antibacterial properties of dyed and mordanted silk fabric showed a high reduction rate, and Thuja orientalis extract was showed effective bacterial reduction. The dyed and mordanted fabric with Thuja orientalis extract showed a superior ultraviolet protection property.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제20권3호
• /
• pp.443-450
• /
• 2012

Based upon a questionnaire survey, this research study focuses on the Japanese apparel manufacturers. The aim is to understand the characteristics that make up the marketing strategys of Japanese small to medium sized apparel manufacturers. The authors generate exploratory hypotheses, which are tested via statistical analysis of data obtained from a questionnaire survey. The hypotheses tested include, the relationships between "High Value Added" strategys and factors involved with manufacturing and marketing channels. High Value Added strategys relate to the manufacturers' competitive behaviors that create high and new value for their products. The results indicate that High Value Added strategys have positive relationships for domestic outsources, the number of outsources, use of directly operated shops and the orientation for sales in overseas markets.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제20권3호
• /
• pp.430-442
• /
• 2012

This study focused on how the U.S. apparel companies use social media as a new marking channel. On Facebook Wall the contents of messages in English initiated by companies and consumers were investigated and categorized by using content analysis. Chi-square analysis and t-test were utilized to compare the use of social media by companies with higher and lower business performance. The majority of messages initiated by apparel companies gave their consumers useful information about new products, promotions, and recruiting. On the other hand, messages initiated by consumers contained a variety of content related to companies, users, and products. Apparel companies with lower business performance were more actively engaged in posting messages and responding to consumers. The results will be helpful in employing social media to build new marketing strategies through direct communications with consumers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.955-964
• /
• 2014

This study is to explore the relationships between sensibility images of mannequins and apparel shops. A total of 113 consumers participated in experiments with photo stimuli of 2 mannequin types (realistic and semi-abstract mannequins) and 4 brand shops of women's casual wear. In results, luxurious, chic, strong, sexy, and young images were more strongly perceived from realistic mannequins than semi-abstract mannequins whereas simple and soft images were more strongly perceived from semi-abstract mannequins than realistic mannequins. Shops using realistic mannequins indicated strong images whereas shops using semi-abstract mannequins presented soft, comfortable, and feminine images. In the correlation analysis, luxurious, chic, strong, and young images of realistic mannequins were consistent with shop images using realistic mannequins. Also, luxurious, chic, soft, comfortable, and feminine images of semi-abstract mannequins were consistent with shop images using semi-abstract mannequins. In order to clearly communicate brand concepts with consumers, mannequin that is a key element of visual merchandising in the apparel shop, should be carefully selected, considering the accordance with shop image.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.965-978
• /
• 2014

To determine the parameters to be considered when designing lower-body apparel, we analyzed the lower-body figures of adult women in their early 20s from Shanghai, China, using 3-dimensional whole body scanner. Thirty-nine lower-body-related measurements were used to analyze the figures of 210 Chinese women. Obesity and height of the lower body, length from waist to crotch, shape of abdomen, and leg bone length were analyzed. Factor analysis was performed and the results were classified into three clusters. The first cluster describes the obesity of the lower body, the second denotes small hip measurement, and the third describes slim and long legs. This is the first study to quantify figure analysis of the lower body of Chinese women using 3-dimensional body measurements. The findings of this study will provide concrete information regarding crotch width, crotch length, inseam, outseam, waist slope, etc., for designing trouser patterns for Chinese adult women.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.890-898
• /
• 2014

This study focuses on the effects of dyeing conditions and mordanting conditions, changes of colorfastness, antibacterial properties and UV protective of silk fabric dyed with Laminaria japonica extracts. A natural colorant was extracted from Laminaria japonica using distilled water as extractants. According to the results, maximum dye uptake (K/S) were obtained at 100% V/V colorant concentration, $80^{\circ}C$, 60 min and pH 2. Silk fabric was dyed with Laminaria japonica extract at $80^{\circ}C$ for 60 min with pre-treatment or post-treatment of various metal salts as mordants. The Laminaria japonica extracts produced yellow hue on silk fabric in pre-mordanting and manifested green yellow hue mordanted with $CuSO_4$ in post-mordanting method. Mordant $CuSO_4$ for silk fabric was found to give good light fastness (rating 4). UV protection property did not increase significantly upon mordanting.