• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.854-868
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• 2012

The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of clothing values, self-perceived physical attractiveness on sensuous clothing behavior(see-through, body emphasis, body exposure, skinny), and also to figure out if any causal relationships existed among variables and whether demographic variables affected these relationships. For data collection, a questionnaire was administrated to 500 female college students in Gwangju City, Korea. The results were summarized as follows. First, clothing values were divided into six factors: religious clothing value, political clothing value, exploratory clothing value, social clothing value, economic clothing value, aesthetic clothing value. Sensuous clothing behaviors were divided into four factors: see-through, body emphasis, body exposure, skinny. Overall clothing values had positive effects on sensuous clothing behaviors. Second, self-perceived physical attractiveness turned out to have significant effects on overall sensuous clothing behaviors. Third, clothing values turned out to have significant effects on overall self-perceived physical attractiveness. This study confirmed that clothing values and self-perceived physical attractiveness turned out to have significant effects on sensuous clothing behavior.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.869-882
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to obtain the patent for extracting the color map and color chip from the color image source and to develop color image map for fashion design. For this study, fashion image maps were produced from 210 pictures with Adobe Photoshop CS2 program targeting 200 university students from 2004 to 2006. The procedures for extracting the color map and color chip included providing the color image, the filtering phase, the segmentation phase, the extraction phrase, and the arrangement phase. Based on the results of this study, patent application was made to KIPO(Korean Intellectual Property Office) for this invention. The following effects can be expected from the standpoint of design based on the case study. First, it is a straight forward procedure to extract a color chip and color map from a color image. Second, it can be applied to various art works based on the recombination of colors as representative colors can be extracted from the related color image that combines a variety of colors. Third, desired colors can be selected based on the taste cluster classification or sensibility axis of design by extracting the representative color from the color image.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.923-936
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• 2012

Apparel companies define their target customers to integrate consumers' needs into their product development processes. The sizing standards play a significant role in ready-to-wear garment business. Consumers' body build and sizes are different according to gender, age, and body type. The consumers' morphological feature of the one geographical area has changed with immigration, aging, and lifestyle change. In this study the way of defining body types in the standard garment sizing systems published in USA., UK, Germany, Japan, and Korea were compared. The results of this study show that most of the systems classified the body types by the index value. The chest-waist drop value was used for men's body type classification. Women's body types were defined by hip proportion. The hip-bust drop value was used for it. German and European garment sizing systems provide a wide range of men's body types. US men's garment sizes are developed for very conservative body type. US women's garment sizing system has had clearly defined women's body types. The Misses body types projected in the US garment sizing system had changed as women's waist girth got bigger compared to the past. In 2011 the US Misses sizes were divided into Curvy Misses size and Straight Misses size by the hip-waist drop value. The Curvy Misses sizes have smaller waist girth and larger hip girth than the Straight Misses sizes.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.826-837
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• 2012

Recently, hats have been used more frequently as an accessory, contributing to the general image of clothes in men's collections. This study compared and analyzed the frequency and styles of hat usage in men's brand collections according to the collections' images. Types of hats and their frequency of usage in men's clothes were analyzed among 857 collections from 74 brands between S/S 2006 and F/W 2012. This study also examined the relationship between clothes image and type of hats used. Hats were used in 622 out of 857 collections, and 24 different types of hats were used. In 67 collections, hats were used in at least 71% of clothes. The most frequently used hat was the fedora, followed in frequency by the beanie, cap, bowler, and high hat. The styles of hats in collections varied depending on seasons. In S/S season collections, fedoras were often used, while beanies were more common during the F/W season. This study analyzed styles of hats used in formal, casual, uniformed, and deformed images. Beanies and fedoras were frequently used for the formal image; fedoras, beanies, and plat caps were often used for the casual image; more than 3 types of hats were used together for the uniformed image; and design hats and hats in various styles were used for the deformed image. The results show that hats of various styles were used in collections to express the image of clothes.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.782-798
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• 2012

The research aim is to analyze the attributes of fashion as an object of art, and to examine its potential and status as an art of body space. This paper explains the relationship between these two disciplines by focusing on the body as the foundation of fashion and art's concepts, and discusses the intrinsic properties and the approach to the creation of fashion which is expressed through the body. The research begins by analyzing the sociologists thoughts on the body and extracts the characteristics of fashion as a practice of a new art field from the perspective of body creating space. It explains that fashion can most easily transform the body and that this, along with the body itself, possesses the element of creating body space. Fashion is a new avenue for understanding the body that not only includes the human figure but also its movement and spirit approached as a creative activity. The paper will show that fashion chosen as an art activity expresses the changeable and ambiguous body and embraces an unlimited potential of creative activity. This expands the creative field by managing both the inner and outer space of the body. Historical examination, literature review and overview of development of reference materials will establish the theory.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.753-765
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• 2012

This study tested the validity of the six-factor model of fashion savvy which was modified from the consumer savvy scale developed by Macdonald and Uncles(2007) and explored the relationship between fashion savvy and consumer propensity to observe. Regarding the relationship, it was hypothesized that consumer propensity to observe antecedes fashion savvy. Data were gathered by surveying university students in Seoul metropolitan area, using convenience sampling, and 311 questionnaires were used in the statistical analysis. In analyzing data, factor analysis and regression were conducted. The findings show the validity of the six factors of fashion savvy, which are fashion sophistication, interpersonal network competency, online network competency, marketing literacy, consumer self-efficacy, and consumer expectations. Tests of the hypothesized relationship show that two factors of consumer propensity to observe influence fashion savvy. More specifically, the 'observing shoppers' factor positively influences all six factors of fashion savvy, whereas the 'following what others buy' factor negatively influences four factors of fashion savvy, fashion sophistication, interpersonal network competency, marketing literacy, and consumer self-efficacy. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future study are also discussed.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.736-752
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of fashion banner advertising according to university students' attitudes toward internet advertisement(IA). Factors of IA were information, entertainment, negative, benefit, and topicality. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Subjects(n=678) were participated in the survey and they were segmented into IA positive group, IA intermediate group, IA indifferent group, and IA negative group. IA positive group included more women with higher household income and clothing expenditure. They preferred shopping at open market on-line malls. IA intermediate group included more women with lower income and clothing expenditure. They preferred shopping at on-line malls. IA indifferent group included more men with lower income and less clothing expenses. Banner advertisement with mixed appealing was the most effective to the university students in terms of preference and click and purchase intention. IA positive group showed the highest level of preference and click and purchase intention to the banner with rational appealing, banner with emotional appealing, and the banner with mixed appealing. IA indifferent group showed the lowest level. IA intermediate group showed a positive attitude to the banner with rational appealing and mixed appealing. IA negative group showed the lowest level of click and purchase intention to the banner with rational appealing.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.635-654
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• 2012

This paper studied sports-inspired fashion(SIF) that is often characterized as 'designer clothes inspired by active sportswear.' First, we reviewed the social, economical, artistic, and technological background behind its development. Second, we studied the development history of SIF by classifying it into four periods. Third, we analyzed how SIF emerged and developed with its own characteristics from a historical perspective. For a theoretical background, we did a critical review of previous literature in the field of clothing history, history of culture, and art history. We collected the data from magazines, such as Fashion Show and Gap Press and from the internet sources as well, such as firstviewkorea.com. We also did the content analysis of the data by consulting a chosen group of fashion designers. This study revealed that active sportswear started to develop from everyday clothes for functional convenience in the beginning and then SIF emerged later as a major fashion trend with the popularity of sportive look. This trend became stronger with the global spread of American popular culture. SIF eventually became high fashion with collaboration between sportswear industry and designers. This study confirmed that SIF reflects the characteristics of many sports games in silhouettes, colors, and details. It is predicted that sports will continue to be an important source of inspiration for fashion designers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.686-704
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• 2015

As mass media has come to intervene with politics in a more proactive way during modern times, the image of a politician has evolved into a more relevant factor compared with political content. This phenomenon is known as "image politics", and such externalized images as non-verbal cues have grown in importance, along with the numbers of female politicians. Thus image strategy has been instituted as a major research theme in the field of political marketing, especially for female politicians. In accordance with this theme, this study aims to approach fashion as part of image strategy of female politicians, in order to reemphasize political fashion as a valuable resource. The methodologies employed in this study are based on both the literature and positive research. Female politicians have long utilized fashion styles that are, or are assumed to be, the most appealing to their target base of support in a predominantly male-centered sector. In this sense, appropriate choices in the usage of apparel items, colors, hair styles, accessories, and others according to each situation and respective hierarchies are of the utmost importance. When attending official ceremonies and other related meetings, the strategic superiority afforded to a scientific approach based on thorough fashion research, compared with personal taste is imperative. The significance of this study lies within the recognition of the importance of fashion image, and how to utilize fashion for image strategy in practice, through the investigative synthesis and review of major preceding research.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.628-643
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• 2015

This study is to assist in developing creative designs based on the humor available in the fashion world of Moschino. For the research method, this writing examined literature on humor and Moschino's fashion world and analyzed Moschino's fashion collection, show window, Maison Moschino, and collaborative products to conduct an empirical analysis of humor shown to the fashion media. The research results are as follows. The humor in Moschino's fashion appeared in the form of surrealistic humor with the depaysement technique, deconstructive wit in clothing, such as distortion, change, or exaggeration, and textual humor, including brand symbols, logos, and graffiti. Collection pieces indicated the brand's confirmative identity based on humor with the surrealistic depaysement technique and deconstructive wit through irregular phenomena, such as change, distortion, exaggeration, and illusion in clothing form. Additionally, such attributes added to Moschino's wit and humor in decorative costume components as graphic images, graffiti, and brand symbols, including smile, love, and reversal. The show window display delivered surprises and smiles through the production of surrealistic space borrowed from various objects. In particular, performance with surrealistic images helped to show the characteristics of parodic humor. Maison Moschino was a surrealistic space for the concept of the fairy tale and for practical experience, thus working as a communication channel for humor and emotion. Collaborative products also clearly reflected the identity of the designer's own humor, which showed scarcity value as well as differentiation.