1. style and fashion

San FezTiundo Valley State CoJ.lege
OPINIONS O:l!' A �JELECTED SAMPLE 01<' \VOMEN 'rO
\\
CHAF'.ACTJ;:i'l.U1TICS OF PHJ<�SBN''l' AND F'U'I'URE :FASHIONS
A thesis submitted in pa:ctlal satir:lfaction o:f the
requlrements for the degree of Master of Science in
Home Economics
by
Ma.ry 1\n.n Michelsen
t
.l
�-� ��� (\
;,;} i �·
'l'he
thesis
of Mary
Ann
Michols-:m
i.s
approvr�·d
�
I n g r at i t ude for h e r continuous
ass i s t anc e t his thes i s is
dedicated t o
Dr.
Marjory L.
iii
Joseph
ACKNOWLEDGMENT S
T h e aut hor w i s he s t o express her appr ec i at i on t o
t he memb ers o f t he t hes is commit t ee , Dr . Marj o ry Jos eph ,
Chai rman; Mrs . Myrtle Lo ehr ; and Mrs , Li l l i e Gros s man ,
for the i r t ime and gu i d an c e .
Also , t hanks are due t o Mrs .
Sue Haber f or her
ass i stan c e i n t h e c omputer pro grammin g p art o f t he study
and t o a ll o f t h e wome n who c omplet ed t h e ques t i on na i r e
and t h er e by mad e t h i s s t udy p o s s ible .
A special acknowledgment o f thank s t o my husband,
John , for h i s f a ithful c o n f id en c e and encourag ement .
iv
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION .
.
.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF TABLES.
.
iii
•
iv
.
vi
LIST OF FIGURES .
vii
AB S T RACT
viii
.
C HAP TE R
I.
INTRODUCfiON.
II.
REVIEW OF
III.
PROCEDURE
IV.
FINDINGS
.
.
.
.
LITERATURE.
ANALYSIS
Description
of
.
7
•
26
•
Sample .
26
.
Related Activities
Fashion Magazines .
v.
1
22
AND
Fashion
.
Fashion
Trends
Fashion
Sketches
.
.
Foreseen
.
.
.
.
.
.
30
.
38
,
for
1970s.
42
.
49
SUMMARY A ND CONCLUSIONS
RECDMiv1ENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.
VI.
.
57
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
59
APPENDICES.
65
.
A.
PRETEST
B.
QUESTIONNAIRE
66
•
v
LIST OF
'l'ABLES
Tab l e
1
Page
Deg r e e o f Part i c i pat i on in Soc i al
Act i vi t i es by Respondents
29
2
Part i c i pat ion i n Fashion Re lat ed
Act i v i t i es of Samp le by Groups
31
3
Frequency o f Read i n g Fas hion Magaz ines
by Groups
35
4
5
6
Fas h i o n Trends f o r t he 1 970s as
Proj ected by Gr oups
39
Ownershi p o f Seven Maj o r Fash i on s o f
1 96 0 s by Gr oups
54
Chi Square T est o f Stat i s t i c al
S i gn i f i canc e
56
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
F i gure
I
II
Ages o f t he Samp l e
27
Fas hi on Des igns i n Order o f
Res pondent s Pre f e rences
43
vii
i\}3f)'f ItACl'
OPINIONS O}i' A SELECTED SAMPLE OF WOMEN TO
CHARACTERISTICS
AND FU'l'UHI� J?ASHIONS
OF PR:ESK�'l'
by
Ann Michelsen
Mary
Master o f
in Home Economics
Science
June,
A three part
1970
questionnaire was
to obtain women's opinions about
The
first part
of the
about
the respondent's
tion,
occupation,
age,
fashion designs.
personal
famj.ly size,
s t at u s
marital
recent
gathered
form
and
The second pJ:..rt
measured by her partici.pation
as
activities,
ion news
7
educa­
number of social
with the respondent's apparent knowledge
in fashions
lated
information
residence,
groups to which she currently belonged.
dealt
and utilized
designed
and interest
in fashion
re-
her reading of magazines containing fash-
her attendance
a-'�:
fa::;hion shows
tions of future fasl1ion trends.
solicited the women1s
Third,
opinions about
a1J(.:l her p:reciic-·
the
questionnaire
eighteen
fashion
sketches which were typical of clothing worn during the
past
ten years.
The
one
hundred eighty-nine
within five groups:
Businer>s
fashion related pn;3itionB,
Home Econorr,.:i.c�:;
Students,
women
were
Wornen eurrently employed
Home Econom:l.cs
Adu.lt
v:L:Li
analyzed
in
Instructors,
Edneat:i.on DressmRJd.ng c1asn
members , and others .
T here app eared t o be s ubstant i a l d ifferences o f
opi n i on amon g t he women when measured against t he i r age,
number of s oci a l groups t o wh i ch t hey belon ged , magazi nes
re ad , f as hion s hows at t ended , p artictp at ion and emp loyment
in f as hion re l at ed fi e l d s .
G enerally , it was found t hat
t h e Bus iness Women and t he Home Economics St udent s were
t he f as hion l ead ers as f ar as accept i n g n ewer des i gns by
act u a l ly own ing or p l an n i n g t o own t he f as h i on .
T he Pant s Su i t and t h e A- Lin e Dress were t he t op
f as hion choices of t he women whi l e t he Midi was t he least
chos en .
Of t he f irst s even f ashi on choices f i ve of the
des igns were some form of p ant s .
This may i ndicate a t rend
t o ward women w e ar i ng p an t s more f r equ ent ly t han ever be­
for e .
ix
CHAPTER I
I NTRODUCT I ON
Everyone i s awar e o f Fas h i on, and pe rhaps
f o r t hat v ery reason n e a r l y everyone t ak e s
i t f or grant ed .
F e w s eem dispos ed t o
ac c ord t o i t that s e r ious cons i d e ra t i on
wh i c h i s s ur e l y due to so ext raord i n ary a
man i f est at ion of soci a l li f e.
Perhaps> i f
w e c ould rea lly und er s t and i t w e s hould be
ab l e to t hrow a f lood o f li g ht on o t h er
c r e at i on s of t he human mind . (2:23)
The 1 96 0 s was a decad e p ar t i cular ly ri c h i n f ashi on
v ari e t y.
Mart ha She ldon , in her book "Des i gn 'fh.rough
Drap i n g " po i nted out t h a t current fashi ons have changed
more r ap i d ly t han at any other t ime in his t ory .
Thi s
dev e lopment she beli eves i s due t o changing social condit i ons, s c i ent ific advancement and deve lo pment o f t echnolo gy (5: 129).
.John Gunt her ,
wri t i:ng about a v i sit t o
London, c ommented t ha t what is most d i s t inguishing about
the y oung p eopl e t here is the i r dress .
" I t i s a re�tct ion
a g a i n s t c o nservat i s m and convent iona lit y o f t heir parents,
imp u l s e t o release aft e r long years o f austerit y , more
earni ng power, a
sense
that
the world
i s doomed and might
as 've l l have a fling" (25 :50).
There seems l i t t le doubt t hat s o c i a l upheavals in
the world affected t he c l ot hing (or lack of clothing)
l
2
people were wear ing
i n the 1 960s .
The s i l houett e of wom­
en' s f ashions (1959-1969) changed dr::-1mati cally from
s haped , waist -de f ined dress es t o "t ent s , " "cages , " and
f ree-flowing robes .
The sk i rt lengt hs in 1 95 9 were 1 6- 1 8
i nc he s from t he f loor and by t he end o f t he 1 9 6 0 s w e r e as
much as 28 inches from t he f loor !
Anot her examp l e of g reat c hang e c ou ld b e s e en in t he
t yp e of pants women were wear ing and t he p lac es whe re t hey
were b e i ng worn .
The out l in e c hang ed from s l i m , t i g ht ­
f i t t i ng s t r et c h cap ris t o w ide-legged pant s , s ome 24 inches
around at t he bot t om .
Pant s were be ing worn no l onger j us t
for sport act i v i t i e s but a l s o f or ent ert a in ing at home ,
d ining at e l i t e r es t aurant s , at t end ing t he t heat er , going
t o work in an of f i c e , even as a subst i t u t e wedding g own .
The young people becam e t he i r own fashion d e s igners.
Pre v i ous ly , f as h i on t rends had begun wi t h the v e ry wealt hy
women who bought haut c outure c lot hing .
_
Then t he s e
s t y l e s would b e cop i ed and parti cular f ashi ons would b e
acc e p t e d b y large mass es o f p eople .
When this happened ,
those who had been t he first t o wear
a
a
new fas h ion .
But during t he
des i gn , changed t o
' 60 s , t he reverse oc c urred .
The min i s k i rt , the fre e - f low ing hippie c l othi ng wit h
necklaces and chains and t he mod look wit h boot s and t ex­
t ured stock ings, all began w i t h t he young and t he i r less
expensive clot hes and t hen percolat ed up to t he older
en and
more
expensive copies .
The French designer,
Gabr iel l e Chane l , obs e rved that the fashion revolut i on
worn-
3
(like a l l r evo lut i ons) had begun " i n t h e s t re ets " (52: 70).
St at ement
Several y e ars ag o ( 1 966 ) whi l e shopp i ng for
a
party
dress , it occurred to t he aut ho r t hat she d id not l ike any
o f the n ew fas h i on s b e i ng s hown in t he d epartmen t s t ores .
I n d iscus sions w i t h ot her women , s he found her f e e l ings
about t he c lot hes were s hared by t hem .
A m i n o r i n soc i al-
ogy further i nc r e ased her concern w i th the soc i a l phenomeno n o f d ress .
T here fore , s he b e l i eved it would p r ove i n-
t e resting t o s t udy t he c lothes of t h e p ast t en y e ars and
Women to Charact er i s t i c s o f Present and Fut ure Fash ions .
Purpose
Mag azine
a nd
n ewspaper art i c les on fash i on and s t y l e
shows by famous designers, bout i q u e and department stores ,
a ll exp o s e the lat est cloth i n g designs t o t he public .
Radio, tel ev i sion and the mov i e and ent e rt ainment indust ry
all c ont r i but e t o at t itudes o f what clothing is c on s id e red
f ashionable .
Does the public
l ike what t h ey are being
s hown?
-
In t h e past
it has been ta�en for granted t hat women
preferred to dl�ess " i n style.
n
I t is unus u a l for a y oung
girl t oday to at tend school in a skirt which c overs her
I
knees .
I n most c ases , except for part y-typ e c lothes, she
could not
even buy a long ski rt .
Would her mot her wear
a
4
five year old c oat without
w o ul d
fi rst shortening it?
look and feel 11out of style . "
No, it
Skirt length con-
sc i ousness even f i lt ers down t o t he younger sister who refuse s t o dress her "Barb i e ! I do l l in anyt h i ng but a min i
In a n art i c le about t he "Barbie " do l l , i t was
sk i rt .
not ed t hat t he m anuf ac t ur e r e mp l oys d esi gn ers f rom t he
adult re ady-t o-we a r f ie l d t o d esign t he do l l c l ot hes .
T hes e d es igners a r e j us t as wary as dre s s buyers about the
unpre d i c t abil i t y of t he f a s h i o n wo rld .
dolls w i th an out-o f-dat e dress !
They c annot s e l l
( 5 7 : 16)
T h i s s t ud y w i l l a t t empt t o gat her op i n i ons o f women
i n Los Ange les County c on c e r n i n g t he f ashi ons o f the
1960s
and obt a i n s t at i s t i c a l e v i denc e for s t at ement s about f as h­
i on pr e fe r enc e s t hat o f t en ar e on ly assumed .
D i d women
pr e f e r t o be dress ed "i n s t y l e" i n t he 196 0 s or d i d t hey
boyc o t t m any of t h e fas hi ons?
Is i t possible t o ident i fy
t he p opu l a r and t he n onp opular designs f rom t he d ecade?
Hyp o t heses t o b e Tested
From t he prob l em o f f ashions as st at e d , the f o l l ow­
ing hypot he s e s have been formulated:
1.
Women r e act d i ffereilt l y to fashi on t rends de­
pend i ng up on their a g e , marital status, occupat ion, fami ly
size, res i dence, soc i al activit ies or education.
2.
Women r e a c t dif ferently t o fashi on
accord i n g to
the responden t 's knowledge of fashion.
3.
The majori ty of the population accepts current
5
fashions.
For the purpose
ing
of
statistical
an a l y s i s the
follow-
statements are stated as null hypotheses:
1.
There is no'difference
fashion trends when compared by
cupation,
size,
family
in reactions of women
age,
residence,
oc-
marital status,
social
activities
to
or
education.
2.
is no
There
difference in women's reactions to
fashion when measured against
the
respondent's knowledge
of fashion.
3.
of
There is
current
no
difference in population acceptance
fashions.
Assumptions
Assumptions
have
s tu d y
b-:?en used by the author in the
The first
formation
of this
naire was
a re iable method
The
with
�
second
was
of
being
gathering
that a questionthe information.
that the respondents would be
familiar
the fashion sketches used in the questionnaire.
Thirdly,
from
.
that
women
there wo11ld be different
fashion
opinions
of varying backgrounds.
Limitations
Time and resources,
of necessity,
placed
limitationsi
upon tbe sample chosen and upon the method used to gather
the opinion s.
the Los Angeles
The sample was not
County.
It was
a
r2ndom population of
co�fined to middle class,
6
wh:t te,
lj_terate women
who have
zi nes.
access
A change
l iv i n g in t h e Los Ange les County
to rad i o, televi sion , newsp apers and m aga­
in degree ( i n any, or a l l , of these
items) cou ld r esult in c omp l et e ly d i f f e r e nt c onc lu s i on s .
Fin a l ly , t he responses are subject t o t he v agar i e s o f hu­
man n at ur e ; and t :i.me c o u ld ent i :c e ly c hang e t he op i n i ons
gathered.
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The women's f as h i on world h as v ar i ed wid e ly during
t he past decad e.
At the close o f the 1 95 0 s , Par i s des ign­
e r s led by Givenchy and Balanci aga , had int roduced the
' 'sack s i lhouet t e. "
This d es i gn was shaped like a gi ant
almond with sleeves , completely mu ffli ng t he t orso , b are­
ly t ouch i ng t he hiplin e , and t ap er i ng t o a n ar row hem
(42�78) .
Other d esigners called s im i l ar n e w cre ations
"chem i s e, " "t r ap e z e " and "bags " ( 1 1:53 ;
14:96 ) .
All o f
t he s e n ames r eferred t o loose f itt ing dresses wi t h n o de­
f ined w a i s t line.
Wonwn were reluctant to wear the new
dre sses and men prot e s t ed t hem.
Heml ines at t he c los� o f
195 9 were 16- 1 8 inches f r o m t h e f lo o r and were worn with
point e d-t o ed , s p i k ed-heeled shoes .
The yea� 1 9 6 0 was the year o f fashion accept ance
for looser , b loused and p r i ncess s i lhoue t tes .
Legs
were
beco m i ng more not i ceab l e as skirt s c rept up to 1 9 inches
from the
floor
toed shoes.
and were
worn w:i th low-heeled , :counded­
A fashion show in Vienna ,
Austria s howed
t rim pant s suits , divided skirts and culottes for t ravel ,
street w e ar and evenings at home (70:259).
Norman
8
Norell's white-faced, dark-eyed , short-h a i r ed mod els
wear­
ing h i s clas s i c sequ ined sheat h c aused quit e a st i r i n t he
fash i on world (3 7:22) .
G abr i e lle Chanel 's t imeless "li t �­
t le sui t s" were ag a i n a h i t .
The sui t cons i s t ed o f a
s imple c ardi g an jacket t rimmed i n br a i d , ch ains , pocket s ,
and but t ons at t he cuf f l i n e
(2 1:64 ) .
Two-p i ec e bat hing
s u i t s , not qui t e b ik i n is , were f in d i n g new accept ru1ce .
By 1 96 1 legs wer e more exposed than at any t im e
sinc e t he World War I I y e ars .
Sk i rt s had n ow r e ac hed t o
t he m idd l e o f t he knee c ap but only t he very young wor e
them not i c e ably short .
not hing" dress
lines )
dos.
potent
I t was very chi c t o wear a "li t t le
(usually sleeveles s , slim w i t h s imple
and focus at t en t i on on e l abor at e ly b ouf f an t h a i r­
Mrs.
Jacqueline Kenn edy had em erged as t he most
f orce i n int ernat i o n al f as h i on o f t he d ay .
Many
women t ried emulating her s imple , e asy , sport swear t ype o f
fash i on and one le ad i n g n at i on al m ag az i ne t it led a f as hion
article ,
nyou Don't Have to Look Hard to See Ano t her
Jackie '' (53:16).
Bes id es t h e s imple dress , c o-ordinat ed
wardrobes became popular .
These consi s t ec1 of a c oat and
dress, t hre e-pi e c e s u i t , dress i nt errelat ed t o bot h jacket
and a coat , or a c o at w i t h t wo d r esses
(72:24 8 )
•
In
sport s wetir , t i g ht f i t t i n g s t r e t c h p an t s were f avore d .
Often t hese pan t s
the foot
had att ached s t i rrups that slipped under
t o keep the pant s ext r a t aut .
The next y e ar ,
in women's
fas h ions .
1962, was a compar atively q u i et y ear
Several f ilms released that y e ar
9
were influential in p romoting certain s tyles.
the s e films were:
Some o f
"Last Year at Martenbad " for which
Gabrielle Chanel prod uc e d the ultrasimple cardigan suits ;
"Br eak fast at Tif f any ' s " that s howed Hube rt d e Giv e nchy ' s
high-bosomed p rin c e s s dress without sleeves or a b elt ;
Irene Sharaf f ' s Egyptian costumes f or "Cle opatra . "
Mrs.
Jacqueline Kennedy continued to grow in s t ature as a fas h­
ion lead e r with her high-bosomed c oats and dress es, long
s lim evening d r e s s e s and rakis hly plac ed berets
(44 : 67) .
T he world- wide fo cus on youth began to have a tre­
mend ous ef f ect on fashion by 1 963 .
The clothes were typi­
fied by Mary Quan t ' s c reations wo rn in London ' s Che ls ea
Lif e magazine called the s e originators a '�rash
distric t.
new breed o f Britis h designers' ' ( 10:78 ) .
The young girls
blende d casual cut jumpers with the turtle- neck sweater ,
'' k ooky " e f fect o f mixed patterns and colors re f e rred to as
"OP " and "POP " art, lanky hair and s tartling mak e - up .
This style of d r e s s s oon moved up into the higher p riced
fas hion marke t .
Skirts had now reached above the knees
and the legs were emp hasized with c olored textured s tock­
ings and boo ts or low chunky-hee led s hoes.
The c ombina­
tion o f these clothes came to be known as "MOD " (30 :3 3 ) .
Another n otable fashion o f 1 96 3 was the return o f the
"sack'' dress in s horter and more fitted versions called
"shifts"
(47:3 9 ; 48:45).
fu1di
The women lov e d them!
Gernreic h , a California spo rtswear designe r ,
in 1964 introduced a women ' s topless b athing s uit,
This
. --··
�·· ·'--,:
fabric
w�s
divided geometrically
··'-'·
.
·- ·
·. c�
;' ··.-_, i-� •··.
, ..,
11
c lo t hes cou ld only b e wo rn b y '�t arved nymphet s o r Krazy
Kids."
nwhat c ould a more mature woman wear? "
(32 : 34 ) .
she asked
I n retrospect , Cou rreges ' spac e-age des i gns have
been c a l l e d t he only r e a l ly "new '! f ashi ons o f t h e dec ade
(63: 1 )
•
A f ad o f
1 96 5 was a long gown , usu a l l y o f cot t on
p r o v i nc i a l p r int , known as a "gr anny . "
These st i rred up
muc h debat e when worn t o scho o l ( 23:8 1 ) .
The nud e look c ont i nu ed i n a v a r i ety o f see-t hrough
t ops , cut out armho l e s and "pe ek-a-boo " ho l es s t r a t eg i cally
p l ac e d on var i ous areas of t he garment .
Ther e a l so was
a
cont i nuat i on and exp ans ion o f t he "POP " and "OP " art i n the
d esign o f f abr i cs ( 2 9:5 2 ) .
These p at t erns are descr ibed
i n a y e a rbook summary of f ashi on as:
harshly cont rast i ng c o lours , b l ack and whi te
c hessboard c hecks , s wir l ing , eye-t easing
d e s i gns , giant c hevrons , g eomet r i c p r i nt s ,
"scu lptured" c lo t h w i t h r a i sed sur f ac e p at ­
t e rns , new and i nt r i c a t e v a r i at i ons on t he
gabard ine and wh ipcord t hemes , f i rm p l a i n
revers i b les , st y l ized , t ap est ry-desi gn c o at ­
i ngs--these w e r e t he st u f f o f fash i on f o r
d ay , t o gether w i t h bo l d b i - c o l our t r e at ­
ment s (71:2 9 7) .
T he year o f t he m i n i sk i rt ! !
1966 ! !
No l onger were
heml i nes measur ed in i nc hes from t he f loor but rat her in
inches above the kne e.
Teenagers wer e w e ar i ng t he i r skirts
four and five i nches above t he kne e and f e w women o f any
age c ove red t h e knee completely.
In London,
some more dar-
i ng women were we a r i ng skirt s seven inches above t he knee
and
a
T ime magazine c.over s t ory , labe led London "the c i t y
12
of t he decade"
(30 :3 0 ) .
Thi s young Engl ish lool<
"Modn look) was w i dely c o p i ed by t he young .
(t he
It cons i s t ed
o f a short ski rt , fi s hnet or lacy t ex t ured s t o ck i ngs,
cut out , low-heeled "l:lt t le g irl " s ho e s , mami. ish jacket s
and t i es o r undershi r t t ops , over-t he-s hould e r handbag s
and g audy jewelry.
Many garm ent s we r e i n t r oduc ed on t h e
"wet11 o r 11Shiny " look o f plast i cs , s ilve r f ab r i c s
( i nspired
by spac e s ui t s ) and i n a gre at d e al of s t r e t c h f ab r i c s .
Even though pan t s s u i t s were be ing sho wn by t he de­
s i gn e rs as e arly as 1 96 0 , t he y had not b e c ome popular .
But now t hat ski rt s had r is e n s o sho rt , many women , o f
necessit y , resort ed t o we ar i n g pant s s u i t s a t all ho urs o f
t h e d ay and n i g ht .
Some well known women who w o r e pan t s
t o ele g ant rest aurant s found thems e lves lock ed out
(63:4 ) .
T here w as a growing d e b at e about pant s as appropriat e at­
t i re for a "lady . "
I n t he spring o f 1 96 6 , a paper manu f acture r o f f e red
t wo s t yles o f we ar-and-t h row- away d r e s s e s at $1. 25 e ac h as
a premium to promot e i t s new p aper produc t ,
"Dur a-Weve . tt
This new product was m ade up o f nonwoven t i s s ue us ing c el­
lulose
and s t r e ngt henE')d by r ayon s c r i m or mesh.
d red t hous and dresses wer e sold!
sparke d
a
(41:13 2 )
Five hun-
The s e d r ess es
whole n e w i ndu s t r y product ion o f t hrow away fash­
ion s encompassing work clothes t o ac ademic caps and govms
and even wedd ing d resses .
of t he g arment was
In most
as cheap as
of laundering t he same s o rt of
c ases , the ret ail pr i c e
(or cheaper than) the co s t
article made from cotton or
$100 million (41:132).
·t1111::..;J�2��;t :i.e -fib<_;l.tt prt.}.)G't
..
djagnosis
across
the
(;·od a.11d
faslJ.i.c;r1.;3.
country.
Without
fashion a�J dr�ss.
homs a�d
One m.ann:i:acture:r o:f par-2er c::l.othtng�
then z1�
Sha tbaught tlia econo2y
The chairm?.n of� the. d:f;pu.:rt; ,
..
a
future 6r
14
::;choo l w e ar .
A ski nny s e venteen y e ar o ld Brit i s h model
named "Twiggy " was t he f as h i o n image o f 1 96 7 and ep i t omized
t he yout h ' s mini f as h ions .
Many l av i shed prai s e on her
fres h , new look and s he app e ar ed o n t he cover of mos t of
t he l e ad i ng mag a z i nes .
However , o t hers be l i eved t hat s he
was an i ns u lt t o womanhood and t hat her examp l e b lurred
t he d i fferenc e s between boys and g i r ls
(74:3 3 7 ) .
The h e i ght e ne d t rend t oward nud i t y was the s ubject
of m an y art i c les t h at app e a red in newspap ers and mag azines .
One aut hor suggest ed t hat t he m i n i - sk i rt we arers were '�n­
gag i n g i n a k i nd o f suggest ed o r f o lk nak edne s s whi ch i s a
mut at i on o f t he r e al thi ng " (3 8: 1 0 7 ) .
Rud i Gel�nr e i c h , the
des igner of t he 1 964 t op l ess s wims u i t , c ont i nued his no­
bra-s e e -t hrough cre at i ons whi c h frequent ly were f as h i oned
in a viny l f abr i c w i t h c l e ar vinyl bands
(52:70).
Perhaps o ne o f t he mos t unusual c lothing des igners
of t he p as t t en ye ars was D i ana Dew who i nvented t h e e lec­
troni c d ress and b e g an mark et ing i t in Febru ary of 1 96 7 .
The s e c lo t hes c o nt a i ned d ecor ative areas o f elect rolumi­
nesc e nt l amp st r i p s .
Somewhere on t he dre s s
(o f t en t he
b e lt area) , a sma l l b at t ery-d r i ve n power pack s upp l i ed the
necess ary current .
pu lsat e d . -
When t urned on , t he dress g lowed and
The charge l asted five hours and cou ld b e re­
charg ed by p lugging t he dres s int o a w a l l socket overni ght .
The dress was absolu t e ly s afe;
l amps gav e o f f no perc ept i­
b l e heat , and all t he gadgetry snapped out , so t hat the
dress could be c le aned .
Her ot her i nnovat i ons irrcJ.nded
15
phosp horescent clot hes t hat glowed i n t he dark and c lot hes
that were phot os ensit ive t o heat .
were touched ,
When t hese garment s
a handprin t appeared and gradually faded
away ( 23:26) .
In Paris , Pac o Rabanne f as hioned women' s c lo t hing out
of pla s t ic , leat her , a luminum and s t ee l .
raised whet her it was f as hion.
The q uest ion was
The cost ume wing o f fi­
cia l s o f t he Met ropo lit an Museum o f Art in New Yo�k Cit y
decided t hat
dress
it was and reques t ed Rabanne' s firs t plastic
(66:16 ; 43:53).
Not hing was s ewn ; the c l othes were
eit her riveted , welded , or s o ldered t o get her .
These
clo t hes were not des ign ed f o r s it t ing down , but rather f o r
dancin g .
Ot her not ab l e women ' s c l o t h i ng o f 1 96 7 inc luded t he
l aunching o f t he maxi
( full lengt h ) c o at
(36:57).
How­
ever , very few women were ready t o accept t he longer look
and not many were sold.
T o offset t he immodes t y o f t he min i - skir t ,
d resses'' were wo rn f o r c as u a l d ay and t own wear.
"pant s ­
They
looked l i ke dresses but were cut int o easy-t o-wear f l aring
p ant s , somet imes c amoufl aged by l oose p anels , wide ru f f l e s
et c .
For lounge and eve n i ng wear a long version was pop­
u l arily c a l led
a
"culo t t e. "
In Loe.don , Mary Qu ant , one o f
t he f irs t mini-skirt designers , began putt ing mat c hing
panties urider her mini-s hort c ockt ail and evening dres ses .
Many mini-skirt wearers turned to pantie hose (an ail-in­
one
garment)
for hip-t o-t oe smoot hness .
16
Other at t empts t o f ind somet hing more wearable than
a mini-skirt were t he inc r e ased accept ance of t ho t rouser
suit s
(40 : 43;
"ka f t ans . "
51:87), t he one piece jump suit s , and t he
The k aft an was p at t e rned after the free-flowing
gown s worn by t he hippies in t heir communes , only it was o f
more luxu rious f abric and o ft en cont ained b e aut iful t rimmin g s .
As mig ht be not ed f rom t his t r e at is e, t here was a
g r e at d e al writ t en about f ashion in 196 7.
E l eanor Carrut h ,
in an art ic l e in Fortune magazin e , c alled t he increased
int eres t a "gre at f a s hion explosion " (12: 1 6 2 ) .
I n 1 9 6 7 t he
consume r out lay for f as hion goods amount ed t o $50 billion ,
mak i n g it s e cond o nly t o food amon g a ll consumer marke t s .
There was a f o r t y p ercent inc r e as e in consumer expenditure
fo r apparel from
l9G4
t o 1967 comp ared t o the s ame in­
cre a s e in t he preced i n g dec ad e .
The author of t he art ic l e
s ight s various reasons why t his "explos.ion11 o ccurr ed--not
only were more women wor king , but als o war and post war
babies were now in t heir lat e t eens and early t wenties ,
jus t at the age where t hey were preoc cupied wit h t heir ap­
pearanc e .
But s he concluded t hat t hes e reas ons we re not
as s igni fic ant as the f act t hat t he young were g oing on t o
c ollege ind le arning a whole n ew·world o f ide as i n art ,
t ast e , desig n and dress .
The increas ed t rave l habit s o f
yout h a l s o c on t r i but ed t o in f luencing t heir manner o f
dress .
T hey h ad become fas hion leaders!
One of the out growt hs of the fashion "explosion�'
W&A'.3
17
&n updat i n g o f m any un i forms from pol i cewomen and steward­
esses t o nuns and G irl Scout uni forms .
A world-w i d e f as hion perm i ss i yene s s prevai led dur i ng
t he y e ar o f 1 9 6 8.
No longe r could t he lead ing f ashion
m ag az i nes d i c t at e t he des i gns and c olors for t he com ing
s e as o n .
S i n c e t he
"do your own t hi n g " was t he pre v a i l i ng
:fas h i o n mood , i t i s d i f f i cult to s ummar i z e t he f as h i o n s o f
1 96 8 .
Co ut ure-appro ved dress was rep l ac ed w i t h "costumey "
role- play i n g clo t hes .
Women d id t he i r own "d es i g ning " by
assembling a g r e at v a r i e t y o f s epar ates and acc e s s or i es .
T h i s free spi r i t ed , c olo rful t r end was s c avenged i n t hr i f t
s hops by t he d ef i an t young nonconform i s t s and i n t erpr e t ed
i n furs , expens i ve f abr i c s and jewels by t h e af fluent
woman .
G lo r i a Vanderb i lt was one o f t he le ad i n g d e s i gn ers
o f t he "c o s t ume " way of dress ing
( 2 2 : 85) .
The look was a
mixt u re o f e t hn i c and legend - i nsp i red g arments--g aucho
pa�t s , guru-med i t at i o n s h i rt s , b allooning harem pant s ,
Poc aho nt as d r e s s e s , I nd i an headbands o r s c arfs t i ed ac ross
t he forehead i n N av aho st yle , and o f cours e , v est s o f all
kinds
(24 : 24;
15:6 0 ; 3 4:2 9) .
The ma.xi leng t h heml i n e s wer e st ill available hut
s howed lit tle si g ni f i cant progr e s s .
w i dely worn t han e v e r be fore .
Min i -ski rt s were more
Not only s c hools , but busi­
nesses as well were drawn i nto the bat t le o f t he min i .
one
company s u rve y , the mai n
consensus
In
o f opinion was t hat
secret ary ' s skirt s s ho uld not be over four inches above
Several movie
and
Clyde" and
and
1930s.
rc:loa:�ed dtt:t:'ing 1968,
revived the
"Star,"
berets worn
or
satin
crepe
and
knotted silk scarves
Women
evening
and
dresses
long,
copy:i.ng
began
low over the
belted
was
with slim
often
·worn
sleo\res
jewelry.
By the
ing
and
favor
a
with
and
smaLl
tnrtle·-neck
year 'r'3
would
a
This
be
of
cut
the
1920s
the bias,
jumpers
(56:8;
int.roduced
jacket
suits,
soft curls,
on
was
60:1).
:for
fitted,
stand·-UP collar�
shirt
and
end the Nehru ja.cket
remembered
"Bonnie
pinstriped
brow,
a style first
men's wear--the Nehru jacket.
long,
fashionc1
These included wide-lapeled,
slouch hats
slinky
fi lmr.;
orily
as
It
nt:::ek
dangling
was
fast
a passing
los-
fad
of
1968.
A term used
th�:: word
11Unisex,
wo.:cdrobes
over
n
Jor rnale
ruffled shirt,
a
This
and
vest
refor:ecd
offensive;
was
it
or
,jacket .ttnd
o:E
;;;..s
a
jmvelry.
dress.
designed
:MRny
dep:u·t-
To some observers
signified the breakdown of conven-
tions'l.l attitudes o:f �'1exna1 heh.av:i.or.
clothes
identically
to
female·--,o:ft:s-n consisting of pants,
pec..\.ally� enjoyed this type
it
in the fashion world was
<:nd ove1·
s'L1tement
fo:c
:OtheTs lauded thr-)
fl'·3edom,-·,11c:ommunicating
The end of the decade under study,
i.n J:a.E>hio:n hl.f"tory ·when the only
1969�
was
;vciman who was not
as
a
hu·�
moment
''well--
"19
dresse:d11 was the women who did not
ual.
length of s k i rt ,
If
colors.
and all
it,
then
fashion was
The
obsolete!
d 1 Errecalde,
minded),
1900,
(lean,
the
becomes
is,
retrc•spcctive
1920s,
the 19:30:3
of the
fashion
( the
and
(59 :.1)
waB
nothtn;g
Cohama Fabr:ics, �di-t·h
1969
the story of
fash io n s ·l;:y �c.a:t:e-
groups:
three
futuristic
sweatery))
a�y
P ab lo Picasso
&.s
fashionable,
revolution into
long,
gt.Iidellne---
unfashionable"
fashion d:i.rector of
summed up
and
really
rampant--all was
gorizing the clothes
temporary
that
indlvid-
an
and school of dress,
attitude
fashlon
"everything
sees
any
like
f a s h i on
the women 1 s
"Anything goes" ·was
any
look
:con--
(space
1880 :and
periods between
1947 New Look by
the
=ni�or)
(59:1).
One
the
was
of
the pants
year of
pants
silhouettes
Pan·ts.
•
,
)
there
taj_lored
used
•
and
)
lJ'al·'+""
'g"od
'''"'an�l''
' !.nC:.
- �·
. b
H J.
l;"
'·�
knickers,
owners
no
longer
of the S(;hools,
acceptable
length dress.
:forbade
. •
p:cev:.iom_=U,.y
nmv
.
most
well,
Chu:celws, min.Lsters,
had
bottoms
��c�tt.y
rr-4.....,
·(rJa·
J.• . - . Le>.':>
·'G '""<.:>
S'·t·'
� J.·
look was pants
we�n·tng of
as
I
(extremely
By now,
and businesses
attire.
Hall officiaJ.s
tht3
J··un1p·
)
bell
elephant-leg
'l'he newest
culottes.
a matching rnidj_
d.escrihe ·:t-Ixem
su i t "
"pants
and vest-like top all in one piece),
pants)
to
were wide straight--legged extra ·loxrg
r.an·t·,.,-.
'- m _p
"l1::Jl'r
. . 0... C.·
, • <> :>
party pajamas,
1969 was that :_i:t
of
Thc:;.�e was a great var_i:e�.y
look.
and many tGrms
Besides the very popular
mentioned,
impressionG
•
(55�10)
wfde
woTn
·w.t:tn
restaurant
pnnts,
and· mm1y
endo:.esed them
::a-s
jude;c·s and J.::i·�y
to make similar dcchd.ons
as
·:br..:hl.a:J.
20
pant s u i ts be came ava ilable .
Designe r G e o f f rey Be ene p re-­
d i cted that "by the y e ar 20 0 0 , women w ill be wear ing only
pants' ' (45 : 95 ) .
No-b r a and s e e through c lothes , started i n 1 96 4 , were
becoming mor e p revalent .
It appe ared to be a further out­
growth o f a r e-eviluation o f values , an honesty , f reedom .
Som e o f the f avor i te i tems were i n openwork crochet and
l ac e .
Reg ardless o f what women wore underne ath the s e
clothe s , the nude look s wept f rom coast to c o as t ( 1 6 : 62 ;
4 6 :6 1 ) .
Any �ki rt length was worn , whe t her m i n i , midi , or
max i
( 5 0 : 12 ) .
M any p eople , p articularly buye rs a nd manu­
factur ers , wonde red about the m i n i ' s p o tenti al l i fe s p an
and r e c e i ved the reply 11i nd e f i n i te " from fashion histo r i an ,
James Laver
( 1 9 : 83 ) .
The midi length ski rt (mid- c al f ) was
not wi dely worn , e s p e c i ally by the older woman who could
still r ecall we aring the "new look " of 1 947 .
Some women
f ound the midi length d ress acceptab l e when wor n o v e r
match i ng p ants.
It remains to be s een i n the coming years
i f the mid-calf length will g a i n in popu l a r i ty .
Maxi
lengt h co ats had b e en s hown as e arly as 1964 and r eintro­
duced in 1968 ; but n o t unt i l 1 96 9 did they become popular .
T he.tall ,- und e r thi r t y y e ar old , woman found the maxi fun
and c omfo r table to wear , p articularly in cold o r r ainy
w eather .
Floor- length muf flers and sc arves, with e i ther a
m i n i - sk i r t and boots , o r wide- legged pants , were worn with
thes e elongated coats
(3 3 :4 2 ) .
21
Young women found furs a fun fash i on--not f o r s t atus
(as furs were previous ly accorded) , but for w armt h and
st y l e .
The dyed and pat t erned r e a l and fak e fur c lot he s
c ame i n m i n i s , m i di s , max i s and eno rmous t en :l:'oo t long
s c arves
(20:76 ; 4 9:52 ) .
O t her fas h i o n impr essions of 1 96 9 were t he "gypsy "
look whi ch cons i s t ed of pat c hwork s k i rt s , p e t t i c o at s ,
s as h wrapp ed s he e r blouses worn w i t h v e s t s , and g o l d chains
around t he neck and w a i s t .
"Body j ewe l ry " b e c ame a t erm
des i g n at i ng chains of e i t he r m et al , p l as t i c , or p e ar l s ,
s haped a s bre as t pl ates , ves t s , u l t r ashort sk i r t s , extra
wi d e b e l t s et c .
( 1 6 :62 ) .
The I nd i an i nfluence i n d r es s
c onti nued as buck s k i n , fr i nged and be aded j acket s , ves t s
and dre s s es wer e worn ( 2 6 :40 ) .
T he r eview of l i t e r at ure found n o pre v i ous s t udy on
women ' s o p i nions u s ed as p r ed i c t or s of fas hion t r ends .
CHAPTER I I I
PROCEDURE
A.
Quest i onnaire
A pre l im i nary ques t i o nnai r e was deve loped and g iven
to
ten
State
Home Eco nomi c s I n s t ruct ors at San Fernando Val ley
College as a p i l o t s t udy .
A cove r l etter so l i c i t ed
t he i r eo -operat ion and s ug g e s t i o n s i n mak i n g the quest ionnai.re clear and mo r e mean in g f u l .
sonal
of
I n some i n s t ances
a
p er-
i nt erview was hel d to c lar i fy a p art i c u lar s e c t ion
t he ques t ionnaire.
The f i n al form u s e d was a fou r p ag e quest i onna i r e
having t hree mai n part s .
The f i rst part dealt w ith per­
sonal i nformat i on concerning t he respondefit :
age , occupa­
t io n , residen c e , educat ion , marit a l s t atus and so c ial ac­
t iv i t i es .
The s econd part
attempted to
ga i n information
on her k nowledge of and i n t erest in fashio n .
These ques­
t i ons i ncluded i tems about fashion related acti vi t i es ,
fashion
re lat ed magazines read, fas h i on shows at t ended
and fashion t rends foreseen for the 1 970 s .
The t hird part
o f t he questi onnaire included ei ghteen sketches showi ng
different
1960-1969.
women's
fashi ons that
were
t ypical o f t he years
Below each sket ch t he respondent was
22
asked t o
23
give her op i nion o f the des i gn and whet her or not s he
owned
(or p lanned t o own ) t he item .
B.
S amp le
In o rd er to g ain a bro ad b as e for t he f as hi o n
r esponses , t he quest ionn a i re w a s adm i n i s t ered t o women who
w e r e group ed i n t o f ive m ain c at egori es,
Thes e we re:
Group I - Women cuTrent ly emp loyed in fashion r e l at ed
pos itions such as f as h i on buy ers , model.s and manuf actur e r ' s r ep r e s ent at ives.
Grou.p I I - Home Economics I ns t r uc t ors .
---g r oup I I I - Home Econom i c s Student s i n co llege--both upper
and lower d i v i s i on .
Grt:?UP IV - Women at t end ing Adul t Edu c at ion Dressmak i ng
Clas s es--both beginning and advanced classes.
Group V - Others .
--·--·---
Group I
----�---
Women Curr en t ly Emp l o y ed i n Fashion Re l ated
Pos i t i ons
Var i ous c l o t h i n g s t o res and manufacturers were
cho s en ( in t he Los Ang e l e s area )
woments cloth i ng .
as 11 epresent ati.ves o f
Wherever poss i b l e, t h e women's fRs h i o n
buyers and manuf acturer ' s repres�nt at ives w e r e con t acted
personally to gain t heir co-operati on i n complet i ng and
ret urn ing t h e que s t i onna ire .
was
not held,
a
Whe re a pe rson a l i n t erview
te lephone interview was conducted .
few cases t he questionnaire
was
sent
with
a
In
a
cover let t er
24
but
�o
p r i o r c on t act .
Each quest ionn a i r e was accomp ani ed
by a s elf- address e d , st amp ed env e lop e .
Aft e r t wo we eks ,
t ho s e who had not r e t urned t h e form w e r e sent a post c ard
rem ind i n g t hem o f t he s t udy and as king t he i r he l p in c om­
p l et i ng t he res e arc h .
O f t he s event e en manu f ac t urers who
were s ent ques t i on n a i res , n i n e were r e t urned ; o f t he ni ne­
t een buye rs , n i n e were r e t urned ; o f t wo pro f ess i o n a l
mod e l s , t wo w e r e r e t urned ; o r a t ot a l o f t wenty r esponses
f r om t hi r t y- e i g ht at t empt s o r 52 . 3 per c ent r et urn .
Group II
Home Economics Inst ru c t o rs
-
The s e cond group i n t he s amp l e , i nc luded Home
Econom i cs I ns t ruct o rs from San Fernando Val ley St at e Co l­
l e g e , Cal i f o rn i a S t at e Co l le g e at Los Ange l e s and s econd­
ary s c ho o l t e ac he r s .
O f e i ght e en q u es t i onnai res , fou r t e en
w e r e c omp l et ed o r 77 . 7 p e rcent .
Group I I I
-
Home Economics Studen t s
Home Econom i c s S t udent s a t S an Fernando Va l l ey St ate
Co l l eg e c omp r i s e d t he t hi rd g roup .
The q u e s t ionn ai res
were g iv en by t he i n s t ruct ors d u r i ng c l ass t ime and t he r e­
fore , t here was a 1 0 0 perc ent ret ur n .
Thi rt y quest i on­
naires were adm i n i s t ered t o a · Beg inn ing Clot hing Const ruc­
t io n c l a�s , n i n e to an upper d i v i s ion Seminar c l ass and
e l even t o a Gr aduat e Res e arch c l ass for a t ot al of f i ft y
r esponses .
25
Group
IV
Women At tend ing Adu lt Educ ation Dressmak ing
-
____..._,___
---··----..· -----------------------
C l as s es
Group four encomp as s e d o ld e r women enro l l ed in two
adu l t
e du c ation c l as s e s i n G lend a l e , C a l i fo rn i a .
He r e
again , t he fo rms were g i ven during c l as s time by the instructo rs with a 100 p er c ent return .
The Adv anced c l as s
tota l ed twenty- one and the Beg inn ing c l as s twenty- four ,
for a total o f f orty- f iv e op ini ons .
Group V
------
-
Others
-
F ina l ly , group f i ve inc luded fo rty women f rom
a
c hu r c h gr oup and twenty ne i ghborhood women o r s ixty res pous es .
Forty- f i v e q ue sti onnaires h ad b e en g iven t o
the church group and f iv e were not comp l eted for a f in a l
r e t u rn o f 8 8 . 8 p e r c ent .
C.
Al l o f the ne i ghbors responded .
D ata Proc e s s ing
For the purpo s e o f thi s s t udy on 'Women ' s op ini ons
o f f as hi on s , f r equency d i str i bution , p e rc entag e s and
cor-
re l ati ons were computed s eparat e l y f o r e ach o f t he f ive
groups and also c o l l e ctive ly for the tota l s amp l e o f one
hundred e i g ht y-nine women .
t i s t i c a l � ev aluat i o n
w as
the res e arch resul t s .
The ehi squar e method o f s t a-
used t o t est t he s igni f i c ance o f
CHAPTER IV
F IND I NGS
A.
AND ANALYS I S
Descr i p t i o n o f S amp l e
( 1 ) Age
The s amp l e f o r t h i s s t ud y t o t a l e d one hundred e :t g ht y-­
n i n e women and o f t he s e , t he r e were n in e p e rc ent who were
under t wenty y ears of age , 4 4 p e rc en t who were t wenty t o
t hi rt y- fou r y e ars o l d and 4 7 p e rc ent o v e r t hi rt y - f i v e y e ar s
o ld .
'
When t he s e f igures are broken down i nt o t he f i ve
groups ,
27) .
t he p i c t u re b e comes c l e ar e r ( s e e Fi gure 1 , p ag e
I n t h r e e o f t he g r oups
(Group
I ,
II,
o f women w e r e o v e r t h i rt y - f i ve y e ars o ld .
groups
(Group I and
I I) ,
V ) , t he m aj o r i t y
I n t wo o f
t hes e
t he r e were no wom en und e r t wenty
ye ars o f age an d in Group IV t he r e were o n l y four p e rc ent .
The
youn g e s t
nom i c s
r e s pond e n t s
S t udent s
(Gr oup
were
I I I) ,
found among t he Home Eco­
where 42
p e rcent
we r e t went y
t o t wenty- fou r years o ld , 1 2 perc ect were t wenty- f i ve t o
t we nty-n i n e y e ars o l d , 14 percent were t h i rt y t o t hi rt y­
four y e ars o l d for a t ot al o f 6 8 percent
t hi rt y- four y e ar o ld group .
in
t he
t wenty t o
I n t h i s group t h ere were a l so
1 6 percen t und e r t went y years o f age
and t herefo r e ,
c ent were und er t hi r t y- four y e ars o f age .
84
per­
%
100;
ao
v
ALL
I
GROUP I
GRO'G"P I I
n
I
:
i
i
70 -j
I
60 ,
!
5 r)
nnI � i
40
20
�l
1
_
.,_ n
JI
I
!
I
�
!
!
i
I
i
l
I
I
I,
!
�
!
1
i i
nI _ii 1I
i
1 1
!
L
U
1J
•
C
I
! I�
rl I
I I!
I
l
l
i
;
I
1 !
�
l !
�!
i
!
I I I
1 1
b
•
c
!
n�
i
�
!
i
'
.
! l
�
1
r-i
II
i
l
I
I
1 1 !
I I'
b
_
I
c
I
F I GURE
AGES
OF Th'"E
I
l
I
n
i
I
. ! �!
i l
·
I
! !l
!
'
!
i
i
l
i
•
!
I
I II
I
! I
I
I
I
n
I
I
! I I
1
!
!
I
1
n_n �LI J .
. .
a
b c
I
.t
S .A..'v!PLE
a
a
I
I'
o l _l
�
.
__
a
b c
-
0
I I
,
I II
i
I
_
n
! I
I, 1
I
I
i
I I
11l
i
!
!
i
I
i
A
v
GR01TP V
GROuP IV
-i!
8 0 -1I
30
GROUP I I I
Und e r
b
- 20-34
c
- 35
20
b
y ears
ye ars
ye ars
c
o ld
o ld
old
and
over
'-"
·'I
28
( 2 ) Re s i dence
T he
m aj o r i t y
of
respondents l i v ed in a l arge c i t y .
Only t wo r epor t ed l i v i ng i n a rur a l home
( 1 . 1 %) , t hi r t y-
n i ne we re f rom smal l t owns below 5 0 , 0 0 0 popu l at ion
t hi rt y - s e v e n
(20 . 6 % )
res i d ed i n t owns o f 5 0 , 0 0 0 - 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 popu l at i on
( 1 9 . 6 %) , and one hundred e leven were l iv i ng i n a l ar g e c i t y
of
1 0 0 , 0 0 0 o r more
c i t i es
of
( 5 8 , 7%) .
Over t hr e e- fourths l i ved i n
5 0 , 00 0 popul at ion o r more .
( 3 ) Educ at ion
Of
the tot a l popu l ati on , t here were nine wom en (4 . 8%)
who had l ess t h an a high s c ho o l edu c at i on , forty-s i x
(24 . 3 %) had hi g h scho o l d i plomas ,
s om e co l l ege educat ion , fort y- s ix
s i xt y- o n e
( 3 2 . 3 %) had
(24 , 3 %) had e arned a
Bache lor degree , t wenty- four ( 12 . 7 % ) had e arned Post Bac he l or degrees and t hree
( 1 . 6 %) wer e Eu rop e an educat ed w i t h
n o Amer i c an equ i v a l en t .
I n Gr oup I , t he Women i n Bu s i n es s ,
70 p er c ent had educ at i on beyond a high school d ip l oma .
Group I I , Hom e Econom i c s I ns truc t or s , and Group I I I , Hom e
Econom i c s Student s , had ,
a hi g h s c ho o l d i p l oma .
as
expect ed , all e arned a t l e ast
Of Gr oup I V , t he Adu l t Educ at i on
S t ud en t s , 4 8 . 9 p er c en t had gone beyond a h i g h
s c hoo l
educa-
t i on , and Group V , had a l a:r g er p erc ent ag e- - 6 5 , 3 p erc ent .
Even i f Groups I I and
I II w e r e
not c ons i de r ed s ince t hey
a l l h a d s ome h igher edu c at i on ,
t he re is st i l l a maj or i t y
of
women i n t he ot her t hr e e groups
( 7 0 % , 4 9% , 6 5%) who
found some c o lleg e educ at i on d es i r ab l e .
29
M a r i t a l s t atus and f amily s i ze had l i t t l e o r no e ff e e t on t he st udy ' s f i ndings and w i l l not be analy zed i n
det ai l .
I t m i ght be � t at ed , however , t hat o f t h e t ot a l
s amp l e , approx i mat e ly 2 4 p e rcent w e r e s ing le , 3 p ercent
were engaged , 66 p ercent were marr i e d , 6 percent were
d i vo r ced and 1 pe rcent w e r e w i dowed .
Several o f t he wome n
d i d n o t ans we r t hi s q uest ion .
TABLE 1
DEGREE OF P ART I CIPAT ION I N S OC I AL
ACT I V IT I ES BY RESPONDENTS
Number o f
Soc i al
Act i v i t i es
---
Group
I
Group
II
Group
III
Gr oup
All
/0
%
%
Group
IV
v
-----·---
Of
01
%
%
/0
20
7
22
25
10
17
l
20
14
24
31
23
24
2
25
21
26
22
29
25
3
25
29
14
20
23
21
4
5
21
8
0
10
8
5
4
0
7
6
2
3
6
1
5
0
0
0
1
Non e
·-·
··-..-------------------------
--------··-·..-·�---
( 5 ) Soc i a l Act i v 1 t ies
T he numbe r of s o c i a l act i v it i es t o wh i ch t he respondcmt cur r ent ly be longed var ied :f rom '1n one " for t h i r t y
women
( 1 7 . 5 %)
t o s i x soci al groups report ed b y t w o women
30
( 1 . 1%) .
or
Seven t y perc ent o f t he women be long ed t o one , t wo ,
t hr e e s o c i a l o rgan i z at ions .
Wi t hi n t he f ive s eparat e
groups , howev e r , T ab l e 1 , p age 2 9 , i nd i c at e s a marked d rop
i n p art i c ipat i o n f o r four o r more s oc i a l act i v i t i e s .
W hen
four or more are c al c u l at ed t o get her Group I had 10 p e rc ent
part i c i p at ion , Group
Group
IV
II
26 p er c ent , Group I I I 15 p er c ent ,
6 p e r c ent and Group V 1 2 p er cent .
( 6 ) Occup at i o n
T he woman ' s o c cup at i o n w a s s i gn i f i c ant inso f ar a s i t
p l ac e d h e r i n t o o n e o f t he f i v e g roups :
s u c h as , Bus in ess
Women w ho were current ly emp loyed i n f ashion r e l at ed pos i­
t ions .
The ques t i o nn a i re ' s inqu i r y concer n i n g t he r espond­
ent ' s current o r p as t , fu l l or p a r t - t i me emp loyment d i d not
cont r i but e s i gn i f i c ant d at a .
B.
F as h i o n Re l at ed Act i v i t i e s
T e n d i f fe ren t f as hi on r e l at ed act i v i t i e s a r e c i t ed
in T ab l e 2 , p ag e 3 1 .
Be fore ana l y z i n g t hes e resu lt s , i t
shou ld b e not ed t hat i n t he t o t a l s amp l e , t hi rt y- f i ve
( 1 8 . 5 %) women i n d i cat ed t hat t hey d id not engage i n any of
t he act i v i t ies and t hi rt e en women
act i v-i t i e s .
( 6 9 % ) ment ioned o t he r
.
T he s e o t he r act i v i t i es i nc luded :
D i re c t o r o f
Advert i s ing a n d Pub l i c i t y for a manuf ac t urer , promo t i o n f o r
t he N at ion a l Fas h i o n Bo ard f o r Yout hs , Corpor at e Fas hion
Co- o rd inat or , Fas hion Phot o g r aphe r , Fashion Copywr i t er ,
T e ache r , and P l anne r o f Fas h i o n Shows .
T ABLE 2
PAHT I C I P AT ION
IN FAS H I ON RELATED ACT IV IT I ES OF S AMPLE BY GROUPS
Group
F as h i o n Re l at ed
Act i v i t i es
Group
I
II
%
%
Group
Group
( D at a i n percen t
Group
IV
v
%
%
%
%
5
8
7
12
4
C l o t hing Des ign
20
43
20
6.7
3.
C l o t h i ng Cons t ru c t i on
10
86
78
4.
Text i l es
10
57
42
6.7
6.7
5.
App arel
60
57
64
8.9
21 . 7
36 . 6
6 .
S e l l i n g Fas h i o n
I t ems
70
7
30
11 . 7
22 . 8
7.
M anagement in Fash i o n
Depart ment s
55
8.
Pro f e s s i on a l Mod e l
20
7
12
9.
S a l e s i n Yardage and
Dep art ment St o re s
10
7
Buyer
45
Fashi on
2.
10 .
*
Tot a l s may
I l lust r at i on
S e l ec t i on
100
13
11 . 7
15 . 9
45
66
20
3
8.5
4
3
8
20
2
10
2
4
5
6
equ a l mo r e t han 1 0 0 % d u e t o d i f f erent
emp l oyment
requi rement s .
)
Tot al for
A l l Groups
III
15
1.
*
10 . 6
.7
C;j
;-
32
The act i v i t i es l e ast engaged i n b y t he t o t a l s amp l e
inc luded :
Fas h i o n I l lust r at ion
Dep a rt ment s
( 7 . 4 %) .
( 8%) , Man agement i n Fashion
( 8 . 5%) , Pro fess i on a l Mod e l
( 7 . 9%) , and Buyer
As ant i c i p at ed , i n e ach o f t he s e fou r act i v i t i es
it i s t he women i n bus iness who mos t o f t en are i nvolved i n
t he act i v i t y- - 1 5 perc ent w e r e Fas h i o n I l lu s t r at ors , 5 5 p er­
cent were Manag e r s o f Fash i on Dep artm en t s , 20 perc ent were
Mod e l s and 45 p e r c ent were Buy e rs .
The f as hi o n re l at ed a c t i v i t y mos t o ft en eng aged i n
b y t he t o t a l s amp l e w a s c lot hing cons t r uc t i on , w i t h
6 6 . 1 p e r c en t p art i c i p at i on .
a
This f i gure n atur a l ly i s high
s in c e s ome o f t he c o l l eg e s t uden t s po l l ed , as we l l as a l l
o f t he Adu lt Educ at i o n c l as s members , were current ly en­
ro l l e d in a Clot h i n g Con s t ruc t i on c l as s .
I n cont r as t ,
only 1 0 percent o f t he Bus i n e s s Women ind i c at ed t h at t hey
do any s e w ing .
T h i s low p e r c ent age could b e b e c ause t he
women are e i t he r g i ve n c l o t hing b y m anu f ac t urers
(as ad­
vert i z ing or � romot i on ) , or e ls e t hey c an buy t he c lo t hing
at a d i scount .
I t m i g ht a l s o b e s ai d t hat t he s e women do
n o t h av e t he t ime to sew bec au s e t hey are work i n g .
But ,
t hi s f ac t o r cou l d app l y t o Horne Econom i c s I n s t ruct ors as
wel l , and 8 6 p e rc ent of t hat group f i nd t ime t o s ew .
Group V
In
(Ot hers ) , 4 5 p ercent st at ed t h a t t hey were involved
i n c lot h i ng const ruct i o n .
I n t hi s group , i t w as by f ar t he
mo st pop u l a r o f t he f as h i on r e l at ed act i vi t i e s .
Thes e f i n d in gs o n c lo t h ing c onst ruct ion , correspond
to
a
reeent s t ud y report ed i n t h e An��:J.:.c an _)[al!r i es mag a z i n r:.'
33
.. 2 ,..,
{ - 1 : �'3 ..:'""1 ) .
In t hi s survey , i t was not ed t hat t he young women
( 1 3 - 1 9 y e ars o l d ) cons i d e red s ewing t he i r f avor i t e hobby .
I t was <-� s t imat ed t h at i n t he Un i t ed St at e s a lone , t here are
4 4 m i l l ion home s ewers who const ruct 500 m i l l ion garments
annu a l ly at an expend i t ure of $2 . 5 b i l l i on .
A l l o f t hese
s t at is t i c s mus t b e encou r ag ing not only to p at t ern and
y ar d ag e m anu f ac t ur ers but a l s o t o s ewing machine manu f acturers and al l t he ac c omp any i ng not ions produc in g c omp anies .
I t m i ght further i nd i c at e a cont inu ing future f o r
c lot hing con s t ruct ion
( and r e l at ed ) c l as s es .
Few o f t he women were invol ved i n s a l es in yardag e
and dep artment s t o re s .
The hi ghes t numbe r t o p art i c i p at e
i n t hi s t yp e o f work was f ound among t he c o l l ege s t udents
(20%) .
i t ems
Thi s gr oup a ls o was engag ed in s e l l ing f ashi on
(3 0 %) .
T he women in bus i nes s , underst and abl y , had
t he h i g hest numb e r who s o l d f as h i on i t ems
( 70 %) .
It is
poss i b l e t h at t he co l l eg e student s found part - t ime s a l es
work mo re r e ad i ly av a i l ab l e t o t hem i n t he s e d ep artment s ;
o r p er h aps , t hey chose f as hi o n r e l at ed s a l es work b e c ause
they were more i nt er e s t e d i n c l o t h ing t han the t hr e e r emain i n g g r oups .
T h i s l at t er analy s i s corresponds t o
a
s t udy report ed by M ary Shaw Ryan i n her book Clot hing_:�
St u_::�L_ _!. n Human Behav i o r , whi c h s ho wed t h e younge r , unmar.
r i ed woman had t h e h i g he s t c lo t h i ng i nt e r e s t
(4 : 1 1 6 ) .
Ac t u a l clot hing des i gn was c hecked by 1 5 . 9 p ercent
o f t he s amp l e .
vms 43
The h i g hest p ercent a g e i n t h i s c at egory
perc ent o f t he Home Ec onom i cs Inst ruct ors po l l ed .
34
r.rwonty p ercent o f t he c o l l e g e s t udent s and the Bus in e s s
Wom e n i nd i c at ed t hat t hey h ad d e s i gned c l o t hi n g .
O f i n t e re s t i n t he t hr e e r em a in ing f as hi o n r e l at ed
ac t i v i t i es
( t ext i le s , app are l s e l ect ion , and p r o f e s s ional
mod e l ) , is t he f act t hat the Bus i ness Women are h e av i l y i n­
vo lved i n s e l e ct ion ( 6 0 % ) and s e l l ing (70 % ) o f f a s hions ,
but h ave very l i t t l e t ex t i le exp e r i ence
( 1 0 %) .
I t wou ld
s eem t h at in order to s e l ect and s e l l women ' s f as h i on s ,
one wou l d n e e d more t ex t i l e i n format i on i n order t o s at­
i s f y t he consume r ' s quest i ons about the g arment .
Perhaps
t hi s i s un i mport ant ; t he consumer i s not as int e rest ed i n
t he f abr i c a s h e i s i n t he d e s ign and c o l o r o f t he g ar­
ment .
The Adu l t Educ at ion St udent s had a l im i t e d knowl edge
of t ext i l es
(6 . 7%) , whi c h may i nd i cat e a need f o r includ­
ing a unit on f abr i cs b e fore c l o t hing cons t ruc t i on beg ins .
The Homa Ec onomi c s I ns t ruct o rs
Stud ent s
(57 % )
and t h e Home Ec onomics
(4 2%) had t he highest t ex t i l e exp e r i en c e .
There were s ev e r a l inst anc es whe r e no p art i c ip at ion
was i nd i c at ed ;
as , n o Home Economi c s i n s t ructors o r Adu l t
Edu c at ion S t udents had exp e r i ence in f as h i o n d ep artment
man agement .
A l s o , no r espond ing instructors had even been
buyers .
C.
T ab l e 3 ,
page
F a s hi o n Mag a z i n es
3 5 , l i s t s e i ght women ' s mag az i nes
w h i c h cont a i n f as h i on news ,
and t h o s e who answered t he
T ABLE 3
:FREQUENCY OF READ ING FASH I ON MAG.A ZINES BY GROU'PS
(Dat a
in
percent )
.-
MAGAZINE
..
GROUP
Mo .
G l amour
Harp e r ' s
:
..
:
.
.
I
Occ .
%
%
50
30
Mad emo i s e l le
:
.
.
45
:
.
.
.
20
:
15
:
:
30
Mo .
%
7
II
Occ .
%21
.
14 . 3
28 . 6
57
14 . 3
.
.
.
.
.
.
GROUP
:
Lad i e s Home :
Jou rn a l
..
:
45
20
.
.
7
42 . 9
:
.
:
.
GROUP
Mo .
III
Occ .
%
%
.
.
8
44
:
2
30
26
34
:
..
.
.
:
:
:
12
30
GROtJP
..
.
.
.
:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
:
.
.
:
%
28 . 6
:
26
42
:
33
S e v ent e en
:
40
15
:
- --
35 . 8
:
14
40
.
.
2
:
:
Pat t e rn Co . :
.
Pub l i c a:
t i ons
70
20
:
:
35 . 7
50
:
:
14
44
:
:
13
Key :
Mo .
Occ .
=
=
:
.
28 . 6
57
:
:
38
:
.
:
:
:
:
Mo .
Occ .
%
%
10
6.7
25
�·o·
20
:
.
.
:
.
Mo .
.
: 12 . 7
.
21 . 7 :
Occ .
%
%
.9
31
25 . 4
.
26 . 7
41 . 7 : 26
35
.
18
: 10 . 1
22
35
33
:
: 32 . 3
34 . 4
:
13
16 . 7 : 12 . 7
25 . 4
:
8
5
35 . 6
:
22
35 . 6
35
.
.
.
.
: 19.6
37
'
.
20
.
ALL GROUPS
GROUP V
.
13
---
35 . 8
5
42
22
:
10
17 . 8
:
:
.
20
.
.
28 . 9
2
35
.
.
%
6.7
:
:
Occ .
Mo .
McCa l l ' s
Vogue
IV
TOTAL ]'OR
20
.
:
.
.
13
43
: 17 . 5
33
:
Mont h l y
Occas i on a l l y
w
C..I
36
quest i onn a i r e w e r e asked t o i n d i c at e whe t her t hey r e ad t he
m ag a z i n e mont hly , o c c as i o n a l l y o r n e v e r .
There was a l s o
s p ac e ava i l ab l e f o r l is t ing o t her pub l i c at i ons r e ad whi ch
cont a in e d art i cl e s on w omen ' s f as hions .
d e s c e n d i n g o rd e r o f f requency were :
T ho s e l i st ed i n
Good Hous ekeepi n g $
Red 1?o ok , Cosmopo l i t an , L i f e , Time , Women ' s We a r D a i l y ,
News p apers , Town and Count ry , Fas h i on We ek , Clo t hes and
Look .
For t he t ot a l s amp l e , t he most popul ar m ag az i n e was
Mc Ca l l ' s .
I t was read mont h l y by 3 2 . 3 percent o f t he s am-
p le and o c c as i on al l y b y 3 4 . 4 p e rcent o f t he s amp l e ( t o t a l
o f 6 7 % o f t he s amp l e ) .
The s econd most r e ad m a g a z i n e was
t he Lad i es Home Journ a l w i t h a c omb ined t o t a l o f 6 1 p ercent
o f t he s amp l e hav i n g read i t at some t ime .
Mademo i s e l l e
was t he l e ast r e ad o f t he pub l i c at ions w i t h 3 2 percent havi ng r e ad i t and Harpe r ' s was r e ad by 34 p e r cent o f t he s ample .
Howev e r , 6 5 p ercent o f t he Bus iness Women read bot h
Mademo i s e l l e and Harp er ' s mag azines e it he r mont h l y o r occ as io n a l ly .
Vo gue m ag a z i n e , one o f t he l ead ing n at i o n a l maga­
z ines d evot ed e x c l us iv e l y t o t he coverag e o f women ' s f ashi ons , was r e ad by 5 6 . 6 p e r c en t of t hi s s amp l e .
T h i s i n-
e lud e d 90 p e r c en t o f t he Bus i ness Women and 8 6 p e rc ent o f
t he Hom e Ec onomi cs Inst ruct o rs .
For t he t hr e e rem a i n i.ng
groups , I I I , IV , V , t ho s e who r e ad Vo �u � d i d s o o c c as ion�·
al l y r at he r t h an mont hly c
Over h a l f o f t he s amp l e r e ad t he p at t <:·rn company
37
Her e i t may be not ed t hat t h e Bus i n es s
p ub l i c at ions .
Women r e ad t h i s source o f f as hion t he l e as t o ft en·- ·- 1 0 p e r·­
c ent mont hl y , 5 p e r c e nt occas i o n a l l y .
T h i s co r r e l a t ed w i t h
t he p r e v i ous f :tnd i n g t hat o f t he Bus i n e s s Women p o l l ed ,
o n l y 1 0 percent d i d any s ewing .
Ano t he r i nt er es t i n g f i nd­
i n g was t hat a l l of t he Adu l t Educat i o n St udent s ·wEn·e en- r o l l e d i n a s e w i n g c l ass , but o n ly 20 p e r c en·t r e ad p at t e rn
pub l ic at ions mont hly and 2 0 p ercent d i d
a t o t a l o f 4 0 p ercent .
so
occas i on a lly f o r
·what d o t he remai n ing 6 0 p e rcent
r ead for c lo t hing c on s t ruct i on insp i r at i on ?
According t o
t hi s s t udy , t he mos t fr equent ly r e ad m agazi n es b y t hi s
group •.:vere Mc Cal l ' s and Lad t e s Home Jou rn a l .
The s e t wo
maga z i nes do c ar ry p at t e rn i nformat i o n but o f n e c es s i t y i t
i s l im i t ed i n fo rmat i on .
Sevent e en mag azine was t he s ix t h most r e ad mag az in e
( 3 8 . 1 % ) , b u t t he maj o r i t y o f t he s e r e ad e rs w e r e e i t he r
Bus iness Women ( 5 5 % ) , who p ro b ab ly f ind t he t eenage mark e t
v e ry import ant i n t he i r wo rk , or t he Home Econom i c s S t u­
d en t s
( 54 %) , who w e r e t he younge s t group and so unders t and­
ably i n t e r es t ed i n t h i s mag az i n e .
Non e o f t he Home Eco­
nom i c s I n s t ruct ors r e ad Seven t e e n mag a z i n e mont hly , but
app rox imat e l y 3 6 p ercent looked at i t o c c as iona l l y .
Vogu e ,
_?lr<:E�
Women ( 80%) .
mag az i ne was t he cho i c e f o r t he Bus iness
This m a g a z i n e a l s o was popu l ar w i t h t he Home
Economics Student s
t o t a l s a.mp l e .
Aft er
( 5 2 % ) and was read by 4 4 percent o f t he
38
D.
Fas hion Trends Fores e en for 1 970s
In s ome resp e c t s t he res u l t s f rom t hi s p art of t he
ques t i onn a i re proved t he mo s t i nt r i g u i n g s in c e t he 1 970
f ashions have j us t be gun .
Be fore ana l y z i ng t he s e s t at i s-
t i c s , however , t he o t he r f ashi o n t rends whi c h were wri t t en
i n s hou l d be l i s t e d .
One o f t he recurring forecas t s
l is t ed b y s ome women i n e ac h o f t he f i ve groups was t hat
t he s t yl e may n ot be as i mport an t as t he f abr i c whi c h i s
emp l o y ed t o c ar r y out t he des i g n .
Here are s ome o f t he
c ommen t s :
S o ft ness i n f ab r i c s and p r i n t s
C l i n g ing r i b knit s
Large usage o f m an-made k n i t f i be rs i n
p i e ce goods
Thermo- cont r o l l e d c lo t h i ng
E le gance i n f ab r i cs
More b r i g ht co lors and b l ends o f c o lors
Anot her o f t en s t at ed forecast was for ind i v idual f r eedom
to wear what one w i shed .
T ab l e 4 , p age 3 9 , l i s t s t he n i ne forecas t s for t he
1 970s and makes t he d i l ennn a o f t o d ay ' s f as hi ons somewhat
As t hi s p aper i s being wr i t t en , Sp r i ng 1 970 ,
c l e Rr e r .
t here i s
a
widespre ad d i scus s i on and mount ing prot est
about t he return o f t he m id- c a l f ski r t l ength r e ferred t o
as
nm i d i . u
The quest i onn a i re g at hered op i n i ons o f women
in Novembe r 1 96 9 ,
ness
and at t hat t im e t he women i n t he bus i -
o f f as hi on p re d i c t e d t he cont i nu at i on o f t he m i n i-
TABLE 4
J<"AS H I ON TRENDS FOR THE
F AS H I ON T REND S
1 970s
AS PRO JECTED BY GROUPS
(Dat a
in Percent )
GROUP
I
GROIJP
II
GROUP
III
GROUP
IV
GROUP
v
%
%
%
%
o;o,
Modi f i c at i o n o f t he
p r es ent f as hi o ns
50
50
44
53
48
46 . 7
2.
Rep e t i t i o n o f t he past
45
28 . 6
52
26 . 7
28
36
3.
Comp l et e new app roach
25
14 . 3
6
17 . 8
8
12 . 2
4.
Ret urn o f
35
21 .4
22
13
35
25 . 4
65
42 . 9
67
35 . 6
46 . 7
50 . 3
s t e ad o f s k i r t s
30
64 . 3
74
24
43
47. 1
7.
Mo r e nud i t y
20
21 .4
28
17. 8
25
23 . 3
8.
D i s po s ab l e c l ot hi ng
15
28 . 6
38.
24
45
33 . 9
9.
Un i s ex c lo t hi n g
35
28 . 6
34
15 . 6
26 . 7
27
FORESEEN FOR T HE
�
1 .
5.
6.
1 9 70s
l ong s k i r t s
TOTAL FO R
ALL GROUPS
%
Cont inuat i o n o f m i n i sk i rt
We a r i ng o f p ant s
in-
c.·J
\,;?
40
�k i rt
( 6 5%) and t he mod i f i c at i on o f t he pres ent hem l eng t h
The s e were t he i r t wo s t rongest pred i c t i ons ! !
( 5 0 %) .
3 5 p e r c ent pred i c t ed t he ret urn of long e r ski rt s .
On ly
Desp i t e
women ' s p rot est s , many l ead ing d e s i gn e rs a r e pred i c t i n g
t hat 4 0 p er c en t o r mo re o f avai l ab l e f as hi ons w i l l b e mid­
c a l f l engt h by t he Fa l l o f 1 970 , and t hat women w i l l wear
t hem t o be " i n s t y l e " ( 1 7 : 3 9 ) .
Look i n g at t he who l e p i ct ure o f 1 9 70 fashion fore­
c as t s , we s ee t hat t he s t rongest p r ed i ct ion
a con t i nuat i on o f t he m i n i - sk i rt l engt h .
( 5 0 . 3 %) was for
I n con t r ast , only
2 5 . 4 p e r c ent of t he pop u l at ion f e lt l ong s k i rt s wou ld re­
The s amp l e a l s o b e l i eved p an t s wou ld b e worn i n
t urn .
p l ac e o f s k i rt s
(4 7 . 1 %) , and t hat t here wou ld b e a mod i­
f i c at ion of p r e s ent f as hi ons
(4 6 . 7%) .
Approx imat e l y one­
t hi rd o f t h ese women forecast a repet it i on o f past f as h i ons
and i nc r e ased us age of d i sp o s a b l e c lo t h i n g .
About one­
fourt h of t he s amp l e f e lt nudi t y and un i s ex c lo t h i n g would
i n cr e as e .
On l y 1 2 . 2 p e rcent forecast t hat t here wou ld be
a comp l et e n e w approach to women ' s f as h i ons .
The Home Ec onomi c s S t udent s reve a l ed t he young wo­
men ' s fashion hop e s fo r t he 1 970s .
The i r s t rongest p r e­
d ict i on s were f o r t h e inc reased wearing o f p ant s i n p l ace
o f sk i rt s
s k i rt
( 74%) and a ls o t he cont inuat i o n of t he m i n i ­
( 6 7% ) .
sk i rt s .
On l y 2 2 p er c ent hop e d for a ret urn o f l ong
Thi s was t he g roup to forecast most s t ron g ly a
repe t i t i on o f t he past
( 5 2%) ,
and more d is p o s ab l e c lo t hi n g
as
we l l as more nud i t y ( 2 8%)
(3 8%) .
The young p eop l e
41
fo rec as t t he l o we s t p e r c ent age o f a l l f i ve g roups
(on l y
6 %) t h at t here wou l d b e a c omp l e t e n e w app r o a c h t o women ' s
f as hi ons .
Home Econo m i c s I n s t ructors b e l i eved t h at t he m a i n
f as h i on t re nds f o r women i n t he 70s , wou l d b e t he we a r i ng
o f p an t s i n p l ac e o f s k i r t s
present fashi o ns
skirt
(4 2 . 9%) .
(64 . 3 %) ,
a
mod i f i c at i on o f
( 5 0 %) , and t he cont i nu at i on o f t he m i n i ­
On l y 2 1 . 4 p ercent bel i ev ed t hat long s k i rt s
wou l d r e t urn i n t he n e ar fut u r e .
Group
t he Adu l t Educ at ion c l ass members , f e l t
IV ,
s t rongest about t he mo d i f i c at i o n o f pres ent fashions
(53 . 5 %) , and t h e cont i nu at i o n of t he m i n i - sk i rt
(3 5 . 6 %) .
About one- fourt h o f t h i s group t hought t hat p ast f ashi ons
would b e rev i ved , t hat p an t s w ou l d repl ac e s k i rt s , and
t hat t here wou l d b e mor e d i s p o s a b l e c lo t h i n g .
The group ' s
l e as t exp ect at ions were for t he ret urn o f long s k i rt s
( 13 . 3 %)
and f o r un i s ex c l o t hing
Group
V
had s t r ong f e e l i ngs for t he mod i f i c at i on o f
p r e s e n t f ashi ons
s k i rt
( 1 5 . 6%) .
( 4 8 . 3 %) , t he cont i nuat i on o f t he m i n i ­
(4 6 . 7%) , t he weari n g o f d i s po s a b l e c l o t hi ng
and t he w ea r i n g o f p ant s i ns t e ad o f s k i rt s
(45%) ,
(4 3 . 3 % ) .
T hi s
g roup , and t he Bus in e s s Women , were t he highest i n pre­
d i c t i n g t he ret urn of longer s k i rt s ;
group f e lt t hat t hi s wou l d o c cur .
women i n Group
n ew
V
35 p e r c ent of e ac h
Only 8 . 3 p e rcent o f t he
b e l i eved t hat t he r e would be a c omp let e
f as h i on approach for women i n t he 1 9 70s .
42
E.
F as hion Sket ches
The t hi rd p ar t o f t he su rvey was conc erned w i t h
sket ches o f c lot hing t y p i c a l ly worn dur ing t he 1 96 0 s and
the women ' s o p i n i ons o f t hem .
The s e e i ght e en des igns were
c hos e n on t he b as is o f t he c l o t hi n g t hat news p apers , maga-­
z i n es and o t her publ i c at i ons were s howing during t he ye ars
1 96 0 - 1 96 9 .
Fi gure I I , p ag e 4 3 , summar i zes t he t o t a l s am­
p l e ' s f e e l ings about t hes e des i gns .
O f t he e ig ht e e n sket c hes , t he mos t f avored was t h e
P an t s Suit
( 9 7%) , w i t h t he A- Line D r e s s a c lo s e s ec ond
cho i c e ( 96 %) .
sketches
I n t he secon d p art o f t he ques t ion on
(c oncerni n g t he respond ent ' s own ers h i p of t he
g armen t ) , 4 5 p e r c ent owned a p an t s u i t , 2 5 p ercent d i d not
own o n e , 1 8 p e r c ent p l anned to purchas e o r mak e one , 3 p e r­
c en t i nd i c at ed t hat t hey a lr e ad y o wned o n e and p l anned t o
get ano t he r , and 9 p er cent d i d not answe r .
The an alysis o f
t he f i ve women ' s g roups , t aken i n d i v i du a l ly , c oncerning
t he P ant s Suit , s howed some int erest i n g r e s u l t s .
The Bus i ­
n e s s Women and t he Home Econom i c s Inst ruc t o rs were a l l i n
f avor o f t he Pant s Suit ; 6 0 p e rcent o f t he Bus iness Women
but o n l y 3 6 p e rcent o f t he Home Econom i c s Inst ruc t ors
owned one or mo re .
However , 2 9 p e rcent o f t h e Inst ruct ors
p l anned o n buy i n g a p ant s s u i t .
The group whi c h showed
t he most o wn e r s h i p of t he p ant s s u i t , w as t he Home Econom­
ics St udent s , 6 6 p ercent o wned one and anot her 16 percent
p l anned t o get o n e .
The g roup who owned t h e l e ast number
43
FASHION
DES I GNS
P an t s
Su i t
A-- Line
Dl� E��3 f}
S h i ft
D1, (:1 S �3
P an t s
D r e s E>
Party
Pant s
Be l l
Bo t t om
Cap r i
Pant s
Mini
Co s t ume
Bik i n i
Mod
Max i
Tent
Drer� E�
Un :L s e:x
Met a l
Hip p i e
No-- B:ra/
See T h:ru
Mi d i
Key :
Percent o f \vomen who :
"Like "
-
a
"Li ke Somewhat "
plus
- b
F I GUlfE I I
l''ASHI ON DES I GN S
IN ORDER 01" H.ESPONDEN'I'S PRKFEimNCES
44
o f p ant s suit s , was t he Adu l t Educ at i on g:r oup , whe re 9 6
p e r c ent
l i k ed i t , but on ly 2 7 p ercent own ed one .
Reg ard ing t he A- Line Dress , 6 . p erc ent o f t he t ot a l
s amp l e d i d not
respond , 74 p ercent owned an A- l i n e dress ,
9 perc ent d id not o wn o n e and 1 1 p er cent p l ann ed t o pur­
c has e o r c ons t ruct an A- l in e d r ess .
Of t he f ive groups ,
a l l o f t he Home Econom i c s I ns t r uct ors l i k e d t h e A- l in e
dress d e s i gn .
E i ghty- s e ven p ercent o f Group
V
owned an
A- l :L n e dress and ano t he r 1 3 p ercent p l anned t o get o n e .
Of t he Bus iness Women o n ly 6 5 p er cent own e d an A- l in e
dress ; t hi s was t he lowest degree o f o wners hip for t hi s
design .
T he own ersh i p o f t h e t ot a l s amp le was muc h h i g he r
for a n A- l in e d ress t h an f o r a p ant s s u i t
( 74 p ercent
o wn ed an A- l i n e c omp ared to 4 5 p ercent own i ng a p ant s
s u i t ) , v;hich m i ght b e because the A- l i n e s t y l e was popul ar­
i ze d e ar ly in t he 1 96 0 s and t h e p ant s s u i t o n ly in t he last
few y e ars .
T he much h i g he r p e rc ent age o f ownersh i p for t h e
A- l i n e dress c ou ld a ls o be due t o t he f act t hat i t c o u l d
b e w o r n o n mo re o c c as i on s , wher e as t he p ant s sui t wou ld
t end t o be s omewhat l imit ed .
Out o f t he e i ght e en f as hion sketches , t e n we re
d re ss es o f v ar iou s s t y l e s and l engt hs , one was a bathing
suit
and s even we r e s ome form of p ant s
p ant s d res s t o f lowing party p ant s ) .
o f p ant s s ket ches u s e d w as
( from mini lengt h
Alt hough t he number
less t h an dress s ket ches , f ive
of t he s even t o p c lo t h i ng c ho i c e s inv o l ved s ome f orm of
45
I n s ummar y ,
Pan t s
Su i t s and A- L i n e Dre s s e s
and s e cond c ho i c es ,
t he
£ ourt h �
f i ft h ,
C a,pT i
en ,
Party
P an t s
P an t s s ev ent h .
·w e r e
_pant s
Of
the
i n t e re s t
At
Be l l
l e as t
for
of
dre s s
and 7 7 p e rc en t
� h�ft
dress
was
st i l l
the
a v a i l a b le
few s t ores
c ap r-1 p a.n t s
mos t
( 8 9%) and
W:omen
(50 %) . .
lu e o n t :e a.s t ,
f av o r e d
l e as t
by
� h iE
was
having
a
in
any
shift
wi t h t he Adu l t
p an t s
Bu s i n e s s
Bot t o m Pan t s
Educ at i o n
Women
of
t he
Adu l t
for
t hi s
all
T he
Women
t he Adu l t
by
.
Ed uc at i on
St u dent s
l i k ed
T he
t he c l os e
at
c ap r i
the
( 92 %)
( 6 0 %) .
o :f t he
The
Bus i n es s
Educ at i on Women .
sty le .
in s t y l e o f p an t s t hat
women
So
it
ap­
pr e f e r red
v a r i e t y o f s i l ho u e t t es .
The M i n i
-
S k i rt
rank e d
e i g ht h
in
fa s h i o n cho i c e s .
Se vent y-- t hr o e percent o f t h e s amp l e d i d l ik e
cent cvm e d
e l� Lr t
t he
t he s t o r e s
­
1 96 1 .
Ec on omi c s
7 1 p er c ent
l ea s t
of
Home
t he l ow e s t p e r e e n t
_pe<ir:ed :at
of
t he c on
is
and
I i ked
l o os e - f i t t i n g B e ll
e v e n ful l e r P a r t y P a n t s w e r e
Women and 1)y
1 96 3
p an t s
p opu la r w i t h t he
t he
1 8 9 wom·­
t he c ap r :l p an t s .
s t o c ked
p o p u l ar
t he f av o r i t e s c- f t h e
were
and
le ast
c ap r t
l i k ed
n i l96 9 but v e ry
·w e r e
of
s amp l e
of
s amp l e s t i l l
st i l l
Dre s s
t o d ress .
dress
f i gu r e - r e v e a l i n g
I�i ght_y- s :lx p er c e n t
t his
t o p s e ven s e le c t i on s
t he s e
t�nued popu l ar i t y o f t he s h i f t
clo s e-- f i t t i n g ,
Pan t s
Bo t t om Pan t s s i x t h and
way
p r e f er r e d
in
Dr e s s w a s t hi rd ,
S h i ft
f i rs t
were
R
i) Wll er s
m i n i - sk i rt .
it
a n d L1 2 p er·­
T h e lowe fJ t p e rc ent ag e o f m i n i -
was 2.mong t he Home Ec onom i c s
Inst ruc t ors
( '7%)
46
D.rld
as
exp e c t e d ,
.
amo n g t he
the
y o ung e s t
h i g he s t
o wn e d
1ve r-e _ planning to
a c q ui r e
�ostume
t lw Home
wom e n ,
where SO _ p er c e nt
p e rc en t a g e o f own ers h ip w as
a m in i - sk i rt
clot h i n g
S tud ent s
Ec o n o m :i. c s
and
ano t h er
1 0 p e r c ent
one .
en c omp a s s e d
a great
of
v ar i et y
·clo t hing us ua lly s el e c t e d sep a r at e ly and t h en c ombi ned i n
v arious
ways .
'l'he sk e t c h
·der ·a ntini wrap--- a r o u n d s k i r t
s hirt ,
a
ves t ,,
� 7% liked
ninth
-skete hes. .
t h at
and
In
women he
m as s es
i t)
O WlF:>d
: t he
wou- l d
-
qy :95
be
t he l at e
The
in
l ong- s l ee v ed
a
o p i n ions
a
t he i r
a like .
I n s t ruc t o r s,
dr6ss
6 7 pe r c e nt
p e r c en t
o f Ot he r s
and
t hat
T he C o s t ume
72
p l ac ed
r eo c curr i n g
o f t he Bu s i n es s Wome n ,
_p e r c ent
l ook
of f as h i on
was un l i k e l y
:L t
worn un-
p an t s
'I' his
t h er e w a s
t heme
t he cos-
any
t wo
l i. k ed
was
and
7 9 p e r c en t
t he Home
of
an d
of
44
p e rc e n t
Mod
look
· t h e �Bu s in ess Women
of
d r e s s wh i c h had b e g un i n London i n
l ead
of t he
samp l e .
Her e
again ,
t he groups wi t h f our-- f i f t hs
l iking
whi.l e onT y 2.9 p erc en t o f t he Ad u l t
Educ at i on
Women
T lre fuTl T en g t h s k irt s t y l e known as t he Max i was
choss>n by 44 _perc ent
ow.o.ed
on·e
of
Edu c at i o n Women .
. 1 966 .rece i ved aJ)lJ roval b y h a l f
- tt. ,
by
of j ewe l ry .
1 96 0 s
d r es s e d
Home 1!::cnn o m t c s
Adult
t op p e d
in d i v i d u a l i s t i c
�Ec unom�cs Bt u d e p ts,
: t he
,
con c e rn i n g
t ume _prov i d ed t h e a n s wer ;
wom en
w i d e-- l eg g e d
s hows
·and an other
of the
wom en and
yet
on ly
5 p e rc ent
12 p e rc ent p l ann ed on buy ing one .
fav or e d
47
t he m ax i �
F l anned
15
p e r c ent
t o o wn
o wn e d
one .
Perhaps ,
pl e w ho f av o r e d t he max i
see
if
one
and
t he
anot h e r
ot her
l e ngt h w e re
in
women
going
called
s am-
t he
'�ait
to
a T en t
consi dered by o n e of t h e buy e rs
as
t he
d e s i gns o f t he
42
percent
t his survey ,
wn2 l e Gr oup
and
1 96 0 s .
l iked
Even
it ;
so ,
l e ast
V had 54
Group
I s h o w e d on l y 2 5 p e r c en t
Dress ,
was
i m ag i n a t i v e
the
of
women
p e rc ent
in
f avor
f avor
of
the
in
in
t ent
.•
:ri·i en
appr oYal
and
by
d r es s
was
o vm e cl
it
v:r:ts
d r e s s ing a l i k e ,
wom e n
ove r
Bom e Ec onomics
T his
p erc ent
b e f o r e buy i n g .
A l o o s e f i t t i n g g arme n t
dr e ss
15
a
t hi rd
St udent s
3 p ercent
and
o n ly
Hipp i e t yp e
j ew r-> l ry
Ot her
54
w::1s
were
p o l l ed
p e r c ent
p l annc�d
(3 G % ) .
s amp l e
on
7
of
ans w e r e d
the
l i k ed
own i n g
p e r c ent
un c onvent i on a l
owned
Among
c lo t h i n g
l es s
ac c e p t a b l e
t he
l\U d i
· heJ. ng s ho wn at
t he
maj o r
l iked j_ t
Con c e rn i n g
of
,
un i s e x
f as h i o n .
s amp l e .
S e e T h r o u g h and Met al
c ho i c e s
d r es s
f as h i o n
c en t e r s
e i ght e e n
and 6 p e r c ent
o wn e r s h i p
I n s t r u e t o :r s
l iked
total
l en g t h o f
all
.P ercent
as
t he
out f it .
and d a n g l ing
robes
of
t he
3 2 p e rc ent
un i s ex
t yp e
f ound
way o f
un i s ex
it ,
a
t he y
t hi s
free- f lowing
Howev e r ,
(8% t o t al ) .
t hat
1 ik e d by 1 8 p e rc ent
cl ot hi ng wer e t he
·onJs 2
t he
c lot hing ,
t he r e v e r s e among t he Ho:rne Econom i c s
'.Vhere o n ly 2 1 p e r c e n t
c l o t h:Lng
w ho
q u i t e p c p u l ar ;
and
of
Un i s ex
of
of
dress .
which
here
f as h i o n
l i ked
it
t he m i d i
is
and
pres ent ly
a.br o ad ,
sket ches .
somewh at
10
p e r c ent
48
d i d not
own
one ,
ans wer ,
and
6
only
p er c e n t
o wn e d
t hr e e wo men
o ne
said
,
wear
o v e r mat c h i n g p ant s .
p e r c en t
d i d no t
t hey p l anned t o buy one .
Tv;o o f t he s e w e r e Bu s i nes s Wom e n who
r e t urned q u e s t i o n n a i res t hat
83
i nd i c at ed
t he y v.i o u l d
get
on
a midi
t he i r
o n ly
to
CH.AJ?'.nm V
S UlvtMAH.Y AND CONCLUS I ONS
T hi s s t udy
_ p ast
on
re ac t i ons to f as h i ons of t he
women ' s
t en y e ars p l' f)cluced s om e
int e r es t l ng d o:t a
rm a l yzed
as
by t he hyp o t he s o s .
. N tT.LI..J HYl)Ul'HE S I S
I :
'I' h·8 re
is
no
d i f :f e ronce l n. r e ac t i ons o f
m ar i t a l
r:> oc i a 1 aet :l. v i -
t i es
or
e d u c at i on .
f i ve g roups :u1d t ho .i r 1 9 70
£ e re n c e s
could
.r es i d en c e ,,
f o 1· e c a::: t s ,
c o r r e l at e d w i t h t he
of
for e x amp l H }
t here
·w e r e
the one hu n d red e i g ht - n i n e
- {; y o f Lo s Ang e l e s Count y .
cormnuu r
wom an ' s
no
m any
c as e s
.'
..".-•. _.:·:,·.• --..:... _ }'_·,_ ;:
::·-,� ....� ...�,__-·,�
�
�
�ncn
�s n o t
in
a
t o wn o f
'D
. v
..., .�··
,_ _-,·�_l -•' l
'�
.£1 _-L" ·,.,•
..._. ,
.;#
..,..l l
• D
'·::'"
·_-.· :-:�> )
apparent .
49
·f·
,�. a
" ·t
,.,. ""
.d
......
.-'��
<..":
:t.
of
area
w oms-n
Un-
women
The
r <.:: s :i. ded .
l i ved i n a
m aj ori t y
·woman
t:i O , 0 0 0 peop l e i s
i n such c l o s e pro x i m i t y to
C o:·>
- nu··,·n OD.
d i f-
maj or d :i. f fer---
A
Ang el es Cmm t y 1 i v :i.. n g
t he s a
m ar i t a l s t at u s o r f am i ly 8 i z o .
among t h.e ::::d_ :,:e o f t o wns v.- he:ce t he
D�ly t wo
xura"l
.
be
efJ uc a t i o n ,
cl�:u· .l' e s i dJ.')n c e ,
cnces
not
f a s h i on
ano t her t own
..-.. .r"', Q ''"'· ';t" "' ...., .._, "t1 .l
-... �
tJ; \""..:.. b - ... - }/ :.. ' �!..,
'.�:'il :t"
• • • •
were
:Ln Los
tn
(o f t en
..
...t> .,� -. J-�
J� ..l. t;; . . ......
;j O
s amp l e and f :t•om mor,3 d i v e rs i f i ed
dence
wou l d
reg i s t e r e d marked
have
t he
a r e as
i t em o :f :::: es i-
d i f f e r e n c e s be t w e en t he
grot�ps .
T he
f ac t
t h at
all
of
t he
Bus i n e s E
Women
we r e
invol ved
-in f as h i on as p a r t o f t he i r o c cup at :l. o ns w i l l b e d i s c us s ed
in
m o :r· e
und e r Hy po t h e s i s
d et ai l
_g_ro up no c or r e l at i o n s w e r e
t :Lons and v_;he t h er o r n o t
_p"lo y e d
no t
fnll
or
f o und
the
p a rt - t ime
III .
or
As i d e
b e t w e en
wom e n
in
w he t h e r
from
t hi s
one
f as h i on p r e d i c -
e a c h g r oup
t hey
were
we r e
em-
current ly
e"11pl oyed o ut s i d e of t he hom e .
There was s ome d i ss im t l ar i t y b et w e e n t he numb e r o f
s oc t a:l
:t hey
a c t i v i t i es
t ho u g ht
Zduc at i o n
cerrt
to
were
57
ab out
·women
act iv i t ies ,
to
:f. a s h i o n
engaged
in
t he
sma l l e s t
numb e r
For
g r oup
1 ,
of
t he
ness
Wom e n ,,
to
Adu l t
Home
_\.:.:
.., e n .t •�
·� .b
c..-n
.
.it>, ,
t hi s
E c o no m i c s
not he rs , " t o
2 8 p e �c c e n t
Educ at i o n
t heLr ::CaE:l hi on out l o o k .
_c;_
t :c en d s .
of
Ad u l t
social
only
2 2 p e r-
in t hr e e o r mo r e o r g an i z a t ions c omp ared
of group f i ve ,
1'1te
p ag e 2 9 .
\Vhat
and
T he
t he
c ent
ttent s..
bel onged
of
ac t i v e
and
g r oup s
s om e
T Bb l e
p e r c en t
whi c h t he
T hey
of
35
p e r c ent
t he
Home
Wom e n w e r e
f as h i on
t he p r e s ent . � �
of
to
t he
Ec onom i c s
t he m o s t
regist ered
(u
r:::. .J'=' O/
who wished t o k e ep
;o )
1 1mo d i f i c at i on o f
Inst Tuetors
t he
as
Bus i S t u-
s t at i c
h i ghest
it
38 per--
p e r---
i s -� -- t h.at
Th :l �:; g r o up a l s o had
t he s m al l e s t p e r c ent age o f WOP.cn wh o w t shc�d t o emb r ac e
such tihanges
'long
sl<: i rt s
as
more
nud i t y ,
un i s ex c l ot hing ,
1n
r e t urn o f
and t he w e ar i n g o f p ant s l ns t rJ ad o f sld rt s .
51
f ound
was
76 ) .
of
On e
t o i n c r e as e w i t h exp an d i n g g r e g ar i ou s n e s s
of
t he m e a s u r e s
o rg an i z at i on s
present
c a t i on
Women
were
and s howed t h e
verse
VJ S T G
d id
not
me a s u r i ng
d at a
en
esis
II I .
l e as t
Women )
to
thes e
F i gures
o ld .
ye ars
the
Fo r t he
t he
f i v e g roups
Ho w e v e r ,
g r eg a r i o u s
One o t h e r g roup ,
by
Ad d i t i on a. l
d i s c u s s ed und e r
be
Hyp o t h-
f ou n d among t he women and
o n t he a g e s
(Fi g .
I,
p.
This
f igure
O%,
was
a
27)
s ho w
f a r l ar g e r p e r c e n t age
( Bus i n es s
Adu l t
Women
Educ at i on
25% ,
Home
t he
cont i n u at i o n o f
Home J k c n om i c s
the we ar in g o f p an t s
fas hi on p r e d i c t ion ,
Ins t r uct o rs
as
fashion
s c en e .
t he i r
of
i n s t e ad
(64 %) .
(1::1 4 %) , c ho s e
t he i r fo remo s t
b u t t h e ir s e cond c ho i c e
m o d i f i c at i on o f t he p r e s ent
as
t he m i n i - sk i rt
i n s t e ad o f s k i r t s
and
Women 3 8 % ,
�avor i t e f as h i o n t r ends t h e we a r i n g o f pant s
and
Mo r e
.
lfume Ec onom i c s S t u d e n t s unde r t wen t y-
In s t r uc t o r s
( 74 % )
(who
p e r ha p s
Thes e Home Ec onom i c s S t u d ent s c hos e
skir t s
t he r e -
l e ad e rs
ar e a
Edu-
Ad u l t
o t h e r nmnn e r .
s o :nc
t h e number
appe ared t o be due t o t h e age s o f
tlJ.an the o t he r f o ur g roups
Ec onom i c s
of
f as h i on
·we re t h e most
d i v e rgenc i e s
f o r e c as t s ,
nine
t he
be d o n e in t h i s
the i r f as h i o n
of
t h at
in
The
t ru e .
l e ad e rs h ip .
l e ad e rs h ip w i l l
g r e at es t
7 0 p e r c ent
p ar t l y
was
be longed .
s ub j e c t
g r e g a r i ous
fas h i o n
gr e g a :c J. o u s n e G s
women ,
is
t rue :
need s
J as ru o n
The
t he
l east
t h e Bus i n es s
in v o s t i g a t :L o n
t he o ry
ho ld
g r eg ar i o usn e s s
w h i c b t he
to
s t ud y t h i s
of
(4 :
w as
f or
a
f:i 2
Bas ed on t he
p art i a lly
above
a c c ept e d .
f i n d i. n gs ,
T h er e
no
were
t ween t he gr oups due to res i d en c e ,
mrtr l :t a-1 s t a t us .,
ent ' s age
o r :f anl i l y s i z e ;
and numb e r o f s oc i a l
NULL HYPOTJIES I S
II
Ther •::!
·-
Hyp o t b.es i s
e duc at i on ,
t he r e
act j v i t i es
is
no
I
is
ap p arent d i f f e r en c es be-
but
to .:f <ls h i o n when n e asurt?d ag a. Ln s t:
oJ f as hi o n
:Nu l l
o c c u p a t i on ,
t o be
app e a red
t o w h i c h s he be-
d 1 f f e r e D C (�
in :c e a.c t i ons
t hf� res p o nd ent
's
1<n mv l e d g e
.•
T he par t s o f t he q u e s t ionn a i r e d e a l i n g w i t h t he
spond ent .' s know l e d g e o f
kind of
f a s h i on
or had ·b een eng a g e d ,
t he nurn b e r and
i nc l u d e d :
f a s h i o n r e l a t ed ac t i v i t y
r e-
whi ch t he s ubj ect was
�n
t h e m a g a z ines s h e r e ad ,
esp e c i a l l y
t .ended . .
It
was
at t ended
f ound t h ;1.t o f t h e Bus i n e s s
f as h i on s ho ws ,
9 0 p e rcent
Wo!llen
9 5 percent
r e ad Vogue m ag a z i n e ,
65
_p e rcent r e ad .!��.:....1J� ��:�-'.�_:.t_3_a.z�?-r e i t h e r mon t h l y o r o c c a.s i on <:l l ly
and.,
oJ
c o u rs e ,
act :L v it 1 e;3 ,,
<=i.hout
a
a..n sW�C!TS
1'lws e
wmnen
f n.sh:i. c·n
and
sueh
' 1J�t k e
as
t tLi k e Somewhat -� n
T hey
a l l o f t hem were e n g a g e d
ah:m
had
a
in
f as h i o n
r e l at e d
t ended t o have s t rong o p i n i. ons
were m o re p:cone to g i ve d e f in i t e
I t , ''
a.n d
"D i s l i k e
' 'D i s l i k e Somewhat ,
n
or
It ,
rr
r at he r t han
1 1No Opin ion .
h i gher perc e n t age of women ·who
� avor o f t he n e wer d e s i gns
as
max i a n d m i d i
W G l' e
11
in
l en gt h h em-
l i n e s. .
T h e oppo s i t e was
gro up, ,
no
V-- - r rOt h e r s � "
i nvo l v ement
Twen t y- f i v e
with
tl5 _p ercent d i d
any
read Vog u e magaz in e ,
J. ons
_p ants
{from
t he ·b as is
.is .rej e c t e d . .
There
wom en
1 96 0 s )
6 8 p e rc en t
and
Dn
t he e ar l y
as
s h o ws ,
wom�.m
(4 2%) had
t end e d
75
t hes e
to
perccm.t
55
n e v e r r e ad
.!!��-' p e ��_:_:�
.
1 U.: e d c ap r i
dress .
f ind ings ,
s e ems su f f i c i e n t
Nu l l
Hyp o t he s i s
·
t he
II
ev i d en c e t o s t at e
t hat t he r e are d e f in l t e d i f f er enc e s i n r e act l. o n s t o
.i·on w hen m e asured a g a i n s t
aever
p r e fer o l d e r f as h-
pe r c e n t
a s h i ft
l i k ed
of
f as h i on educ a t ed
o f _ t he s e
f o.s h i o n
6 8 p e r c e nt
Thes e
l e ast
t he f as h i o n r e l at ed act i vi t ies ,
of
at t end
not
Baz� a.t_: mag a z i n e ..
t r u e f o r t he
:f as h--
respo ndent ' s app arent
kno viledge o f f as hi on .
. N UI.:L HYPOT IIES I S
·acc ept an c e
- � � --��---·-----··�-�
III
-
o f pr e s en t
·-
-�·--·----
The re
it .
a
f as h i o n
or
�T ab1.:e .5,,
:in p o pu l at i on
w as
measured
t he
i t e m or h ad
e v e ry
case ,
by
t he
p l an n i n g
t he
t o own t he f as h i on .
i n t en-
Bu s 1 n c: s s
An
ex·-
wh ..� r e t he s t udent s s c ored
S e e T ab l e
5 , p age
54 .
As
(except
t he m :i. n :l.
.t he .tr ac c ep t ::::m c f� o :f n o \>.'(?r f as hi ons .
a
i n d :i. c at ed by
t hr:: Ad u l t Ed u e at ion Women S C (.il�ect t he l owe s t
·c e:rrt ag:e s ·:Ln e ach c at egory
wo-
d ;::l s i g n b y
i n ae cept i ng a newer
:eept'ion was t he p ant s f3U i t ,
hi glre.r _pe:ceent ag e .
o wn e d
I n a lmost
Women l ed -tho f i ve gr oup s
aet u a.T:I;y ov,;ni n g
d i f f e r en c e
f as hi o n .
men ind icat in g whe t h er t he y
oi acqu i ring
no
-------
T he a c c ep t an c e o f
t Lons
is
dres s ) , :i.n
pe r-
tr; .._d;,BLE 5
OWNERSHIP OJ.i' S EVEN
MAJOR FAS H I ONS OF 1 96 0 s
BY GRO UP S
(D at a
petcent )
in
-
MAX I
MIDI
:I'II N I
COSti1UIVIE
PANTS
SUIT
PART Y
PA.t�TS
PANT S
DRE S S
'
-
Own P l an
Own P l an
--
Own P l an
Own P l <=m
Own P l an
Own P l an
Own P l an
to
to
to
to
to
to
own
own
own
own
own
ov;:n
%
%
%
%
Of
Cl
/0
%
to
own
-
/0
%
Ol
/0
50
5
70
5
50
40
29
29
-
29
14
50
14
66
16
32
6
32
32
66
10
4
27
20
7
2
13
18
38
13
12
38
25
20
12
15
23
52
13
,y
!o
0'
/o
%
%
%
.&X o.l
==
5
5
10
15
15
60
15
7
-
7
7
7
7
36
GHOu'P I I I
66
2
2
-
4
18
GROUP
IV
31
2
-
2
0
GROUP
V
37
5
13
-
5
GRCUP I
GROUP
II
c..•
�
A
i ons
on
f ur t h e r m e as u r e
f as h i o n ,
page fiB. .
test
of
� n o rily
Thi s
four
he
t he
g r oup
t ab l e
l ists
f as hi o ns - - Shi f t
All
i ns igni f i c an t .
in
Dress ,
t he
of
t he
chi
f as h i on
mRny
t o t he wom en
d i fJ ere n c e s
Ts
Hu l l
In c o n c l us i on ,
s q u are
t h e o t he r
of
f a s h i on s
t he
III
Hyp o t hes i s
t hi s
T ab le
the
youn � , ' bet t er edu c at e d ,
soc i al ly
wonren re a c t ed f avorab ly
to
mo s t
s q u a re
s k e t c hes .
an a ly s i s
found
60s .
is
and
t he i r
Due
to
- l i st
of
e i ght B e n
Su i t
1 96 0 s s howed t hat t he
act i v e ,
f as h i o n
emp loyed
of t he d e s i gns .
and
t he
f avor i t e d e s i gns w h i l e t h e
A- L i n e
l e as t
de s i gns was found t o b e t he m i d i
t he ue vv es t
f afJ h i on
t he '.Vnx· ds o�f
Mos t
of
,James
of
t h e mom en t !
Lav e r c ome
The m o r e
Hip p i e ,
Dress
and
l ed
popu l ar o f
few
t he
a J. l
l en g t h hem l in e - -
P0rhaps we wi l l
t ru e when he s ai d :
a re v e r y muc l,1 t he c r e at u r e s of
W H may d :i. s l ike a n e w :f as hi on
whe n fi rst we s e e i t , but o n c e i t i s f i r m l y
e s t abli s he d � we f in d i t d i f f i c u l t t o be l i ev e
t hat a,n y t h :i n g v er y d i f f e rent e v e r c omp l e t e ly
p'Ie a s e d U: '.:l .
In l o ok i n g at t he v a r i o u s s h a p es
z i ven to a woman by s u c c e e d in g f a s h i o n s ,
t he r e f o r e � we may wa l l be p u z z l e d t o f in d
r e asons why each i n t u rn s ho u ld hav e been
c o ns i d e1·ed at t r ac t i v e ( 1 : 23 ) .
us
± he p :r es ent .:
t he s e
women ' s r e ac -
of
and Met al -.. ·- wer e n o t p op u l ar w i t h m any o f t he women
The Pant s
re-
:;.� ej eet ed. .
B ontrov ers�nl c l o t h i ng - -No-Bra and A e c - T hr o ug h ,
bought -umm..
6,
i t ems s ho wed s i g-
i n ve s t i g at i o n
t tons t o-..va rd t h e i r f a s h i on s o f
op i n-
D r e s s , P an t s
Tent
11 i f i c an:t d i f f e renc e s bet w e en t h e f i v e groups
-ac-t i o ns
in
t he r e s u l t s o f t he c h i
each o f
A-- IJi. n e D r e s s -was
d i f f e renc e s
p or t r aye d
dr amat i c a l ly
s i gn i f i c anc e � o r
�-:.O r e s s -and
to
is
of
f ind
TABLE 6
CHI
�?2
FASHION ITEM
,...-....__
1.
2.
3 ,
4.
Shi f t
A- Li n e D r e s s
Midi
9.
1 ')
...
...
17. 6
Dress
Own
Like
*
Maxi
Dress
Like
P ant s D r e s s
*
-
Chi
Lilc e
*
s q u are
33 . 6
16
23 , 6
8
*
, 01
. 01
26 . 5
8
. 01
Lik e
37 . 6
16
. 01
*
was
12
15 , 5
��
. 01
01
11 ,
No
12 .
Hi p p i e
Pant s
df
27 . 4
12
,, -.
l.
.u
28 . 1
16
. 05
Li k e 3 3 . 8
16
r\ '1
, v ....
23 . 0
Own 3 5 . 2
8
. 01
. 01
Like 4 7 . l
Own 1 4 . 0
16
4
27 . 4
16
w 05
4
8
. 01
. 01
Like
Own
Br a
and
S e e Through
13 ,
Be l l
14 .
Mo d
Bot t om
Met al
Lik e
Own
*
*
*
Like
Like
16 ,
Pant s
Su i t
Like
*
-
s i gn i f i c ant
17.
Cost mae
18 .
Pa:t�t y Pax1t s
20 , 1
25 . 2
38
Own 2 6 . 9
Like
Like
Own.
8
•
r\ "'i
v ..�.
. Ol
*
Own
.
*
not
Cap r i
_8i g .
X .-.
Own
29 . 6
. ."'
.t.� ·..,
L .J..: . �,
Ovln
10 .
15 .
Own
Own
')
FASH I ON ITE:M
Own
*
Like
U.k e
Ovm
Un i s ex
, 01
, 01
*
Own
Dress
4
Sig �
*
*
Own
S.
.
27 . 8
Own
Mini
8
-
Like
Tent
5.
7.
IJil<:e
Own
di
,.';i.
Bik i n i
SQUAHE 'I'EST OF STAT I ST I CAL S IGNIF I CANCE
-·
c
.l. O
8
35
16
45
8
, 01
. c� r
•
,., �
l,j .,.t
e Ql
C.Yl
OJ
CHAPTER V I
RECOMl\·!EKD P{f i OlTS FOR FUR'J HER RESEARCH
So muc h c o u l d have b e en add ed t o t h i s s t udy had
t he r e been s u f f ic ient time and r e s o u r c e s .
r a c oremBndat i ons
a
f a s hi on st udy
1 .
b e t he
_p artB
are set
i n t he
OrH � o :f t he
f o rth
d e s i r i ng
t ho s e
to
p ur s u e
fut ure .
f i rs t
admi n i s t r at i on
for
The f o l l o w ing
ad d i t i on s
to
t hi s
s t udy
c ould
o f t h e q ue s t i o n n a i r e in v arious
of t he. c oun t r y t o c o mp a r able woman ' s gro u ps .
Th i s
wou ld d et erm i n e how a woman i n S o ut he rn C ali f o rn i a wou l d
v i e w � er f as hi ons
gr· ro�_p hi c
as
of
area
t he Un i t e d S t at es .
t he Max i wo u l d r e c eive
women
l i ving
in Los
in c o ld ,
Ao.ge les
2.
3.
I nv e s t i g a t e
R
Try
f ashi o n ,
l e n g t h e n ed ,
wet
Perhaps ,
c lo t hes
such
a muc h h i g he r
a c c e p t ance
f rom
c l i m at es
f rom women
l i v i ng
t han
Coun t y .
f a s h i o n des i gn s
of
in c ont r as t t o a woman i n ano t h e r geo ­
why ,
o r why
not ,
women
l i k e d v ar 1 ous
and wh ere s h e wo u ld wear the g armen t .
an d
d et e rm i n e
if
t ho s e
women
who
d i s p ro ved
such as t he m ini- ski rt which c o u ld not be
spent
le;ss mon e y
f o r c l ot h i ng ,
d i :.c; app r o v a l c o u l d p o s s i b ly e o r r e la,t e w i t h
l1t)IT1 8 8 8\V:i ng .
57
and
an
tf
t hi s
incre ase i n
4.
Cond u c t
t he
t i ons t o t he w om e n ' s
5.
of
t he
The
s t udy
c h as ed
of
i nc om e
t he
m i ght
ano t h e r woman
t e en a g e
In
inv es t i g a t e
f o l l owe �
or
a
for
or
ye ar
her
a
There
t he m i d i
o r t wo
f as h i o n
pres ent ly
(6 1 : 1 )
but
su ccumb t o t he s t y l e?
showed t ha t
63
percent
The s e
c on c e r n i n g
1 96 0 s .
exp and ed
a sp e c t s
of
c l o t hi n g ,
o wn
reac­
to
inc lude
c l o t hi n g
whe t he r
t he
as
more
t he
woman p ur­
s at i s f ac t i o n o r t o p l e a s e
of
her
f ami ly
such as
a
hus ban d .
whet h e r o r n o t
t he Par i s
heml i n e .
on
t he
be
also
anot h e r m e m b e r
d au g ht e r
6.
s p en t
g arment
of
f as h i o n s
and g a i n t he i r
men
amon g
s oc i a l - p s y c ho l d g i c a l
percent
ing
s t u dy
an
t he
s t udy
would
women
in
Los
des igners
to
t he m i d i
is
wi l l
In
i n t e r e s t ing
a g r e at
it
1 96 7
An g e l es
int e re s t
c ont i n u e
or
Cou n t y
l e ng t h
i n p r ot e s t ­
wil l
wom � n
Geo rge G a l l up p o l l
a
be t o
( 6 1 : 24 )
o f t ho s e women q u es t i on e d o n t h e m i n i - s k i rt ,
d id
are
not
a
l ik e
t hem ,
but
women
:f e w r e c omme nd at i on s
opin ions
of
f as h i o n s
b o u ght
t hem !
f o r f u rt her s t udy
and f a s h i o n ac c e p t anc e .