This study investigated significant influences including Hispanicness, traditionalism and demographic characteristics on Hispanic women's purchase behavior when selecting work and social activity apparel. A sample of 114 Hispanic women from a Hispanic professional organization or businesses in the Dallas and El Paso, Texas areas. Surveys were collected by mail or administered to subjects. Analyses included frequencies, percentages, t-tests, and Pearson's product-moment correlations. For both situations, mean scores indicated the most influential information sources were: clothing displays, friends, and female family members, while the most used acquisition sources were: department and specialty stores. In both situations, these women had very feminine appearance attributes and very feminine and fashionable clothing style. Hispanicness, traditionalism, and demographic characteristics made some difference when selecting work and social activity apparel.

Female teenagers have been found to be the most affluent teens according to the Rand Youth Poll's nationwide survey. The survey finds the average weekly income from female teens age 16 to 19 to be $82, with $50 from earnings and the balance from their allowances. Other findings from the survey indicate that adolescent girls receive more than adolescent males in allowance from parents, as mothers understand the need for the female teen to have the income necessary to purchase clothing and cosmetics. Past research studies have attempted to measure the influence sources on teenagers when purchasing clothing by asking teens to rank different influence sources or by asking the teens who accompany them when shopping. The current research study develops a structural equation model that allows for the comparison of the three predominant influence sources identified in the consumer socialization literature, i.e., parental influence, peer influence, and promotional communications sought out by the teen. To test the model, 206 randomly selected female teenagers completed a mail questionnaire regarding the influences on clothing interest. The female teens were all members of a non-denominational youth group, age 13 to 19, living in the North Texas region. The model derived is only the third model in the marketing literature to examine the consumer socialization process, and the first in fifteen years. Examining the three main influence sources identified from consumer socialization literature, peer, parent, and media sources, the results differ from past models. The female teens perceive parental influence as a negative influence on clothing interest, contrary to past findings. Peers and media are perceived as positive influences on teen clothing interest as in past models. The results signify the need for marketing researchers to continue to investigate the dynamic nature of consumer socialization.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Fine Art by Dissertation. Johannesburg 2016 / Colour has always played an important role in South Africa; from the beginning of colonialism when “Africans” were converted to Christianity and baptised in white robes, to the bright colourful church garments that flood Soweto on Sundays. In the nineteenth century “Africans” began to reimagine their faith and spiritually. Seeking independence and a sense of identity, they began to fuse Western Christian ideologies with “African” spiritual beliefs and attire, which led to the origin of African Independent Churches (AIC). I aim to demonstrate how colour was not only used as a break away from colonial influences, but was also used to portray African spiritual beliefs and to create a distinctive “African” religious identity. This paper aims to study colour usage and it’s meaning within the South African context in order to show how colour use within Apostolic and Zionist movements relates to traditional African spirituality. The paper aims to show how colours used within both movements are symbolic and are thus used as spiritual codes. The paper will look at contemporary colours in order to show how Apostolic and Zionist movements continue to use colour to shape their spiritual identity.

No description available.

Many companies today are using some form of uniforms for employees. This research is an exploration of the role of uniforms in contributing to the embedding and transmitting of organizational culture. Culture is the experiences and common learning of the organization that results in shared values and beliefs. According to Schein (1985: 14) culture has three levels, namely: artifacts, values, and basic underlying assumptions. The first level of the culture consists of the physical constructs of the organization, and therefore includes the uniforms, which is the focus of this study. Schein (1985: 223) further proposes that culture can be embedded and transmitted through various mechanisms. The research was conducted in the constructivist paradigm, at a tertiary institution of higher learning in Eastern Cape, South Africa. To ensure triangulation, three sources of data were used, namely: documentation; observation; and both individual and focus group interviews. The researcher argues that uniforms played a role in the embedding of the sample organization’s three levels of culture, which were expressed in terms of Hofstede’s (1991: 07) culture dimensions. Firstly, the use of the different uniforms by different groups, as well as the ranking indicated by the uniforms, played a role in embedding the high power distance culture. Secondly, the symbolism of security portrayed by the uniform played a role in embedding the high uncertainty avoidance culture. Thirdly, it was found that the uniform created unity amongst groups, resulting in greater expression of collectivism. Fourthly, the use of sensible and practical uniforms plays a role in embedding the feminine culture where competitiveness is avoided and relationships are nurtured. Lastly, the uniform plays a possible role in transforming the culture from short-term to a long-term orientation that focuses on the future.

The purpose of this research was to establish the relationship between the stylistic changes the men's business suit and the masculine roles as represented in advertising imagery in the United States from 1950 through 1988. The men's business suit is a behavioral expectation for business and professional men often called "white collar workers." The suits are a social product given to change as collective tastes are manifest over time. The masculine role, a set of behavioral expectations dictated by consensus, is also a social product given to change over time. This research examined the relationship between changes in styling of men's business suits, and changes in masculine roles apparent in advertising. A content analysis of men's business suits was executed to quantify the stylistic expressions, manifest in the structural components of the business suit. The classic appearance was represented by a composite illustration and was used as a device against which to compare the dominant style traits apparent in business suits for each decade researched. A survey of advertising and editorial spreads in The New York Times, Esquire and Vogue was combined with a survey of scholarly literature on gender and masculine roles to determine the pervasive masculine roles for each decade. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between clothing conformity and personality type according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), of a selected group of adult males. Past research indicated that the MBTI had been used in relation to many characteristics such, as creativity, management style, and conformity. Clothing conformity had been investigated in relation to group membership and self-esteem. The researcher was unable to find any research done prior to this study in which clothing conformity and the MBTI had been used to study the relationship between personality type and clothing conformity. The sample consisted of 83 fraternity men from four Greek organizations at Georgia State University. Each respondent filled out the MBTI questionnaire, a clothing conformity scale, and a demographic form. A two to the fourth factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the relationships between clothing conformity scores and various personality types. The results indicated a significant difference in clothing conformity between extraverted and introverted personality types, with extraverts being more conforming than introverts. It also indicated a tendency for judging types to be more conforming than perceiving types. Although not statistically significant, the analysis showed some interaction effect between the extraversion-introversion and the thinking feeling dimensions on clothing conformity. The conclusions from this research are that the extraverts are more conforming in their clothing behavior than introverts, that judging personality types tend to be more conforming than perceiving types, and that the interaction between extraversion-introversion and thinking-feeling shows a tendency for the dependency of one dimension on the other. / Master of Science

The purpose of this chapter was to present the study findings, data analysis, and hypothesis testing results. Three hypotheses were established for the study. The first hypothesis was concerned with the differences in clothing buying practices between employed black and white women. The findings related to this hypothesis revealed that there were significant black-white differences for 20 of the 45 clothing buying practice variables which provided sufficient support for accepting Hypothesis 1. Three constructs (clothing buying dimensions, clothing buying style groups and life style dimensions) were developed to facilitate the testing of Hypotheses 2 and 3. Eleven clothing buying dimensions were identified from factor analysis of 39 clothing buying practices. These eleven clothing buying dimensions were used in NORMIX Cluster Analysis as a basis for clustering the respondents into four unique clothing buying style groups. These four clothing buying style groups were "Fashion Enthusiasts," "Clothing Mainstreamers," "Quality Conservatives,” and "Economic Utilitarians." "Fashion Enthusiasts'' appeared to be more interested in the style and fashion aspects of clothing. "Clothing Mainstreamers" displayed few extremes (very high or very low) in their response patterns. They were described as the average clothing concerned group of employed women. "Quality Conservatives" were more conservative in fashion interest and were not interested in lower price clothing. “Economic Utilitarians," on the other hand, were very interested in low prices, maintenance and utilitarian aspects of clothing. Factor analysis of 145 AIO statements identified 25 life style dimensions. These 25 dimensions, along with race and 5 other demographic variables were used as predictor variables in discriminant analysis among the four clothing buying styles. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were accepted since there was a significant relationship between: 1) race and clothing buying styles and 2) life style dimensions and clothing buying styles. With regard to race, the findings indicated that the "Fashion Enthusiasts" group contained significantly more black than white women. The "Quality Conservatives" group contained significantly more white than black women. However, the "Clothing Mainstreamers" and "Economic Utilitarians" groups had essentially equal black-white representation. As for life style dimensions, some major relationships were: "Fashion Enthusiasts" were not interested in household concerns such as shopping for household items; the "Quality Conservatives" considered themselves "Swingers"; "Clothing Mainstreamers" were very active in the community; and "Economic Utilitarians” tended to save more money than the other group members. / Ph. D.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The aim of this study was to determine the most important factors that influence the adoption of fashion clothing amongst the Generation-Y consumers living in Ga-Rankuwa and how that influences broader societal trends in the retail market. The purpose of this study is to assist marketers and retailers to sustain their businesses by examining the relationship between fashion involvement, fashion innovativeness, fashion opinion leadership and fashion adoption, based on this group’s perception.

This study is a critique of Aso Ebi in Owambe social uniform and social performance phenomena of the Yoruba culture of Nigeria in West Africa. The Aso Ebi phenomenon is a social uniform that is inextricable from the Owambe spectacle of the Yoruba culture, which, in itself, is a social performance. Aso Ebi is a fabric that is selected, made into garments and worn by groups of people who are related to one another in various ways such as family, friends or comrades. The uniforms are worn for social gatherings, especially celebrations, which are popularly called Owambe. These celebrations are very elaborate and loud, much like a grand spectacle put on to show wealth, unity and flamboyance. The research is the explanation of how the Aso Ebi and Owambe social uniforms manifest themselves and this manifestation is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the unseen actualities involved in participating in these social performances and issues of social survival within these cultural phenomena. The analysis addresses the impacts and influence of conformity in cooperative behaviour by an individual within his/her social identity and relationships. The main question this study addresses is whether the positive factors of unity, social order and expressive visual flamboyance of the social phenomena outweigh the negative impacts particularly on the individuals who participate in these social performances. This is done by acknowledging the experiences of the participating individuals in the conformity and transmission modes of these phenomena in this culture. The visual productions of the concepts in the research are achieved through performance, collages, photography and a sculptural installation. The significance of these emergent visual productions is that they shift the focus from the impression of the group to the conformity by the individual. This highlights the problems faced by the participating individuals in the pursuit and participation of this cultural phenomenon. / Department of Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)