An Investigation of Fit, Style, and Accessibility of Ready-To-Wear Clothing for Tall Women Michelle R. Jones Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Clothing and Textiles Valerie L. Giddings, Chairman Doris H. Kincade Jim C. Fortune June 27, 1997 Blacksburg, Virginia Key Words: Satisfaction, Fit, Style, Ready-to-Wear, Tall, Anthropometry Copyright 1997, Michelle R. Jones An Investigation of Fit, Style, and Accessibility of Ready-To-Wear Clothing for Tall Women Michelle R. Jones (Abstract) Tall women’s satisfaction with Tall clothing was examined in regard to fit, style, and accessibility. In addition, anthropometric measurements (stature, neck to waist, waist to ankle, shoulder to wrist) of tall women were compared with reported fit problems with Tall clothing, with the measurements from commercial standard PS 42-70, and with two racial groups. Data were gathered from 75 women who were at least 5 feet 8 inches and between 18 and 54 years old. The subjects were satisfied with the overall fit of Tall clothing, but were dissatisfied with the style, and reported buying Misses’ size for most clothing. The subjects rated style as more important than fit and were more satisfied with the overall style of Misses’ clothing than with the style of Tall clothing. The subjects appeared to buy Misses’ clothing despite their dissatisfaction with fit, in order to have the desired styles. The reported fit problems with Tall clothing were too short hiplines in skirts and too short hemlines in button-up blouses. When compared with the measurements for Tall in PS 42-70, the subjects’ measurements were significantly larger. Comparisons of measurements between Black subjects and White subjects revealed no significant differences. Style appeared to be a major influence in tall women’s dissatisfaction with and the purchase of Tall clothing. Therefore, manufacturers need to consider aesthetic qualities when developing garments for this market and should revise its sizing systems to accommodate the fit needs of Tall women. iii DEDICATION To my mother, whose patience and love are endless and my father and sister, who are with me in spirit. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Valerie L. Giddings, and my committee members, Drs. Doris H. Kincade and Jimmie C. Fortune for their support and patience throughout this process. I would like to thank each individual participant for completing the survey process and for their words of encouragement. Thank you’s are extended also to the managers at Cory Everson Fitness and New Fitness health clubs; located in Roanoke, Virginia, for the use of their facilities in gathering the data for this study. I would like to thank all of the individuals with whom I have crossed paths during my stay at Virginia Tech. Each experience, good and bad, has directly or indirectly influenced the completion of this project. Finally I would like to thank GOD for my family and the blessings and learning experiences, all which have prepared me for the things to come. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Dedication iii Acknowledgment iv Chapter I 1 Introduction 1 Operational Definitions 3 Chapter II 5 Review of Literature 5 Consumer Satisfaction 5 Clothing Attributes in the Apparel Industry 7 Fit and Style of Ready-to-Wear Garments 8 History and Uses of Anthropometry with Stature 9 Anthropometric Differences between Races 11 Anthropometric Measurements and Sizing Systems 12 Commercial Standards for Tall Clothing 17 Fit Problems 18 Fit Problems Associated with Height 19 Tall 20 Petite 20 Merchandising for Specialty Markets 22 Summary 23 Chapter III 26 Statement of the Problem 26 Statement of Problem 26 Purpose 26 Conceptual Framework 26 Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction 26 Racial Anthropometric Differences 27 Objectives 28 Hypotheses 28 Assumptions 29 Limitations 29 vi Justification 30 Chapter IV 31 Methodology 31 Human Subjects Approval 31 Subjects 31 Instruments 32 Questionnaire 32 Anthropometric Measurements 34 Pilot Test 38 Data Collection Procedures 38 Data Analyses 39 Chapter V 45 Results and Discussion 45 Desription of Sample 45 Satisfaction with Fit 45 Satisfaction with Style 48 Anthropometric Measurement Summary 53 Fit Problems 53 Hypothesis One 53 Hypothesis Two 60 Hypothesis Three 63 Hypothesis Four 63 Hypothesis Five 66 Hypothesis Six 66 Hypothesis Seven 71 Hypothesis Eight 71 Hypothesis Nine 74 Summary of Findings 76 Chapter VI 79 Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations 79 Conclusions 83 Recommendations 84 References 85 Appendix A 91 vii Participant Consent Form Appendix B 95 Survey: Ready-to-Wear Clothing for Tall Women Appendix C 104 Participant Comments Appendix D 110 Summary and Percentages of Fit Satisfaction Responses Appendix E 112 Summary and Percentages of Fit Satisfaction Responses VITA 114 viii List of Tables Table 1: Matrix of Hypotheses, Objectives, Variables, & Statistics 41 Table 2: Summary of Demographics 47 Table 3: Means and Standard Deviations of Fit Satisfaction with Misses' and Tall Clothing 48 Table 4: Frequencies of Sizing System Use 50 Table 5: Means of Fit Satisfaction for Misses' and Tall Clothing by Race 51 Table 6: Means and Standard Deviations of Style Satisfaction with Misses' and Tall Clothing 52 Table 7: Means of Style Satisfaction for Misses' and Tall Clothing by Race 53 Table 8: Summary of Anthropometric Measurements 55 Table 9: Means of Anthropometric Measurements 56 Table 10: Anthropometric Measurements by Stature 57 Table 11: Means and Standard Deviations of Anthropometric Measurements by Stature and Race 58 Table 12: Summary of Fit Problems with Tall Clothing 59 Table 13: T-test Results for the Eight Garment Categories for the Satisfaction with Fit of Misses’ Clothing and Tall Clothing 62 Table 14: T-test Results for the Eight Garment Categories for the Satisfaction with Style of Misses’ Clothing and Tall Clothing 63 Table 15: Means and ANOVA Results for Fit Satisfaction for Misses’ Clothing by Stature Groups 65 Table 16: Means and ANOVA Results for Fit Satisfaction for Tall Clothing by Stature Groups 66 ix Table 17: Results of Pearson Chi-Square Analyses for Waist to Ankle Measurements and Reported Fit Problems with Tall Clothing 68 Table 18: Results of Pearson Chi-Square Analyses for Shoulder to Wrist Measurements and Reported Fit Problems with Tall Clothing 69 Table 19: Results of Pearson Chi-Square Analyses for Neck to Waist Measurements and Reported Fit Problems with Tall Clothing 70 Table 20: Means and Standard Deviations of Subjects’ Measurements by Race 71 Table 21: Comparison of Neck to Waist and Waist to Ankle Measurements for Subjects in this Study and the PS 42-70 Standard 73 Table 22: Accessibility to Misses' and Tall Clothing with Percentages of Store Type 74 Table 23: Prioritization of Fit and Style 76 Table 24: Fit and Style Priorities in Three Clothing Settings 78 x List of Figures Figure 1: Measurements sites: Stature and Neck to Waist 37 Figure 2: Measurements sites: Shoulder to Wrist and Waist to Ankle 38 [...]... (arms and legs), is reiterated by Malina in Miller and Dreger’s (1973) Comparative Study of Blacks and Whites, and in Lohman, Roche, and Martorell (Eds.) (1988), Anthropometric Standardization Reference Manual Malina and Bouchard (1991) explain how racial or racial genetics affect physical growth and maturation The authors compared the sitting heights and leg lengths with stature for American Black and. .. level of satisfaction that tall women have with Tall clothing, in terms of fit and style, and to determine where tall women have located Tall clothing, all in comparison to Misses’ clothing In addition, anthropometric measurements of tall women were taken in order to examine the differences between the garment sizing dimensions used by the apparel industry and that of tall women, the existence of correlation... integrative summaries of prior research on the topics of consumer satisfaction, clothing attributes in the apparel industry, fit and style of ready-to-wear apparel, history and uses of anthropometry with stature, anthropometric differences between racial backgrounds, anthropometry and sizing systems, standard body proportions, fit problems, fit problems associated with stature, and merchandising for specialty... photographs than those they could touch Abraham-Murali and Littrell (1995) and Eckman, Damhorst, and Kadolph (1990) were able to categorize the attributes that consumers use when making decisions for apparel purchases In both studies, fit and style were ranked as important attributes in the purchase process As such, fit and style have been included in this study of Tall clothing Fit and Style of Ready-to-Wear. .. According to Malina and Bouchard (1991), on the average, the Black population has longer upper and lower extremities than the White American population, and the White American population has a longer trunk or torso area than the Black American population A search for prior research on the comparison of body proportions of adult Black and White female Americans and the implications for the fit of clothing was... Measurements and Sizing Systems Anthropometry is the basis for the U.S sizing systems of women’s, men’s, and children’s ready-to-wear apparel Glock and Kunz (1990) define sizing system as “a range of sizes based on gradation of dimensions for a body type” (p 110) Manufacturers use one standard size and adjust the pattern dimensions to larger and smaller sizes through grading techniques Anthropometry... 1977, Yoon and Jasper (1996) reported that different key dimensions were significant based on the type of garments The key vertical dimensions reported in the study included sleeve inseam and outseam lengths for long-sleeve garments; shoulder height and length for short-sleeve and sleeveless tops; shoulder height for short pants, split skirts, and skirts; crotch height and length for ankle-length and calf-length... were to examine tall women’s satisfaction with Tall clothing as compared with Misses’ clothing Fit, style, and accessibility were the variables used to investigate the experiences tall women have had with Tall clothing Additional purposes were to examine the anthropometric measurements of tall women in order to compare commercial standards for tall women’s clothing with measurements of an actual population,... dimension for garments designed for the lower body because it was the site with the least reported errors Commercial Standards for Tall Clothing The sizing systems for Tall clothing began in 1958 with the Commercial Standard 215-58 As previously discussed in the anthropometric and sizing system section of this study, Tall clothing was represented in three classifications: (a) Misses’, (b) Women’s, and (c)... problems with Tall clothing, and differences between the measurements of Black tall women and White tall women 25 Chapter III Statement of the Problem Chapter three consists of the statement of the problem, a discussion of the conceptual framework used in the study, as well as a list of objectives and hypotheses The chapter concludes with a list of assumptions and limitations for the study Statement of Problem . Words: Satisfaction, Fit, Style, Ready-to-Wear, Tall, Anthropometry Copyright 1997, Michelle R. Jones An Investigation of Fit, Style, and Accessibility of Ready-To-Wear Clothing for Tall Women Michelle. with Misses' and Tall Clothing 48 Table 4: Frequencies of Sizing System Use 50 Table 5: Means of Fit Satisfaction for Misses' and Tall Clothing by Race 51 Table 6: Means and Standard Deviations of. with Style of Misses’ Clothing and Tall Clothing 63 Table 15: Means and ANOVA Results for Fit Satisfaction for Misses’ Clothing by Stature Groups 65 Table 16: Means and ANOVA Results for Fit Satisfaction