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 � In gratitude for her continuous
assistance this thesis is
dedicated to
Dr. Marjory L. Joseph
iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The aut hor wishes to express her appreciat ion to
the members of the thesis committee , Dr . Marjory Joseph ,
Chairman; Mrs . Myrtle Loehr ; and Mrs , Lillie Grossman ,
for their time and guidance.
Also , thanks are due to Mrs. Sue Haber for her assistance in the computer programming part of the study and to all of the women who complet ed the questionnaire and thereby made this study possible .
A special acknowledgment of thanks to my husband,
John , for his faithful confidence and encouragement .
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION .... iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • iv
LIST OF TABLES.. vi
LIST OF FIGURES . vii
ABSTRACT . viii
CHAPTER
INTRODUCfiON. . . . I. . . 1
REVIEW OF LITERATURE. II. . 7
PROCEDURE III. 22
FINDINGS • • IV. AND ANALYSIS 26
Description of Sample .. 26
Fashion Related Activities . . . 30
Fashion Magazines ....,
Fashion Trends Foreseen for 1970s. . 38
Fashion Sketches . . . 42
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS v. 49
VI. RECDMiv1ENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. . 57
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 59
APPENDICES. . 65
A. PRETEST • 66
B. QUESTIONNAIRE
v LIST OF 'l'ABLES
Table Page
1 Degree of Part icipat ion in Social Activities by Respondents 29
2 Part icipat ion in Fashion Related Act ivities of Sample by Groups 31
3 Frequency of Read ing Fashion Magazines by Groups 35
4 Fashion Trends for the 1970s as Proj ected by Groups 39
5 Ownership of Seven Maj or Fashions of 1960s by Groups 54
6 Chi Square Test of Stat isti cal Significance 56
vi LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
I Ages of the Sample 27
II Fashion Designs in Order of Respondents Preferences 43
vii i\}3f)'f ItA Cl'
A SELECTED SAMPLE OF WOMEN TO OPINIONS O}i'
CHARACTERISTICS OF PR:ESK�'l' AND FU'l'UHI� J?ASHIONS
by
Mary Ann Michelsen
Master o f Science in Home Economics
June, 1970
A three part questionnaire was designed and utilized to obtain women's opinions about recent fashion designs.
The first part of the form gathered personal information about the respondent's age, famj.ly size, residence, educa tion, occupation, marital status and number of social groups to which she currently belonged. The second pJ:..rt
' dealt with the respondent s apparent knowledge and interest in fashions as measured by her partici.pation in fashion re- lated activities, her reading of magazines containing fash- ion news 7 her attendance a-'�: fa::;hion shows a1J(.:l her p:reciic-· tions of future fasl1ion trends. Third, the questionnaire solicited the women1s opinions about eighteen fashion sketches which were typical of clothing worn during the past ten years.
The one hundred eighty-nine women were analyzed within five groups: Businer>s Wornen eurrently employed in fashion related pn;3itionB, Home Econom:l.cs Instructors,
Home Econorr,.:i.c�:; Students, Adu.lt Edneat:i.on DressmRJd.ng c1asn
v:L:Li members , and others .
There appeared to be substant ial differences of opinion among the women when measured against their age, number of social groups to which they belonged, magazines read , fashion shows att ended , partictpat ion and emp loyment in fashion re lated fields . Generally , it was found that the Business Women and the Home Economics Students were the fashion leaders as far as accepting newer des igns by actually own ing or planning to own the fashion .
The Pants Suit and the A- Line Dress were the top fashion choices of the women while the Midi was the least chosen . Of the first seven fashion choices five of the des igns were some form of pants . This may indicate a trend toward women wearing pants more frequ ently than ever be fore .
ix CHAPTER I
INTRODUCT ION
Everyone is awar e of Fashion, and perhaps for that very reason nearly everyone takes it for granted . Few seem disposed to accord to it that serious cons ideration which is surely due to so extraordinary a manifest ation of social life. Perhaps> if we could really understand it we should be able to throw a flood of light on other creat ions of the human mind . (2:23)
The 1960s was a decade particularly rich in fashion variety. Martha Sheldon , in her book "Des ign 'fh.rough
Draping" pointed out that current fashions have changed more rapidly than at any other time in history. This development she believes is due to changing social condi- tions, scient ific advancement and development of technol- ogy (5: 129). .John Gunther , wri ti:ng about a visit to London, commented that what is most distinguishing about the young people there is their dress . "It is a re�tction against conservat ism and convent ionality of their parents, impulse to release aft er long years of austerity, more earning power, a sense that the world is doomed and might as 'vell have a fling" (25 :50).
There seems little doubt that social upheavals in the world affected the clothing (or lack of clothing)
l 2
people were wearing in the 1960s . The silhouett e of wom en' s fashions (1959-1969) changed dr::-1matically from shaped , waist -defined dress es to "tents ," "cages ," and free-flowing robes . The skirt lengths in 1959 were 16-18 inches from the floor and by the end of the 1960s were as much as 28 inches from the floor !
Another examp le of great change could be seen in the type of pants women were wearing and the places where they were being worn . The out line changed from slim, tight fitting stretch capris to wide-legged pants , some 24 inches around at the bottom. Pant s were being worn no longer just for sport act ivities but also for ent ertaining at home , dining at elite restaurants , att ending the theater , going to work in an office , even as a subst itute wedding gown .
The young people became their own fashion designers.
Previously , fashion trends had begun with the very wealthy women who bought haut couture clothing . Then these _ styles would be cop ied and particular fashions would be accepted by large masses of people . When this happened , those who had been the first to wear a design , changed to a new fashion . But during the '60s, the reverse occurred .
The mini skirt , the free-flowing hippie clothing wit h necklaces and chains and the mod look wit h boots and tex tured stockings, all began with the young and their less expensive clot hes and then percolated up to the older worn- en and more expensive copies . The French designer,
Gabr ielle Chanel, obse rved that the fashion revolution 3
(like all revolut i ons) had begun "in the streets" (52: 70).
St at ement
Several years ago (1966) whi le shopping for a party
dress , it occurred to the aut hor that she did not like any
of the new fashions being shown in the department stores . In discussions with other women , she found her feelings
about the clothes were shared by them . A minor in social-
ogy further inc reased her concern with the social phenom-
enon of dress . Therefore , she believed it would p rove in-
teresting to study the clothes of the past ten years and
Women to Characteristics of Present and Future Fashions .
Purpose
Magazine and newspaper art icles on fashion and style
shows by famous designers, bout ique and department stores , all expose the latest clothing designs to the public.
Radio, television and the movie and entert ainment industry all contr ibute to attitudes of what clothing is considered
fashionable . Does the public like what they are being shown?
- � In the past it has been ta en for granted that women
preferred to dl�ess "in style. n It is unusual for a young
girl today to attend school in a skirt which covers her
I knees . In most cases , except for party-type clothes, she
could not even buy a long skirt . Would her mot her wear a 4
five year old coat without first shortening it? No, it
would look and feel 11out of style." Skirt length con- sci ousness even filters down to the younger sister who re-
fuses to dress her "Barbie !I do ll in anything but a mini
skirt. In an art icle about the "Barbie " doll, it was noted that the manufacturer employs design ers from the
adult ready-to-wear field to design the doll clothes.
These des igners are just as wary as dress buyers about the unpredictability of the fashion world . They cannot sell dolls with an out-of-date dress ! (57 : 16)
This study will attempt to gather opinions of women
in Los Angeles County concerning the fashions of the 1960s
and obtain statistical evidence for stat ements about fash
ion preferences that often are only assumed . Did women prefer to be dressed "in style" in the 1960s or did they boycott many of the fashions? Is it possible to identify the popular and the nonpopular designs from the decade?
Hypotheses to be Tested
From the problem of fashions as stat ed, the follow ing hypotheses have been formulated:
1. Women react di ffereilt ly to fashion trends de pending upon their age, marital status, occupation, fami ly size, residence, social activities or education. react differently to fashion accord ing 2. Women to the respondent's knowledge of fashion.
3. The majority of the population accepts current 5
fashions.
For the purpose of statistical an aly sis the follow-
ing statements are stated as null hypotheses:
1. There is no'difference in reactions of women to
fashion trends when compared by age, marital status, oc-
cupation, family size, residence, social activities or
education.
2. There is no difference in women's reactions to
fashion when measured against the respondent's knowledge
of fashion.
3. There is no difference in population acceptance
of current fashions.
Assumptions
Assumptions have b-:?en used by the author in the formation of this s tudy . The first being that a question- naire was a re�iable method of gathering the information.
The second was that the respondents would be familiar with the fashion sketches used in the questionnaire.
Thirdly, that there wo11ld be different fashion opinions from women of varying backgrounds.
Limitations
Time and resources, of necessity, placed limitationsi upon tbe sample chosen and upon the method used to gather the opinions. The sample was not a r2ndom population of the Los Angeles County. It was co�fined to middle class, 6
wh:t te, lj_terate women living in the Los Ange les County who have access to radio, television , newspapers and maga zines. A change in degree (in any, or all, of these items) could result in comp letely different conclusions .
Finally , the responses are subject to the vagaries of hu man nature; and t:i.me could enti:cely chan ge the opinions gathered. CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The women's fashion world has varied widely during the past decade. At the close of the 1950s , Paris design ers led by Givenchy and Balanciaga , had introduced the
''sack silhouette." This design was shaped like a giant almond with sleeves, completely muffling the torso , bare ly touching the hipline, and tapering to a narrow hem
(42�78) . Other designers called similar new creations
"chemise," "trapeze" and "bags " (11:53 ; 14:96) . All of these names referred to loose fitt ing dresses with no de fined waist line. Wonwn were reluctant to wear the new dresses and men protested them. Hemlines at the clos� of
1959 were 16-18 inches from the floor and were worn with point ed-toed , spiked-heeled shoes .
The yea� 1960 was the year of fashion acceptance for looser , bloused and princess silhouettes . Legs were becoming more noticeable as skirts crept up to 19 inches from the floor and were worn w:i th low-heeled , :counded toed shoes. A fashion show in Vienna , Austria showed trim pants suits , divided skirts and culottes for travel , street wear and evenings at home (70:259). Norman 8
Norell's white-faced, dark-eyed , short-haired models wear
ing his classic sequined sheath caused quit e a stir in the
fashion world (37:22) . Gabrielle Chanel 's timeless "lit�
tle suits" were again a hit . The suit consisted of a
simple cardigan jacket trimmed in braid , chains , pockets,
and buttons at the cuff line (21:64) . Two-piece bat hing
suits, not quite bikinis , were finding new acceptru1ce.
By 1961 legs were more exposed than at any time
since the World War II years . Skirts had now reached to
the midd le of the knee cap but only the very young wore
them noticeably short . It was very chic to wear a "little
not hing" dress (usually sleeveless , slim with simple
lines) and focus attention on elaborat ely bouffant hair
dos. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy had emerged as the most
potent force in int ernational fashion of the day . Many women tried emulating her simple , easy , sportswear type of
fashion and one leading national magazine titled a fashion
article , nyou Don't Have to Look Hard to See Another Jackie '' (53:16). Besides the simple dress , co-ordinat ed wardrobes became popular . These consistec1 of a coat and dress, three-piece suit , dress int errelated to both jacket
and a coat , or a coat with two dresses (72:24 8) • In sportswetir , tight fitting stretch pants were favored .
Often these pants had att ached sti rrups that slipped under the foot to keep the pants extra taut.
The next year , 1962, was a comparatively quiet year
in women's fashions . Several films released that year 9 were influential in promoting certain styles. Some of these films were: "Last Year at Martenbad " for which
Gabrielle Chanel produced the ultrasimple cardigan suits ;
"Breakfast at Tiffany 's" that showed Hubert de Givenchy 's high-bosomed princess dress without sleeves or a belt ;
Irene Sharaff 's Egyptian costumes for "Cleopatra ." Mrs.
Jacqueline Kennedy continued to grow in stature as a fash ion leader with her high-bosomed coats and dresses, long slim evening dresses and rakishly placed berets (44 :67) .
The world-wide focus on youth began to have a tre mendous effect on fashion by 1963 . The clothes were typi fied by Mary Quant 's creations worn in London 's Chelsea district. Li fe magazine called these originators a '�rash new breed of British designers' ' (10:78) . The young girls blended casual cut jumpers with the turtle-neck sweater ,
'' kooky" effect of mixed patterns and colors referred to as
"OP " and "POP" art, lanky hair and startling make-up .
This style of dress soon moved up into the higher priced fashion market. Skirts had now reached above the knees and the legs were emphasized with colored textured stock ings and boots or low chunky-heeled shoes. The combina tion of these clothes came to be known as "MOD " (30 :33) .
Another notable fashion of 1963 was the return of the
"sack'' dress in shorter and more fitted versions called
"shifts" (47:3 9; 48:45). The women loved them!
fu1di Gernreich, a California sportswear designer, in 1964 introduced a women 's topless bathing suit, This fabric w�s divided geometrically
. , .. , . --·· �·· --- ·- · ,: ·' ··'-'·
•··. ·. c� ;' ··.-_, i-� 11 clothes could only be worn by '�t arved nymphets or Krazy
Kids." nwhat could a more mature woman wear? " she asked
(32 :34) . In retrospect , Courreges ' space-age designs have been called the only really "new '! fashions of the decade
(63: 1) •
A fad of 1965 was a long gown , usually of cotton provincial print , known as a "granny ." These st i rred up much debate when worn to school (23:81) .
The nude look cont inued in a variety of see-through tops, cutout armho les and "peek-a-boo " holes strateg ically placed on various areas of the garment . There also was a cont inuation and expans ion of the "POP " and "OP" art in the design of fabrics (29:52). These patterns are described in a yearbook summary of fashion as:
harshly cont rast ing colours , black and white chessboard checks , swirling , eye-t easing designs , giant chevrons , geometric prints, "scu lptured" cloth with raised surface pat terns , new and intricate variat ions on the gabard ine and whipcord themes , firm plain reversibles , st ylized , tap estry-design coat ings--these were the stuff of fashion for day , together with bold bi-colour treat ments (71:297) .
The year of the miniskirt !! 1966 !! No longer were hemlines measured in inches from the floor but rather in inches above the knee. Teenagers were wearing their skirts four and five inches above the knee and few women of any age covered the knee completely. In London, some more dar- ing women were wearing skirts seven inches above the knee and a Time magazine c.over story , labeled London "the city 12 of the decade" (30 :3 0) . This young English lool< (t he
"Modn look) was widely copied by the young . It consisted of a short skirt , fishnet or lacy textured stockings, cutout , low-heeled "l:ltt le girl" shoes , mami.ish jackets and ties or undershirt tops , over-the-shoulder handbags and gaudy jewelry. Many garments were introduced on the
"wet11 or 11Shiny" look of plastics , silver fabrics (inspired by space suits) and in a great deal of stretch fabrics .
Even though pants suits were being shown by the de signers as early as 1960 , they had not become popular .
But now that skirts had risen so short , many women , of necessity , resorted to wearing pants suits at all hours of the day and night. Some well known women who wore pants to elegant restaurants found themselves locked out (63:4) .
There was a growing debat e about pants as appropriate at tire for a "lady ."
In the spring of 1966 , a paper manufacturer offered two styles of wear-and-throw- away dresses at $1.25 each as a premium to promote its new paper product , "Dura-Weve .tt
This new product was made up of nonwoven tissue using cel lulose and strengthenE')d by rayon scrim or mesh. Five hun- dred thousand dresses were sold! (41:132) These dresses sparked a whole new industry product ion of throw away fash ions encompassing work clothes to academic caps and govms and even wedding dresses . In most cases , the retail price of the garment was as cheap as (or cheaper than) the cost of laundering the same sort of article made from cotton or $100 million (41:132). One m.ann:i:acture:r o:f par-2er c::l.othtng�
·t1111::..;J�2��;t :i.e -fib<_;l.tt prt.}.)G't.. faslJ.i.c;r1.;3. Sha tbaught tlia econo2y
djagnosis across the country. The chairm?.n of� the. d:f;pu.:rt;..,
(;·od a.11d Without a future 6r
fashion a�J dr�ss.
homs a�d then z1� 14
::;choo l wear . A skinny seventeen year old Brit ish model named "Twiggy " was the fashion image of 1967 and ep itomized the youth's mini fashions . Many lavished praise on her fresh , new look and she appeared on the cover of most of the leading magazines . However, others believed that she was an insult to womanhood and that her examp le blurred the differences between boys and girls (74:337) .
The heightened trend toward nudity was the subject of many articles that appeared in newspapers and magazines .
One author suggested that the mini-skirt wearers were '�n gaging in a kind of suggested or folk nakedness which is a mut ation of the real thing " (38: 107) . Rudi Gel�nreich, the designer of the 1964 topless swimsuit , cont inued his no bra-see-t hrough creat ions which frequent ly were fashioned in a vinyl fabric with clear vinyl bands (52:70).
Perhaps one of the most unusual clothing des igners of the past ten years was Diana Dew who invented the elec tronic dress and began market ing it in February of 1967. These clothes cont ained decorative areas of electrolumi nescent lamp strips . Somewhere on the dress (often the belt area) , a small battery-driven power pack supplied the necessary current . When turned on, the dress glowed and pulsated . - The charge lasted five hours and could be re charged by plugging the dress into a wall socket overnight .
The dress was absolutely safe; lamps gave off no percept i ble heat , and all the gadgetry snapped out , so that the dress could be cleaned . Her other innovat ions irrcJ.nded 15 phosphorescent clothes that glowed in the dark and clothes that were photosensit ive to heat . When these garments were touched , a handprint appeared and gradually faded away (23:26) .
In Paris , Paco Rabanne fashioned women' s clothing out of plastic , leather , aluminum and steel . The question was raised whet her it was fashion. The costume wing offi cials of the Met ropolit an Museum of Art in New Yo�k City decided that it was and requested Rabanne' s first plastic dress (66:16 ; 43:53). Nothing was sewn ; the clothes were either riveted , welded , or soldered toget her . These clothes were not designed for sitting down , but rather for dancing.
Other notab le women 's clothing of 1967 included the launching of the maxi (full length) coat (36:57). How ever , very few women were ready to accept the longer look and not many were sold. To offset the immodesty of the mini-skirt , "pants dresses'' were worn for casual day and town wear. They looked like dresses but were cut into easy-to-wear flaring pants, sometimes camouflaged by loose panels , wide ruffles etc. For lounge and evening wear a long version was pop ularily called a "culotte. " In Loe.don, Mary Qu ant , one of the first mini-skirt designers , began putting matching panties urider her mini-short cocktail and evening dresses .
Many mini-skirt wearers turned to pantie hose (an ail-in one garment) for hip-to-toe smoothness . 16
Other att empts to find somet hing more wearable than a mini-skirt were the increased acceptance of tho trouser suits (40 :43; 51:87), the one piece jump suits , and the
"kaftans ." The kaftan was patterned after the free-flowing gowns worn by the hippies in their communes , only it was of more luxurious fabric and often contained beautiful trim- mings .
As might be noted from this treatise, there was a great deal written about fashion in 1967. Eleanor Carruth, in an article in Fortune magazine, called the increased interest a "great fashion explosion " (12: 162) . In 1967 the consumer outlay for fashion goods amounted to $50 billion , making it second only to food among all consumer markets .
There was a forty percent increase in consumer expenditure for apparel from l9G4 to 1967 comp ared to the same in crease in the preced ing decade. The author of the article sights various reasons why this "explos.ion11 occurred--not only were more women working , but also war and postwar babies were now in their lat e teens and early twenties , just at the age where they were preoccupied with their ap pearance . But she concluded that these reasons were not as significant as the fact that the young were going on to college ind learning a whole new·world of ideas in art, taste, design and dress. The increased travel habits of youth also contributed to influencing their manner of dress. They had become fashion leaders!
One of the outgrowths of the fashion "explosion�' W&A'.3 17
&n updating of many uni forms from policewomen and steward esses to nuns and Girl Scout uni forms .
A world-wide fashion permiss iyeness prevailed during the year of 1968. No longer could the lead ing fashion magaz ines dictate the designs and colors for the coming season. Since the "do your own thing" was the prevailing
:fashion mood , it is difficult to summarize the fashions of
1968.
Couture-approved dress was replaced with "costumey " role-playing clothes . Women did their own "designing " by assembling a great variety of separates and accessories .
This free spirited , colorful trend was scavenged in thrift shops by the defiant young nonconformists and interpreted in furs , expensive fabrics and jewels by the affluent woman . Gloria Vanderbilt was one of the leading designers of the "costume " way of dressing (22 :85) . The look was a mixture of ethnic and legend-inspi red garments--g aucho pa�ts , guru-meditat ion shirts , ballooning harem pants,
Pocahont as dresses , Indian headbands or scarfs tied across the forehead in Navaho style , and of course, vests of all kinds (24 :24; 15:60; 34:29) .
The ma.xi length hemlines were still available hut showed lit tle significant progress . Min i-skirts were more widely worn than ever before . Not only schools , but busi nesses as well were drawn into the bat tle of the mini . In one company survey, the main consensus of opinion was that secretary 's skirts should not be over four inches above Several movie fi lmr.; rc:loa:�ed dtt:t:'ing 1968, "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Star," revived the fashionc1 of the 1920s and 1930s. These included wide-lapeled, pinstriped suits, slouch hats or berets worn low over the brow, soft curls, slinky satin and crepe evening dresses cut on the bias, knotted silk scarves and long, belted jumpers (56:8; 60:1).
Women began copy:i.ng a style first int.roduced :for men's wear--the Nehru jacket. This jacket was fitted, long, with slim sleo\res and a smaLl stand·-UP collar� It was often ·worn with a tnrtle·-neck shirt and dangling nt:::ek jewelry. By the year 'r'3 end the Nehru ja.cket was fast los- ing favor and would be remembered orily as a passing fad of
1968.
A term used over <:nd ove1· in the fashion world was th�:: word 11Unisex, n This refor:ecd to identically designed wo.:cdrobes Jor rnale and female·--,o:ft:s-n consisting of pants, ruffled shirt, a vest or ,jacket .ttnd jmvelry. :MRny dep:u·t-
pec..\.ally� enjoyed this type o:E dress. To some observers it was offensive; it signified the breakdown of conven- tions'l.l attitudes o:f �'1exna1 heh.av:i.or. :OtheTs lauded thr-) clothes ;;;.. s a s'L1tement fo:c fl'·3edom,-·,11c:ommunicating as hu·�
The end of the decade under study, 1969� was a moment i.n J:a.E>hio:n hl.f"tory ·when the only ;vciman who was not ''well-- "19 dresse:d11 was the women who did not look like an indlvid- ual. "Anything goes" ·was the women 1 s fashion gt.Iidellne--- any length of s rt any attitude a�y ki , and school of dress, and all colors. If fashlon really is, &.s Pablo Picasso sees it, "everything that becomes unfashionable" (59 :.1) then fashion was rampant--all was fashionable, nothtn;g waB obsolete! The fashion d:i.rector of Cohama Fabr:ics, �di-t·h d 1 Errecalde, summed up the story of 1969 fashio ns ·l;:y �c.a:t:e- gorizing the clothes revolution into three groups: :con-- temporary (lean, long, sweatery)) futuristic (space minded), and retrc•spcctive ( the periods between 1880 :and
1900, the 1920s, the 19:30:3 and the 1947 New Look by =ni�or) (59:1).
One of the fashion impressionG of 1969 was that :_i:t was the year of the pants look. Thc:;.�e was a great var_i:e�.y of pants silhouettes and many tGrms used to d.escrihe ·:t-Ixem.•
Besides the very popular taj_lored "pants suit" p:cev:.iom_=U,.y mentioned, there were wide straight--legged extra ·loxrg ��c�tt.y
.. 0... C.· • H J. - �· b '·� ' !.nC:. . I ·(rJa·rr-4• .. ..., • , . ··un1p· S'·t·'� J. G'·'""<.:> J.•. - . Le>.':> Pan·ts. " ) l1::Jl'r-'m _pr.an·t·,.,-. , • <> :> ) '''"'an�l'''g"odl;" lJ'al·'+"" ) J · and vest-like top all in one piece), bell bottoms (55�10) party pajamas, knickers, elephant-leg (extremely wfde pants) and culottes. 'l'he newest look was pants woTn ·w.t:tn a matching rnidj_ length dress. By now, most restaurant owners no longer :forbade tht3 we�n·tng of pnnts, and· mm1y of the S(;hools, and businesses as well, endo:.esed them ::a-s acceptable attire. Chu:celws, min.Lsters, jude;c·s and J.::i·�y
Hall officiaJ.s nmv had to make similar dcchd.ons as ·:br..:hl.a:J. 20
pant suits became available . Designer Geoffrey Beene pre-
dicted that "by the year 2000 , women will be wearing only
pants' ' (45 :95).
No-bra and see through clothes , started in 1964 , were
becoming more prevalent. It appeared to be a further out
growth of a re-eviluation of values , an honesty , freedom .
Some of the favorite items were in openwork crochet and lace. Regardless of what women wore underneath these
clothes , the nude look swept from coast to coast (16 :62;
46:61) .
Any �kirt length was worn , whet her mini , midi , or maxi (50 :12). Many people , particularly buyers and manu
facturers , wondered about the mini 's potential life span
and received the reply 11indefinite " from fashion historian,
James Laver (19:83) . The midi length skirt (mid-calf) was
not widely worn , especially by the older woman who could still recall wearing the "new look " of 1947 . Some women
found the midi length dress acceptable when worn over matching pants. It remains to be seen in the coming years
if the mid-calf length will gain in popularity . Maxi length coats had been shown as early as 1964 and reintro duced in 1968; but not until 1969 did they become popular .
The.tall ,- under thirty year old , woman found the maxi fun and comfortable to wear , particularly in cold or rainy weather . Floor-length mufflers and scarves, with either a mini-skirt and boots , or wide- legged pants , were worn with these elongated coats (33:42) . 21
Young women found furs a fun fashion--not for status
(as furs were previously accorded) , but for warmth and style. The dyed and patterned real and fake fur clothes came in minis , midis, maxis and enormous ten :l:'oot long scarves (20:76 ; 49:52).
Other fashion impressions of 1969 were the "gypsy " look which consisted of patchwork skirts , petticoats, sash wrapped sheer blouses worn with vests , and gold chains around the neck and waist . "Body jewelry " became a term designat ing chains of either metal , plastic , or pearls , shaped as breast plates , vests , ultrashort sk irts , extra wide belts etc. (16:62) . The Indian influence in dress continued as buckskin , fringed and beaded jackets , vests and dresses were worn (26:40) .
The review of literature found no previous study on women 's opinions used as predictors of fashion trends . CHAPTER III
PROCEDURE
A. Questionnaire
A preliminary questionnaire was developed and given to ten Home Economics Instructors at San Fernando Valley
State College as a pilot study . A cove r letter solicited their eo -operat ion and suggestions in making the quest ion- nai.re clear and more meaningful . In some instances a per- sonal int erview was held to clar ify a part icular section of the questionnaire.
The final form used was a four page questi onnaire having three main parts. The first part dealt with per sonal informat ion concerning the respondefit: age , occupa tion, residence , educat ion , marit al status and social ac
attempted tivities . The second part to gain information on her knowledge of and interest in fashion . These ques tions included items about fashion related activities , fashion related magazines read, fashion shows attended and fashion trends foreseen for the 1970s . The third part of the questionnaire included eighteen sketches showing different women's fashions that were typical of the years
1960-1969. Below each sketch the respondent was asked to
22 23 give her opinion of the des ign and whether or not she owned (or planned to own ) the item .
B. Sample
In order to gain a broad base for the fashion responses , the questionnaire was administered to women who were grouped into five main categories, These were:
Group I - Women cuTrent ly employed in fashion related
positions such as fashion buyers , model.s and manu-
facturer 's representat ives.
----Grou.p I I - Home Economics Instructors . group III - Home Economics Students in college--both upper
and lower division .
Grt:?UP IV - Women att ending Adult Educat ion Dressmaking
Classes--both beginning and advanced classes. Group V - Others . --·--·---
Group I Women Currently Employed in Fashion Related ----�---
Positions
Various clothing stores and manufacturers were chosen (in the Los Angeles area) as 11epresentati.ves of woments clothing. Wherever poss ible, the women's fRshion buyers and manufacturer 's repres�ntat ives were contacted personally to gain their co-operation in complet ing and returning the questionnaire . Where a personal interview was not held, a telephone interview was conducted. In a few cases the questionnaire was sent with a cover letter 24
but �o prior contact . Each questionnaire was accompanied
by a self-addressed , stamped envelope. After two weeks , those who had not returned the form were sent a postcard
reminding them of the study and asking their help in com
plet ing the research. Of the seventeen manufacturers who
were sent questionnaires , nine were returned ; of the nine
teen buyers , nine were returned; of two professional
models , two were returned ; or a tot al of twenty responses from thirty-eight att empts or 52 .3 percent return .
Group II - Home Economics Instructors
The second group in the sample , inc luded Home
Economics Instructors from San Fernando Valley State Co l
lege , California State College at Los Angeles and second
ary school teachers . Of eight een questionnaires , fourteen
were completed or 77 .7 percent .
Group III - Home Economics Students
Home Economics Students at San Fernando Valley State
College comprised the third group . The questionnai res were given by the instructors during class time and there
fore , there was a 100 percent return . Thirty question naires were administered to a· Beg inning Clothing Construc tion cla�s , nine to an upper division Seminar class and eleven to a Graduate Research class for a total of fifty responses . 25
IV - Attending Adult Education Dressmak ing ____Group... _,___ ---··-Women--- .. · ------Classes
Group four encompassed older women enrolled in two adult education classes in Glendale , California. Here again , the forms were given during class time by the in- structors with a 100 percent return . The Advanced class totaled twenty-one and the Beg inning class twenty-four , for a total of forty- five opinions .
Group V - Others ------
Finally , group five included forty women from a church group and twenty neighborhood women or sixty re- spouses . Forty-five questionnaires had been given to the church group and five were not completed for a final return of 88 .8 percent . All of the neighbors responded .
C. Data Processing
For the purpose of this study on 'Women 's opinions of fashions , frequency distribution , percentages and cor- re lations were computed separately for each of the five groups and also collective ly for the total sample of one hundred eighty-nine women. The ehi square method of sta- tistical �evaluat ion w as used to test the significance of the research results. CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND ANALYS IS
A. Description of Sample
(1) Age
The sample for this study totaled one hundred e:tghty- nine women and of these , there were nine percent who were under twenty years of age , 44 percent who were twenty to thi rty-four years old and 47 percent over thirty-five years ' old. When these figures are broken down into the five groups , the picture becomes clearer (see Figure 1, page
27) . In three of the groups (Group I, II, V) , the maj ority of women were over thirty-five years old . In two of these groups (Group I and II) , there were no women under twenty years of age an d in Group IV there were only four percent .
The youngest respondents were found among the Home Eco nomics Students (Group III) , where 42 percent were twenty to twenty-four years old , 12 percect were twenty- five to twenty-nine years old, 14 percent were thirty to thi rty four years old for a total of 68 percent in the twenty to thi rt y- four year old group . In this group there were also
16 percent under twenty years of age and therefore , 84 per cent were under thirty-four years of age . % 100; ALL GROUP I GRO'G"P II GROUP III GROuP IV GR01TP V I av o -i!
80 -1 I : i i n 70 -j I I ! n i ! i i � � n I i I ! I 0 60 ,i 11l , I ! I I I I , 1 · I ! i I n . ! �! ' l 5r) I . i � I I ! � i l i I 1 i I 40 I ! ! n rl I l l ! nI ' I i I i • I l ! i I I � I I ! l I I I I ! ! i I ' 30 I ! I I I I I ! i ! l; l i I, I ! r-i I I ! l I ! i � I I 20 � i 1 1 I ! 1 ! i I I I 1 l 1 1 � I I i • l n I i ! ! ! ! 1 1 � 1.,__ n J ! � 1 . I i 1 1 I n n __ ! I n_ .. I _I' _i I _ I l_l A LI I I o v � • ! I b a b c a b c a c U 1J C b c b c �LIJ.
FIGURE I
a - Un der 20 years old
AGES OF S.A...t'v!PLE Th'"E b - 20-34 years old
c - 35 years old and over '-" ·'I 28
(2) Residence
The majority of respondents lived in a large city . Only two reported living in a rural home (1 . 1%) , thirty- nine were from small towns below 50 ,000 populat ion (20 .6%) thirty-seven resided in towns of 50 ,000-100 ,000 populat ion
(19. 6%) , and one hundred eleven were living in a large city of 100 ,000 or more (58 , 7%) . Over three-fourths lived in cities of 50 ,000 populat ion or more .
(3) Educat ion
Of the total population , there were nine women (4 . 8%) who had less than a high school educat ion , forty-s ix
(24 .3%) had hi gh school diplomas , sixt y-one (32 . 3%) had some college educat ion , forty-six (24 ,3%) had earned a
Bachelor degree , twenty-four (12.7%) had earned Post Bach- elor degrees and three (1 . 6%) were Eu ropean educat ed with no American equivalent . In Group I, the Women in Bu siness ,
70 percent had educat ion beyond a high school diploma.
Group II, Home Economics Instructors , and Group III , Home
Econom ics Students , had , as expected , all earned at least a high school diploma . Of Group IV, the Adu lt Educat ion
Students, 48 .9 percent had gone beyond a high schoo l educa- tion , and Group V, had a la:rger percent age--65,3 percent .
Even if Groups II and III were not considered since they all had some higher education , there is st ill a maj ority of women in the other three groups (70%, 49%, 65%) who found some college educat ion desirable. 29
Marital status and family size had litt le or no ef- feet on the study 's findings and will not be analyzed in detail. It might be �tated , however , that of the total sample, approximat ely 24 percent were single , 3 percent were engaged , 66 percent were married , 6 percent were divorced and 1 percent were widowed . Several of the women did not answer this quest ion .
TABLE 1
DEGREE OF PARTICIPAT ION IN SOCIAL ACTIVIT IES BY RESPONDENTS
Number of Social Group Group Group Group Group All Act ivities I II III IV v ------·---
Of 01 /0 % % /0 % %
None 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
------··-·.. -·�--- ·--· ··-..------
(5) Social Ac t iv1ties
The number of social act ivities to which the re- spondcmt current ly belonged varied :from '1none " for thirty women (17.5%) to six social groups reported by two women 30
(1. 1%) . Seventy percent of the women belonged to one , two ,
or three social organizat ions . Within the five separat e
groups , however , Table 1, page 29, indicates a marked drop
in part icipat ion for four or more social act ivities . When
four or more are calculated together Group I had 10 percent
participat ion , Group II 26 percent , Group III 15 percent ,
Group IV 6 percent and Group V 12 percent .
(6) Occupat ion
The woman 's occupat ion was significant insofar as it
placed her into one of the five groups : such as , Business
Women who were current ly employed in fashion related posi
tions . The questionnaire 's inquiry concerning the respond
ent 's current or past , full or part-time employment did not
contribute significant data.
B. Fashion Relat ed Act ivities
Ten different fashion related activities are cited
in Table 2, page 31. Before analyzing these results , it
should be noted that in the total sample, thirty-five
(18. 5%) women indicated that they did not engage in any of
the act ivities and thirt een women (6 . 9%) mentioned other
activ-ities . These other act ivities inc luded : Director of Advertising and Publicity for a manufacturer , promotion for
the Nat ional Fashion Bo ard for Youths , Corporate Fashion
Co-ordinator , Fashion Photographer , Fashion Copywriter ,
Teacher, and Planner of Fashion Shows . TABLE 2
* PAHTICIPATION IN FASHION RELATED ACTIVIT IES OF SAMPLE BY GROUPS (Dat a in percent )
Fashion Relat ed Group Group Group Group Group Total for Activities I II III IV v All Groups % % % % % %
1. Fashion Illustrat ion 15 7 12 4 5 8
2. Clothing Design 20 43 20 6.7 11 .7 15.9
3. Clothing Construct ion 10 86 78 100 45 66
6.7 4. Textiles 10 57 42 6.7 20
5. App arel Selection 60 57 64 8.9 21.7 36 .6
6. Selling Fashion Items 70 7 30 13 11 .7 22 .8
7. Management in Fashion Department s 55 6 3 8.5
8. Professional Model 20 7 12 4 3 8
9. Sales in Yardage and Department Stores 10 7 20 2 10 10 .6
10 . Buyer 45 2 4 5 .7
* Totals may equal more than 100% due to different emp loyment requirement s. C;j ;- 32
The act ivities least engaged in by the total sample included : Fashion Illustrat ion (8%) , Management in Fashion
Departments (8 . 5%) , Pro fessional Model (7. 9%) , and Buyer
(7.4%) . As ant icipat ed , in each of these four activities it is the women in business who most often are involved in the act ivity--15 percent were Fashion Illustrators , 55 per cent were Managers of Fashion Departments , 20 percent were
Models and 45 percent were Buyers .
The fashion related activity most often engaged in by the total sample was clothing construction , with a
66 .1 percent participation . This figure naturally is high since some of the college students polled , as well as all of the Adult Educat ion class members , were current ly en rolled in a Clothing Construction class . In cont rast , only 10 percent of the Bus iness Women indicated that they do any sewing . This low percentage could be because the women are either given clothing by manufacturers (as ad vertizing or �romot ion) , or else they can buy the clothing at a discount . It might also be said that these women do not have the time to sew because they are working . But , this factor could apply to Horne Economics Instructors as well, and 86 percent of that group find time to sew . In
Group V (Others), 45 percent stated that they were involved in clothing construction . In this group , it was by far the most popular of the fashion related activities . These findings on clothing construction , correspond to a reeent study report ed in the An��:J.:.can _)[al!ries magazinr:.' 33
.. 2 ,.., '3 '"" {-1 :� ..:1) . In this survey , it was noted that the young women (13-19 years old) considered sewing their favorite hobby .
It was <-�stimated that in the Un ited States alone , there are
44 million home sewers who construct 500 million garments
annually at an expenditure of $2 .5 billion . All of these statistics must be encouraging not only to pattern and yardag e manufacturers but also to sewing machine manufac- turers and all the accompanying not ions producing comp an-
ies . It might further indicate a continuing future for clothing construct ion (and related) classes .
Few of the women were involved in sales in yardage and department stores . The highest number to participate in this type of work was found among the college students
(20%) . This group also was engaged in selling fashion items (30%) . The women in business , understandably , had the highest number who sold fashion items (70%) . It is possible that the college students found part-time sales work more readily available to them in these dep artments; or perhaps , they chose fashion related sales work because they were more interested in clothing than the three re- maining groups . This latter analysis corresponds to a study reported by Mary Shaw Ryan in her book Clothing_:�
Stu_::� _!. n Human Behavior , which showed the younger, unmar- L_ . ried woman had the highest clothing interest (4 :116) .
Actual clothing design was checked by 15.9 percent of the sample . The highest percentage in this cat egory vms 43 percent of the Home Economics Instructors polled . 34
r.r wonty percent of the college students and the Business
Women indicat ed that they had designed clothing.
Of interest in the three remain ing fashion related
act ivities (text iles , apparel selection , and professional
model) , is the fact that the Business Women are heavily in
volved in selection (60%) and selling (70%) of fashions ,
but have very little textile experience (10%). It would
seem that in order to select and sell women 's fashions ,
one would need more textile informat ion in order to sat
isfy the consumer 's quest ions about the garment . Perhaps
this is unimportant ; the consumer is not as interested in
the fabric as he is in the design and color of the gar
ment .
The Adult Educat ion Students had a limited knowledge
of text iles (6 .7%), which may indicate a need for includ
ing a unit on fabrics before clothing construction begins .
The Homa Economics Instructors (57%) and the Home Economics
Stud ents (42%) had the highest textile experience.
There were several instances where no participat ion was indicated ; as , no Home Economics instructors or Adult
Educat ion Students had experience in fashion dep artment management . Also , no responding instructors had even been
buyers .
C. Fashion Magazines
Table 3, page 35, lists eight women 's magazines which contain fashion news , and those who answered the TABLE 3
:FREQUENCY OF READ ING FASHION MAG.AZINES BY GROU'PS (Dat a in percent )
.-
TOTAL ]'OR GROUP V ALL GROUPS . GROUP I . GROUP II : GROUP III . GROtJP IV : MAGAZINE . . . . . : Mo . Occ . : Mo . Occ . : Mo . Occ . . Mo . Occ . Mo . Occ . : Mo . Occ . % % . % % . % % . % % . % % . % % . - . : : : . . . . Glamour : 50 30 . 7 21 . 8 44 . 6.7 28 .9 : 10 25 : 12 .7 31 . . . . . : . . : . 25 .4 Harper 's : 45 20 : 14 .3 57 : 2 30 . 2 17.8 : 6.7 21 .7 : .9 ...... Ladies Home : : . . Journal : 30 15 : 28 .6 14 .3 : 26 34 : 22 42 : 26 .7 41 .7 : 26 35 ...... Mademo i- . . : . . selle : 45 20 . 7 42 .9 : 12 30 : --- 13 . 5 18 : 10 .1 22 : McCall 's : 35 20 : 35 .8 28 .6 : 26 42 : 33 35 .6 : 35 33 : 32 .3 34 . 4 . . . Seventeen : 40 15 : - - - 35 .8 : 14 40 . 2 22 : 13 16 .7 : 12 . 7 25 .4 . . Vogue : 70 20 : 35.7 50 : 14 44 : 13 35 .6 : 8 35 : 19.6 37 : : : : �·o· ' Pattern Co . : . . . . Publica- : . . tions : 10 5 : 28 .6 57 : 20 38 : 20 20 : 13 43 : 17.5 33 . . . . . : :
Key : Mo . = Monthly
Occ . = Occasionally
w C.. I 36 questi onnaire were asked to indicate whether they read the magazine mont hly , occasionally or never . There was also space available for listing other publicat ions read which contained art icles on women 's fashions . Those listed in descending order of frequency were : Good Housekeeping$
Red1?ook , Cosmopolitan, Life , Time , Women 's We ar Daily ,
Newspapers , Town and Country , Fashion Week , Clot hes and
Look .
For the total sample , the most popular magazine was
McCal l's. It was read monthly by 32 .3 percent of the sam- ple and occasionally by 34 .4 percent of the sample (total of 67% of the samp le) . The second most read magazine was the Ladies Home Journal with a combined total of 61 percent of the sample having read it at some time . Mademoiselle was the least read of the publicat ions with 32 percent hav- ing read it and Harper's was read by 34 percent of the sam- ple . However , 65 percent of the Business Women read both
Mademoiselle and Harper 's magazines either monthly or oc- casionally .
Vogue magazine , one of the leading nat ional maga zines devoted exclusively to the coverage of women 's fash- ions , was read by 56 .6 percent of this sample. This in- eluded 90 percent of the Business Women and 86 percent of the Home Economics Instructors . For the three remaini.ng groups , III, IV , V, those who read Vo�u� did so occas ion�· ally rather than monthly c
Over half of the sample read the patt<:·rn company 37
publications . Here it may be noted that the Business
Women read this source of fashion the least oft en·-·-10 per·
cent monthly, 5 percent occasionally . This correlated with
the previous f:tnding that of the Bus iness Women polled ,
only 10 percent did any sewing . Another interest ing find ing was that all of the Adult Educat ion Students ·wEn·e en-
- rolled in a sewing class , but only 20 percen·t read pattern
publicat ions mont hly and 20 percent did so occas ionally for
60 a total of 40 percent . ·what do the remaining percent read for clothing construction inspirat ion? According to
this study , the most frequent ly read magazines by this
group •.:vere McCall 's and Ladtes Home Journal . These two
magazines do carry pattern informat ion but of necessity it is limited informat ion .
Seventeen mag azine was the sixth most read magazine
(38 . 1%) , but the majority of these readers were either
Business Women (55%) , who probably find the teenage market
very important in their work , or the Home Economics Stu
dents (54 %) , who were the youngest group and so underst and
ably interested in this magazine . None of the Home Eco
nomics Instructors read Seventeen magazine monthly , but
approximately 36 percent looked at it occas ionally . After _?lr<:E� Vogue , magazine was the choice for the Business
Women (80%) . This magazine also was popular with the Home Economics Student s (52%) and was read by 44 percent of the
total sa.mple. 38
D. Fashion Trends Foreseen for 1970s
In some respects the results from this part of the questionnaire proved the most intriguing since the 1970 fashions have just begun . Before analyzing these statis- tics , however, the other fashion trends which were written in should be listed . One of the recurring forecasts listed by some women in each of the five groups was that the style may not be as important as the fabric which is employed to carry out the design. Here are some of the comments :
Softness in fabrics and prints
Clinging rib knits
Large usage of man-made knit fibers in piece goods
Thermo-controlled clothing
Elegance in fabrics
More bright colors and blends of colors
Another often stated forecast was for individual freedom to wear what one wished .
T able 4, page 39, lists the nine forecasts for the
1970s and makes the dilennna of today 's fashi ons somewhat cleRrer. As this paper is being written , Spring 1970 , there is a widespread discussion and mounting protest about the return of the mid-calf skirt length referred to as nm idi .u The quest ionnaire gathered opinions of women in November 1969, and at that time the women in the busi- ness of fashion predicted the cont inuat ion of the mini- TABLE 4
J<" ASHION TRENDS FOR THE 1970s AS PRO JECTED BY GROUPS (Dat a in Percent )
FASHION TREND S GROUP GROIJP GROUP GROUP GROUP TOTAL FOR FORESEEN FOR THE 1970s I II III IV v ALL GROUPS � % % % % o;o, %
1. Modi fication of the pres ent fashions 50 50 44 53 48 46 .7
2. Repetition of the past 45 28.6 52 26 .7 28 36
3. Complete new approach 25 14 .3 6 17.8 8 12 .2
4. Return of long skirts 35 21 .4 22 13 35 25 .4
5. Cont inuat ion of mini- skirt 65 42.9 67 35.6 46 .7 50 .3
6. We aring of pant s in- stead of skirts 30 64 .3 74 24 43 47. 1
7 . More nudity 20 21 .4 28 17.8 25 23 .3
28 .6 38. 24 45 33 .9 8. Disposable clothing 15
9. Un isex clothing 35 28 .6 34 15 .6 26 .7 27
c.·J \,;? 40
�kirt (65%) and the modification of the present hem length
(50%) . These were their two strongest predictions !! Only
35 percent predicted the return of longer skirts . Despite women 's protests, many lead ing designers are predicting that 40 percent or more of available fashions will be mid calf length by the Fall of 1970 , and that women will wear them to be "in style" (17 :39) .
Looking at the whole picture of 1970 fashion fore casts, we see that the strongest predict ion (50 .3%) was for a continuat ion of the mini-skirt length. In contrast , only
25.4 percent of the populat ion felt long skirts would re turn . The sample also believed pants would be worn in place of skirts (47.1%) , and that there would be a modi ficat ion of present fashi ons (46 . 7%) . Approximately one third of these women forecast a repet it ion of past fashions and increased usage of disposable clothing. About one fourth of the sample felt nudity and unisex clothing would increase . Only 12 .2 percent forecast that there would be a complete new approach to women 's fashions .
The Home Ec onomics Students revealed the young wo men 's fashion hopes for the 1970s . Their strongest pre dictions were for the increased wearing of pants in place of skirts (74%) and also the cont inuat ion of the mini
22 skirt (67%). Only percent hoped for a return of long skirts . This was the group to forecast most strongly a repetit ion of the past (52%) , as well as more nudity (28%) and more disposable clothing (38%) . The young people 41
forecast the lowest percentage of all five groups (only
6%) that there would be a complete new approach to women 's
fas hions .
Home Economics Instructors believed that the main
fashion trends for women in the 70s , would be the wearing
of pants in place of skirts (64 .3%) , a modification of
present fashions (50%) , and the continuat ion of the mini skirt (42.9%) . Only 21.4 percent believed that long skirts
would return in the near future.
Group IV , the Adult Educat ion class members , felt
strongest about the modificat ion of present fashions
(53 . 5%) , and the continuat ion of the mini-skirt (35.6%) .
About one-fourth of this group thought that past fashions would be revi ved , that pants would replace skirts , and that there would be more disposable clothing . The group 's
least expectat ions were for the return of long skirts
(13 . 3%) and for unisex clothing (15 . 6%) .
Group V had strong feel ings for the modificat ion of present fashions (48 .3%) , the cont inuation of the mini skirt (46 . 7%) , the wearing of disposable clothing (45%) ,
and the wearing of pants instead of skirts (43.3%). This group , and the Business Women , were the highest in pre dicting the return of longer skirts; 35 percent of each group felt that this would occur . Only 8.3 percent of the women in Group V believed that there would be a complete new fashion approach for women in the 1970s . 42
E. Fas hion Sketches
The third part of the survey was concerned with sketches of clothing typically worn during the 1960s and the women 's opinions of them . These eight een designs were chosen on the basis of the clothing that newspapers , maga- zines and other publications were showing during the years
1960-1969. Figure II, page 43 , summarizes the total sam ple 's feelings about these designs .
Of the eight een sketches , the most favored was the
Pants Suit (97%) , with the A-Line Dress a close second choice (96%) . In the second part of the question on sketches (concerning the respondent 's ownership of the garment) , 45 percent owned a pant suit , 25 percent did not own one , 18 percent planned to purchase or make one , 3 per cent indicated that they already owned one and planned to get another, and 9 percent did not answer. The an alysis of the five women 's groups , taken individually , concerning the Pants Suit , showed some interesting results . The Busi ness Women and the Home Economics Instructors were all in favor of the Pants Suit ; 60 percent of the Business Women but only 36 percent of the Home Econom ics Instruct ors owned one or more . However , 29 percent of the Instructors planned on buying a pants suit . The group which showed the most ownership of the pants suit , was the Home Econom ics Students , 66 percent owned one and another 16 percent planned to get one . The group who owned the least number 43
FASHION DESIGNS Pants Suit
A-- Line Dl�E��3 f} Shift D1,(:1S�3
Pants DresE>
Party Pants Bell Bo ttom
Capri Pants
Mini
Costume
Bikini
Mod
Maxi
Tent Drer�E�
Un :Lse:x
Met al
Hippie Key : Percent of \v omen who : No-- B:ra/
See Th:ru "Like " - a plus
Midi "Like Somewhat " - b
FIGUlfE II
l''ASHION DESIGNS IN ORDER 01" H.ESPONDEN'I'S PRKFEimNCES 44
of pants suits, was the Adult Educat ion g:roup , where 96 27 percent liked it , but only percent owned one .
Regarding the A- Line Dress , 6 . percent of the total
74 samp le did not respond , percent owned an A- line dress ,
9 percent did not own one and 11 percent planned to pur chase or construct an A- line dress . Of the five groups , all of the Home Economics Instructors liked the A- line dress design . Eighty-seven percent of Group V owned an
A- l:Lne dress and another 13 percent planned to get one. Of the Bus iness Women only 65 percent owned an A- line dress ; this was the lowest degree of ownership for this design.
The ownership of the total samp le was much higher for an A- line dress than for a pants suit (74 percent owned an A- line compared to 45 percent owning a pants suit) , v; hich might be because the A- line style was popular ized early in the 1960s and the pants suit only in the last few years . The much higher percentage of ownership for the
A- line dress could also be due to the fact that it could be worn on more occasions , whereas the pants suit would tend to be somewhat limited .
Out of the eight een fashion sketches , ten were dresses of various styles and lengths , one was a bathing suit and seven were some form of pants (from mini length pants dress to flowing party pants) . Although the number of pant s sketches used was less than dress sketches , five of the seven top clothing choices involved some form of 45
In summary , Pants Su i t s and A- Line Dresses were first
and second choices , the Shift Dress was third , Pants Dress
£ourt h� Party Pants fifth, Bell Bot t om Pants sixth and
Ca,pTi Pants sevent h. At least for this samp le of 189 wom·
en , _pants ·were the preferred way to dress .
Of interest in these t op seven s e lect i ons is the con
t�nued popularity of the shi ft dress of 1963 and of the
close--fitting , figure-revealing caprt pants of 1961.
I� i ght_y- s:lx percent of the samp le st i l l Iiked the shift
dress and 77 percent still l ik ed the capr:l pants . The
�h�ft dress was st ill available in the stores at the close
. The ni l969 but very few stores stocked any capri p ants
capr-1 pa.nts ·we re most popular with the Adu lt Educat ion
W:omen (89%) and least popu lar with the Bu sin es s Women
(50%) .. lu eont:ea.st , the loose-fitting Be ll Bottom Pants
were the favorites c- f t he Home Economi cs St udents (92%)
and least favored by t he Adu lt Educ at ion Women (60%) . The
even fuller Party P ant s were liked by all o:f the Bus iness
Women and 1)y 71 percent of the Adu lt Educat ion Women .
�hiE was the lowest pereent for this style . So it ap
_pe having a vari ety of silhouettes . The Min i - Sk irt ranked eighth in fashi on choices . Sevent y--throe percent of the sample did like it and L1 2 per· cent cvmed R mini-skirt . The lowefJt perc ent age of mini- el�Lrt i) Wllers was 2. mong the Home Economics Instruct ors ('7%) 46 D.rld as expected., the highest percent age of own ership was among the youngest women, tlw Home Ec onom:i. cs Student s percent where SO _percent owned a m ini- s kirt and another 10 1ve r-e _planning to acqui re one . �ostume clot hing encompassed a great variety of ·clot hing usually selected separately and then combined in various ways . 'l'he sketch shows wide--legged pants worn un- ·der ·a ntini wrap--- around s k i rt , topped by a long- sleeved shirt , a vest ,, and masses of jewelry . 'I' his look placed ninth �7% liked it) concerning opinions of fashion -sketehes. . In the late 1960s there was a reoccurr ing theme that women he in dividualist ic in the ir dr6ss and the cos- tume _provided the answer ; :L t was unlikely that any two wo men wou-ld be dressed alike . The Costume was li.ked an d OWlF:>d - qy :95 _p ercent of the Business Women , 79 percent of :the Home 1!::cnnomtcs Instructors, 72 percent of the Home �Ec unom�cs Bt udep ts, 67 perc ent of Ot hers and 44 percent of :the Adult Educat ion Women . The Mod look of dress which had begun in London in .1966 .received aJ)lJroval by half of the samp le. Her e again , ·the �Business Women lead the groups with four-- fift hs liking - tt. , whi.l e onTy 2.9 percent of the Adult Educat ion Women Tlre fuTl Tength skirt style known as the Max i was choss>n by 44 _percent of the wom en and yet on ly 5 percent ow.o.ed on·e ·and another 12 perc ent plann ed on buying one . favored 47 the maxi � 15 percent owned one and another 15 percent Flanned to own one . Perhaps , the other women in the sam- pl e who favored the maxi lengt h were going to '�ait and see if before buying. A loose fitting garment called a Tent Dress , was considered by one of the buyers as the least imag inat ive designs of the 1960s . Even so , 42 percent of the women in this survey , liked it ; Group V had 54 percent in favor wn2le Group I showed on ly 25 p er cent in favor of the tent dress .• :ri·i en and women dressing alike , Un isex clothing , found approYal by over a third of the sample (3G%). Among the Bome Economics Students who were polled the un isex way of dres s was quite pcpular ; 54 percent liked it , 32 percent ovmecl it and 3 percent plannc�d on owning a un isex outfit. This v:r:ts the reverse among the Ho:rn e Economics Inst rueto:rs , '.V here only 21 percent answered that they liked unisex cloth:Lng and only 7 percent owned this type of fashion . Hippie type of free-f lowing robes and dangling jewr->lry w::1s 1 iked by 18 perc ent of the total sample . Ot her un convent ional clothing as See Through and Met al clot hing were the less acceptable choices of dress . Ho wever , the l\U di length of dress which i s present ly ·heJ. ng shown at the maj or fashion centers here and a. broad , all eight een fashion sketches . ·onJs 2 .P ercent liked j_ t and 6 percent liked it somewhat (8% total) . Concern ing ownership of the midi 10 percent 48 did not ans wer , 6 percent owned one , 83 percent did not own one , and only three women said they planned to buy one . Tv;o of these were Bu siness Women who indicated on their v.i returned questionnaires that they ould get a midi only to wear over matching pants . CH.AJ?'.nm V SUlvtMAH.Y AND CONCLUS IONS This study on women 's reactions to fashions of the _past ten years pl'f)cluced some interestlng do:t a as rmalyzed by the hypothesos . . NtT.LI..J HYl)Ul'HESIS I: 'I' h·8re is no dif:feronce ln. reactions of mar ital r:> ocia 1 aet :l. vi- ties or educat ion. fashion fo1·eca::: ts , thesa dif- five groups :u1d tho.ir 1970 £erences could not be correlat ed with the woman 's area of .residence,, efJuc at ion , marital status or family 8izo . Un- .l'esi dJ.')nce , cl�:u· for examplH } there ·were no major d:i.ffer--- cnces among th.e ::::d_:,: e of towns v.-he:ce the woms-n r<.::s:i.ded . D�ly two of the one hundred eight -nine women lived in a xura"l . cormnuur;y- { of Los Angeles County. The maj ority were A ·woman :Ln Los Angeles Cmmty 1iv:i.. ng in a town of t:iO,0 00 people is tn many cases in such close proximity to another town (often � __ .-'�� ..-.. .r"', Q ''"'';t" "', .._,"t1 -.l �:'il :t" ...t> .,� -. J-� -. -,� � �,_-· ,�." -• _.:·,·.• --.. ...: _ }'_·,_ ;:. ' C o:·> nu· ·,· n OD. 'D. v, .�..._.··, -,·�_l '• l' �.£1 _-L" ·,.,• ..,..l l• D ·::'"'·_·-.· :-:�> ) ·f·,.,. "",.d.� a" ·t <.."::t. · ...... ' �!.., •• ••J� ..l. t;;...... ::· ...... _ . . : �� - ... - .;# ...... tJ;\""..:.. b - ... -}/ :.. '. . �ncn �s not apparent . 49 ;j O samp le and f:t•om mor,3 diversified areas the it em o:f :::: esi- dence would have registered marked differences between the grot�ps . The fact that all of the BusinesE Women were involved -in f ash i on as part of their occup at :l.ons will be discussed in mo:r·e detail under Hy pothesis III. As ide from this one _g_roup no correlat ions were found between fashion predic- t:Lo ns and v_;hether or not the women in each group were em- _p"loyed fnll or part-time or whether they were current ly no t e"11ployed outside of the home . There was some dissimtlarity bet ween the number of socta:l act ivit ies to which the groups belonged and \V hat :t hey thought ab out some of the :f. ashion t:cends . The Adult Zducat ion ·women engaged in the smallest number of social act ivities , TBble 1, page 29. For this group only 22 per- cerrt were ac tive in three or more organi zat ions compared to 57 percent of the Home Economics InstTuetors to 38 per-- cent of group five , nothers ," to 35 percent of the Busi- ness Women,, and to 28 pe�ccent of the Home Ec onomics Stu- ttents.. 1'1te Adu lt Educ at ion Women were the most stat ic 1n theLr ::CaE:lhion out look . They registered the highest per--- _c;_..,e . nt. •�·�c.b..-n _\.:.: ( u.r:::. '='O/)J ;o who wished to keep fashion as it is-�--th.at .it>,, 11modificat ion of the present .�� Th :l�:; group also had the smallest percent age of WOP.cn who wtshc�d to embrac e such tihanges as more nudity, un isex clothing , return of 'long sl<: irts and the wearing of pants lnstrJad of sld rts . 51 was found to increase wit h exp anding gregar iousness (4 : 76). One of the measures of gregariousness was the number of organizat ions to whicb the subject belonged . For the present study this theory is part ly true . The Ad ult Edu- cat ion Women were the least gregarious of the five groups and showed the least fashion leadership . Ho wever , the re- verse did not ho ld true : that the fashion leaders (who VJSTG the Bus iness Women) ·were the most gregarious . Mor e in vost igat :Lon nee d s to be done in this area perhaps by me as uri ng grega:cJ.ousneGs in so:nc other nmnner . Ad dit iona.l dat a en Jasruon leadership wi ll be discussed under Hypoth- esis III. The greatest divergenc ies f ound among the women and of their fashion forecasts , appeared to be due to the ages these women , Figures on the ages (Fig. I, p. 27) show 70 percent of the lfume Ec onomics Students under twenty- nine years old. This figure was a f ar larger percentage tlJ.an the other four groups (Business Women 25%, Home Ec onom ics Instructors O%, Adu lt Educ at ion Women 38%, and These Home Economics Students chose as their �avorite fashion trends the wearing of pants instead of skirts (74%) and the cont inuat ion of the mini-skirt (64%) . One other group , Home Jkcnomics Instructors (1::14%) , chose the we aring of pants ins tead of skirts as their foremost fashi on prediction , but their second choice was for a modificat ion of the present fashion scene . f:i 2 Based on the above findi.ngs , :Null Hyp otb.esis I is part ially accepted . There were no apparent differences be- tween the groups due to res idence , educat ion , occupat ion , mrtr l:t a-1 status ., or :fanl i ly size ; but there appeared to be ent 's age and number of social act jvi ties to which she be- NULL HYPOTJIESIS II ·- Ther•::! is no d1ffereDC(� in :cea.ct ions to .:f oJ fashion .• The parts of the quest ionnaire dealing with the re- spondent .' s knowledge of fashion inc luded : the nurnber and kind of fashion rel ated activity �n which the subj ect was or had ·been engaged , the magazines she read , especially t.ended.. It was found th;1. t of the Bus iness Wo!llen 95 percent at tended fash ion shows , 90 percent read Vogue magazine , 65 _percent read .!��.:....1J���:�-'.�_:.t_3_a. z�?-r either monthly or occa.sion<:llly and., oJ course , al l of them were engaged in f as hi on related ac t :Lvit1e;3,, 1'lws e wmnen tended to have strong opini.ons <=i. hout a fn.sh:i.c·n and were more p:cone to give definite a..nsW�C!TS sueh as '1J�tke It ,'' a.n d "Dislike It , rr rat he r than 11 ttLike Somewhat -� n ''Dislike Somewhat , n or 11No Opinion . They ah:m had a higher percent age of women ·who WGl'e in �avor of the newer designs as maxi and midi length hem- lines.. for The opposite was true the least fashion educated group,, V--- rrOt hers �" Twenty-five of_these wom�.m (42%) had no involvement with any of the fashion related activities , tl5 _percent did not at t end fo.shion shows , 55 perccm.t aever p ..!! 'pe��_:_:� read Vogue magazine , 68 ercent never read ��- Baz�a.t_: magazine.. These women tended to prefer older fash- 1960s) as J. ons {from the early 75 per c ent 1 U.:ed capri _pants and 68 percent liked a shift dress . findings , Dn the ·b as is of thes e Null Hypothesis II .is .rej ected.. There seems sufficient evidence to state :fash-- that there are definl t e differences in react l.ons to respondent 's apparent .i·on when measured against t he · knoviledge of fashion . . NUI.:L HYPOT IIESIS III - There is no difference :in populat ion ·accept ance present -��--��---·-----··�-� ·-of -�·--·------fashion . The acceptance of a fashion was measured by the wo- indicating or ad men whether they owned the i t em h inten- r tLons oi acquiring it . In almost e ve y case , the Bu s1nc:ss groups in aecept ing a newer Women led -t ho five d;::lsign by aetua.T:I;y ov,;ning or planning to own the fashion . An ex·- :eept'ion was the pants f3 Uit, wh.. �re the students scored a hi glre.r _pe:ceentage. See Table 5 , page 54 . As ind:i. cat ed by �T ab1.:e .5 ,, thr:: Ad ult Edueat ion Women SC(.il�ect the lowest per- ·c e:rrt ag:e s ·:Ln each cat egory (except the m:i.n:l. dress) , :i.n .t he .tr accept::::mcf� o:f no\>.'(?r fashi ons . tr; .._d;,BLE 5 OWNERSHIP OJ.i' SEVEN MAJOR FASHIONS OF 1960s BY GROUPS (D at a in petcent ) - MIDI MAXI PANTS :I'IIN I COSti1 UIVIE PARTY PA.t�TS SUIT PANT S DRESS ' - -- Own Plan Own Plan Own Plan Own Pl<=m Own Plan Own Plan Own Plan to to to to to to to own own own own own ov;:n own - ,y 0' % % % % % % % Of % Ol Cl % !o /o /0 /0 /0 GRCUP I .&==Xo.l 5 5 10 15 15 60 15 50 5 70 5 50 40 GROUP - - II 7 7 7 7 7 36 29 29 29 14 50 14 - GHOu'P III 66 2 2 4 18 66 16 32 6 32 32 66 10 - GROUP IV 31 2 2 0 4 27 20 7 2 13 18 38 13 GROUP V 37 5 13 - 5 12 38 25 20 12 15 23 52 13 c..• � A further measure of the group differences in opin- ions on f ashion , is dramat ically p ort r ayed in Tab le 6, page fiB.. This table lists the resu l ts of the chi square test of significanc e �or each of the fashion sketches . �n orily four fashi ons-- Shi ft Dress , Tent Dress , Pants �-:.Oress -and A-- IJi. ne Dress-was the chi square analysis found th ot her to he ins ignificant . All of e items showed sig- 11 ifican:t differences between the five groups and their re- -ac-t ions to the women Ts fashions of the 60s . Due to these mRny difJ erences Hu ll Hy pot hes is III is :;.� ejeeted. . In conclusion , this investigat ion of women ' s reac- ttons to-..vard their fashions of the 1960s showed that the youn�, 'better educated , socially act ive , fashion emp loyed wonren reacted favorably to most of the designs . The more Bontrovers�nl clothing--No-Bra and Aec-Through , Hippie , and Metal-.. ·- were not popular with many of the women and few bought -umm.. The Pants Su it and the A- Line Dress led the -list of favorite des igns whi le the least popular of aJ.l eightBen designs was found to be the midi length hemline-- the ue vvest fafJhion of the momen t ! P0rhaps we will find the '.Vnx· ds o�f ,James Laver come true when he said : Mos t of us are very mucl,1 the creatures of . ±he p:res ent : WH may d:i.slike a new :fashion when fi rst we see it , but once it is firmly established � we find it difficult to be lieve that a,nyth:ing very different ever completely p'Ie ased U: '.:l . In looking at the various shapes ziven to a woman by succeeding fashions , therefore � we may wa ll be puzzled to find reasons why each in turn should have been cons ide1·ed at tractive (1 :23) . TABLE 6 CHI SQUAHE 'I' EST OF STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE ') ,.';i.�?2 � _8ig. FASHION ITE,...-....__M - -di Sig FASH ION ITE:M X.-. df 1') Capri Pants 12 , 1. Bikini IJil<:e 27.8 ...... ,01 10 . Like 27 .4 . u, l.-. 17.6 4 ,01 Own Own * Like * No Bra and Like 2. Shift 11 , 28 .1 16 .05 Own * See Through Own * Tent Like * 12 . Hippie Like r\ '1 3, 33 .8 16 ,v.... Own * Own * A- Line Dress Like * Be ll Bottom 4. 13 , Like 23 .0 8 .01 Own * Own 35 .2 8 .01 Mini Dress Like 33 .6 16 ,01 14 . r\"'i Mod • 5. Like 47 .l 16 v ..� . Own . 01 23 ,6 8 Own 14 .0 4 .Ol S. Midi Dress Lilce * 15 . Met al Like 27.4 16 w05 Own 26 .5 .01 8 Own * 37.6 16 Maxi Dress Like .01 16 , Pant s Suit 7. Like 20 , 1 4 .01 * Own Own 25 .2 8 .01 29.6 12 -· . Un isex Cost mae c 8 U. ke .01 1 7. Like 38 .l. O ,01 . 0 Ovm 15 ,5 �� 1 Own 26 .9 8 . c� r .J..: �,.t.�..·"'. ., * 35 16 ,., � . Pa:t�t y Pax1t s Like • 9. Pants Dress L 18 . l,j.,.t * Own. Ovln 45 8 eQl - - * square was not significant C.Yl Chi OJ CHAPTER VI RE COMl\·!EKD P{fiOlTS FOR FUR'J HER RESEARCH So much could have been added to this study had there been suffic ient time and resources . The following racoremBndat ions are set forth for those desiring to pursue a fashion study in the future . 1. OrH� o:f the first ad dit ions to this study could be the administrat ion of the quest ionnaire in various _p artB of the. country to comparable woman 's groups . This would det ermine how a woman in Southern Cali fornia wou ld view �er fashi ons in cont rast to a woman in another geo gr· ro�_p hi c area of the Un ited St at es . Perhaps , such clothes as the Max i wo uld receive a much higher accept ance from women li ving in cold , wet climat es than from women living in Los Ao.ge les County . 2. Invest i gate why , or why not , women liked var1ous fashion designs and wh ere she would wear the garment . Try and determine if those women who disproved 3. of R fashion , such as the mini-skirt which could not be lengthened , spent le;ss money for clot hing , and tf this di:.c;app roval could poss ibly eorrela,te with an increase in l1 t)IT1 8 88\V:ing. 57 Conduct the study among gain their 4. men and reac tions to the women 's fashions of the 1960s . 5. The study might also be expanded to include more of the social-psycholdgical aspects of clot hing as the percent of income spent on clothing , whether the woman pur chas ed the garment for her own sat isfact ion or to please another woman or anot her member of her fami ly such as a teenage daught er or a hus band . 6. In a year or two an interest ing study would be to inv estigate whether or not the women in Los An geles County � followe the Paris fashion designers to the midi length hemline . There present ly is a great interest in prot est ing the midi (6 1:1) but will it cont inue or will wom�n succumb to the style? In 1967 a George Gallup poll (61 :24) showed that of those women quest ioned on the mini-skirt , 63 percent did not like them , but women bought them ! These are a :f ew recommend at ions for furt her study concerning opinions of fas hions and fashion accept ance .