Preferences Among Wool Suits, and Jackets

AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 64

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Bureau of Agricultural Economics WASHINGTON, D. C. September 1951 This is one of a series of studies conducted by the Division of Special Surveys, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, under the direction of Forrest E. Clements, Head of the Division. The study directors were : Jane A. Shepherd James A. Bayton Assisted by : Florence K. Nierman The research on which this report is based was made possible by funds provided by the Agricultural Research and Marketing Act of 1946. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics assumed major responsibility for the study with the cooperation and advice from the Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics and the Production and Marketing Administration. Tech- nical analyses of the sample suitings used were made by the Testing and Specifications Sections, U. S. Bureau of Standards and the Wool Standards Laboratory, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 30 cents MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG WOOL SUITS, COATS, AND JACKETS PREPARED IN THE BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

CONTENTS

Page I Page Introduction i: Sports jackets 68 Date of interviewing 2 Ownership of sports jackets The sample 2: Characteristics of sports Interpreting the findings 2 jackets owned 70 Survey findings : Plans to buy a sports jacket 72 Year-round suits 5 Consumer reactions to wear- Ownership of year-round ing sports jackets 76 suits -- _ 5 Topcoats and overcoats 86 1^ actors mñuential m purchase of year-round suits 11 Appendix Men's preferences for vari- Analysis of values 93 ous types of wool suit- Method of paired compari- ings 53 sons 95

INTRODUCTION In the years just after the war, the world demand for articles of clothing made of fine grades of wool increased tremendously, while surpluses of medium and coarser grades of wool accumu- lated because retailers believed that consumers would not accept clothing made of them. At the same time, certain style shifts in men's clothing—for example, lessening demand for vests and growing demand for sports jackets and topcoats, disrupted established production patterns. Manufacturers did not know whether they were dealing with price trends, fads, or long-range style changes. Consequently, it was felt that research designed to explore the psychological determinants of consumer buying behavior would be helpful to wool producers, manufacturers, and retailers in interpreting the significance of trends in wool consumption. It would enable them to adapt their production tech- niques, and procedures to the needs, preferences, and habits of consumers—who determine, in the long run, the prosperity of the wool industry as a whole. And, though no surpluses exist at this time, this information can be useful in making most efficient use of the wool which is available. This study supplements a previous survey on men's clothing preferences made by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics.^ The first report dealt with men's preferences for business shirts, summer sport shirts, wool shirts, extra trousers, socks, summer suits, underwear, pajamas, robes, and raincoats. The present report deals only with year-round suits, sports jackets, topcoats and overcoats, and also differs from the former in the design of the questionnaire and the types of analysis. In order to meet the ^ UNITED STATES BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED CLOTHING ITEMS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 706, 191 pp. 2 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE objective of a study of motivations the questions in the schedule dealt with actual experiences in suit buying, that is, what men did and had in mind when they bought their newest suits, or, if they owned sports jackets, how they happened to start wearing them. In addition to data on ownership and the conventional coding of preferences and explanations, the goals or values men thought they could attain through suits were explored through the content analysis method. Preferences for suitings of different grade wools were estabUshed through use of the method of paired comparisons.

DATE OF INTERVIEWING Interviewing was done during June 1949.

THE SAMPLE The sample used in the survey was designed to represent all men in the United States who were 16 years of age or older, living in households. At the time the survey was made, it was estimated that there were approximately 51.5 million such individuals in this country. The method of area sampling used in the survey was such that each household in the United States had an equal chance of being selected for study. Within each household selected, interviews were taken with all the men 16 years of age and over, except in households having more than three men. In these cases, not more than three interviews were taken. The sample was designed to permit separate analyses for the West Coast States, the South, and the remainder of the country. The West Coast consisted of California, Washington and Oregon. The South was defined as the region comprised of Texas, Okla- homa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. The remainder of the States were grouped together. In all, 2,629 interviews were made. In reporting national totals, interviews taken in the West Coast and the South were weighted down to their proper national proportions, producing a weighted total of 1,613 interviews. For the sample as a whole, the chances are approximately 2 in 3 that any errors resulting from construction of the sample alone would not change the results more than 1.8 percentage points in either direction and 95 in 100 that sampling errors have not affected the results more than 3.5 percentage points. For sub- samples of 500 and 1,000 cases, accuracy of the sample at the 95-percent level is about 6.6 and 4.7 percentage points respectively.

INTERPRETING THE FINDINGS For the most part, interpretations are left to those who wish to apply the findings to specific problems. Differences are not pointed up in the text unless they are statistically significant or MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 3

are part of a series. Mention has been made of lack of differences in a few cases where they appeared to be of interest. Certain cautions as to use of the results are pointed out here. Some of the data reported deal with men's reports of the number and characteristics of articles of clothing owned at the time of the interview. This information is subject to factual errors related to the adequacy of the men's memories, their wish to conceal or distort information that they thought might lower them in the eyes of the interviewer, and their level of information concerning the subject. By a system of probes, and by phrasing the questions to minimize any suggestion of status, an attempt was made to reduce errors from the first two sources. Little can be done to eliminate errors from the third. In addition to an analysis of the internal consistency of the interviews, reports of interviewers lead to the conclusion that many men are poorly informed as to the fibers, weaves, and finishes of their suits and coats. Those interviewed sometimes confused the names of materials and fibers, and texture and finish were frequently mixed up. Also a number of the respondents were unable to describe the characteristics of materials in their garments, aside from those having to do with color and design. All tables that deal with characteristics of materials should be interpreted with this in mind. Similarly, preferences and reasons for preferences reported by some of the men may have been based on misconceptions or lack of knowledge. Nonetheless, they are important determiners of purchasing behavior and as such, they are worthy of study. Certain problems arose when definitions of the articles of clothing included in the study were being drafted. On advice from the industry, year-round and winter suits were treated as the same type of garment. Trade definitions of year-round suits, as opposed to summer suits, and of topcoats as opposed to overcoats, depend upon the weight per yard of the fabric. This definition could not be used effectively in discussing the items with the respondents since so few had this information. With the agreement of representatives of the clothing and wool industries, suits which were worn in spring and fall, in winter, or throughout the year were grouped together and are hereafter referred to as "year-round suits." In some cases, therefore, tropical worsted or gabardine suits which were worn during a large part of the year are classified as year-round suits, even though the trade definitions may differ. No satisfactory criterion could be established which the men could use in distinguishing between a topcoat and an overcoat. For this reason, interviewers were instructed to accept the owners' classifications, which may or may not correspond to trade definitions. In evaluating tables showing break-downs of purchases by year, it should be remembered that the interviewing was done in June of 1949. Consequently, figures for only the first 5 or 6 months of 1949 are included. In most cases, medians were computed on the basis of smaller intervals than those appearing in the tables, as this results in a more accurate figure. 4 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

A few of the variables used in the tables require some explanation. In tables showing break-downs by community size, the metropolitan areas include cities with a population of 500,000 or more and smaller incorporated towns within metropolitan areas. The "other urban" category includes incorporated places up to 500,000 in population. Rural refers to open country. All population data on which the sample was based were taken from the 1940 Census. Family income groupings were arrived at in the following way. All of the men interviewed were asked several questions about the income and employment of every family member in order to obtain as accurate information as possible regarding their family's income during the 12 months preceding the interview— roughly from June 1948 through May 1949. They were then grouped into three broad income classes, each including approximately one-third of the men interviewed, and designated as lower, middle and upper-income groups. The lower-group includes those with family income for that period up to $2,793, the middle-group those with incomes of $2,794 to $4,616, and the upper-group those with family incomes of $4,617 and over. Occupational groupings^ were made upon the basis of probable similarities in patterns of dress. Since men engaged in what was classified as labor, whether skilled or unskilled, as well as those in service and protective occupations could be expected to wear overalls, work clothes or uniforms while working, they were grouped together. Farmers were kept separate. Depend- ents were omitted from the occupation categories. This was done because, though their preferences and clothing habits would probably reflect to some extent, the pattern of their providers, age and school attendance would most likely be more important factors. It was found that the tastes and preferences of a few men apparently had no influence whatever upon the purchase of their newest suit. For example, one was a resident in an old soldier's home and dependent upon charity donations of clothing; another elderly man, living with one daughter was sent his clothing by another in a distant city. Since they had no part in the purchase, they were included in the analyses of ownership of year-round suits and other tables which include the entire sample (1,613 men), but are omitted from the analyses of motivations and year- round suit preferences. Whenever men's preferences had been considered in the purchase, they were included in the latter, even though their newest suits had been gifts.

2 Occupational definitions were based on U. S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE. DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES. Rev. Ed. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print. Off. 1944. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS

SURVEY FINDINGS

YEAR-ROUND SUITS

OWNERSHIP OF YEAR-ROUND SUITS General.—Year-round suits were defined as tailored suits with matching coat and trousers that were worn either froni fall through spring or throughout the whole year. One man in 10 reported that he did not own such a suit; 1 in 5 had not bought a new one since 1944 or earlier. Therefore, 70 percent of the men accounted for 100 percent of the year-round suit buying during the 41/2 years prior to the interviewing. This, however, does not give the true picture since 18 percent of the men were discovered* to own half of the suits which had been bought since 1944 and were still being worn. This pattern of ownership shows that a relatively small proportion of men dominates the year-round suit market (tables 1 through 3). The average number of year-round suits in current wardrobes was approximately two. The median age of the newest suit in men's wardrobes was 20 months (table 4).

TABLE 1.—Oivnership of year-round suits

United West South other Ownership States Coast States

Per ?ent Percent Perce7it Percent Owned one or more 90 89 ! 82 ! 94 Newest acquired in 1945 or later 70 68 63 73 Newest acquired in 1944 or earlier 20 21 19 21 Owned no year-round suits _ 10 - 11 18 6 Total 100 1 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 1 681 1 942 1,006

Place of residence^ occupation and year-round suit ownership.— Marked differences in ownership were found between the various regional, community size and occupational groups (tables 1, 3, 5 through 8). Lowest in ownership, number owned and frequency of purchase were the southerners, men living in rural areas^ and those engaged in farming. Highest were the men living in other regions, in metropolitan centers, and those engaged in professional or white collar occupations. Of course, region of the country, size of the community of residence and the type of occupation engaged in are interrelated and contribute to the establishment of certain accepted standards of dress for both working and leisure hours. Of these, occupation is perhaps the most important. The larger part of a man's working hours are spent on his job. In addition, it often determines residence and sets the pattern of social contacts and activities. 6 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 2.—Number of year-round suits in current ivardrohes ivhich had been bought siîice 19H^

Cumulative percent Cumulative of suits which had Number of suits Percent of men percent of men been bought since 1944

8 and more 1 7 (') 2 6 1 1 6 5 2 3 13 4 4 7 25 3 11 18 50 2 20 38 78 1 32 70 100 0 30 100 Total 100 Number of cases n,604 n,604 2,231

^ This table does not represent the total number of suits that were bought since 1944 by the men interviewed as the question on which it is based was concerned only with the suits they owned, which were in wearing condition at time of interview. The number of suits that may have been bought since 1944 and discarded is not known. ^ Less than 1 percent. ^ Nine men who did not report the year bought and/or the number bought since 1944 are excluded from this table.

TABLE 3.—Number of year-round suits owned

United West Other Number owned States Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Per :ent 1 or more 1 90 1 89 1 R9. 94 1 32 34 33 31 2 28 23 24 30 3 19 15 22 4 6 'I 5 7 5 3 4 3 2 6 or more 2 3 2 2 None 10 11 18 6 Total 100 1 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 681 942 1,006 Average number owned 1.97 2.03 1.74 2.07 MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 7

TABLE 4.—Year in ivhich newest year-round suit was acquired}

Year acquired Owners of year-round suits

Percent 1944 and earlier 23 1945 to 1947 30 1948 to 1949 47 Total 100 Number of cases 1,447 Median age of newest suit. 2 20

^ Bought or received as a gift. - Months.

As a general rule, a suit is required on the job for professional and white collar workers. Men in the laboring, protective and service occupations generally wear work clothing or uniforms during their working hours, though they may wear suits to and from work. Men engaged in these occupations are concentrated in urban areas of varying sizes. By and large, urban living requires more formal dress than does rural. In the cities it is not usually considered correct to attend a party or go on a date without a coat. A man would be denied admission to many restaurants and public places without one. On the other hand, most men engaged in agriculture live in rural areas. They too, wear overalls on the job, and in certain parts of the country some may wear them on almost all occasions. Income and ownership of year-round suits.—As expected, family income was found to be related to suit ownership (tables 9-11). The greater the income the more apt were men not only to be owners of year-round suits but to have several in their wardrobes and to have bought their newest one relatively recently. In

TABLE 5.—Relation betiveen community size and oivnership of year-round suits

Ownership Metropolitan Other urban Rural

Percent Per cent Per cent Owned one or more 1 97 89 80 Newest acquired in 1945 or later 82 i 70 47 Newest acquired in 1944 or earlier _ 15 19 33 Owned none 3 11 1 Total ¡ 100 100 i 100 Number of cases 433 905 275 Median age of newest suit ^4 ^21 ^36

Months. 8 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 6.—Relation between community size and ownership of year-round suits

Number owned Metropolitan Other urban Rural

Pe rcent Percent Percent One or more 97 89 80 1 24 32 42 2 31 27 28 3 26 19 9 4 10 6 1 5 4 3 6 or more 2 2 i None 3 ; 11 20 Total 100 ! 100 100 Number of cases 433 905 275 Average number owned- 2.4 2.0 1.3

^ Less than 1 percent.

TABLE 7.—Relation between occupation and ownership of year- round suits^

Profes- sional, Labor, Retired, Ownership executive, White protective, Farm disabled, proprie- collar service unemploy- tary

Percent Percent Percent Pen jent Per cent Owned one o^ more 98 ! 97 ___ ! 90 78 9?, Newest acquired in 1945 or later 86 1 88 69 47 43 Newest acquired in 1944 or earlier 12 9 21 31 49 Owned none 2 3 — 1Ö 22 8 Total 1 245 182 743 221 103 Number of cases i n4 1 -13 ■222 234 Median age of newest suit 100 1 100 100 100 100

^ Eighty-six dependents and 33 men whose occupations were not classifiable or not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Months. ^ More than 54 months. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 9

TABLE 8.—Relation between occupation and number of year-round suits oivned^

Profes- i sional, Labor, Retired, Number owned executive, White protective, Farm disabled, proprie- collar service unemploy- tary able

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent 1 or more __ 98 ___ 1 97 — _ Í 90 — 1 78 ___ ! 92 1 16 ■ 15 Í 35 41 ■ 43 1 2 24 33 29 26 26 ! 3 33 28 18 9 18 4 13 13 5 1 2 5 6 4 2 1 2 6 or more 6 4 1 1 None 2 3 10 ~ 22 8 Total 100 100 i 100 i 100 100 Number of cases 245 182 743 221 103 Average number owned 2.9 2.6 1.8 1.3 1.7

1 Eightly-six dependents and 33 men whose occupations were not classifiable or not ascertained are omitted from this table.

addition, they tended to pay more for their suits as their available funds increased. There are, of course, differences in income in the various regions and occupations. The average income of the men living in the South was considerably lower than in the other two regions. That the southerners had paid less, on the average for their newest suits was not surprising. However, this positive relationship was not found among men living in the West Coast States. It appeared that other factors were more important among men living there. Though the income distribution in those States was practically the

TABLE 9.—Relation between family income and ownership of year- round suits^

Ownership Lower group Middle group Uppeir group

Percent Percent Per cent Owned one or more -1 81 I 91 96 Newest acquired in 1945 or later 52 72 84 Newest acquired in 1944 or earlier 29 19 12 Owned none 19 9 4 Total i 100 100 100 Number of cases 507 516 541 Median lapse of time since last purchase 2 31 2 20

^ Forty-nine men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Months. 10 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE same as that in the States other than the South, the westerners said they paid more, on the average, for their newest suits. As shown above, (tables 7-8) white collar workers were quite like their higher income professional associates in the number of suits they owned and the frequency with which they were bought. The requirements of dress for work are similar in both groups. However, the former group pays less for their suits (table 12). Age and ownership of year-round suits.—The proportion of men who said they owned year-round suits increased with age up to the middle 40's and thereafter remained relatively constant. However, these older men seemed to play a decreasing part in the

TABLE 10.—Relation between income and number of year-round suits owned^

Number owned Lower group Middle group Upper group

Peí '■cent Per cent Per cent 1 or more 81 91 96 1 39 "33~~ ~~22~~ 2 24 32 29 3 12 21 25 4 3 4 11 5 2 1 5 6 or more 1 4 None 19 9 4 Total 100 100 100 Number of cases 507 516 541 Average number owned. 1.5 1.9 2.5

^ Forty-nine men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent.

TABLE 11.—Price paid for newest year-round suit

Men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later Price paid United West Other States Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Percent $40 and less 31 12 39 28 $41 to $50 26 20 27 27 $51 to $60 18 21 17 19 $61 to $70 13 19 11 13 $71 and over 11 27 5 12 Price paid not known, not as certained Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,113 455 581 731 Median price paid $47.80 $58.70 $44.90 $48.50 MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 11

TABLE 12.—Relation between income and price paid for the newest year-round suit

Men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later i Price paid Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent Percent Percent $40 or less 45 1 34 18 $41 to $50 9.Q ! 97 or; $51 to $60 11 ! 18 i 23 $61 to $70 9 I 12 17 $71 and over fi 8 17 Price paid not known, 1 not ascertained 1 1 n Total 100 100 100 Number of cases 262 367 1 452 Median price paid $42.95 $46.40 1 $53.90

^Thirty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent.

total suit market. They owned fewer suits and bought them progressively less frequently (tables 13-14). This pattern of year-round suit buying is a reflection of chang- ing patterns of use and way of life among men of different ages. The youngest were just arriving at an age when a suit would be the required dress for many social occasions, notably courting and dating. A number of them said that their newest suit was their first one. Some reported that it had been bought for some special occasion like a Junior-Senior Prom or graduation from high school. Some stated that they had outgrown their older suits This factor of growth, too, contributed to the finding that many of them owned only one suit. It wasn't practical (or necessary) to have more than one at a time. A number of the men in the 20 to 29 year age bracket also reported that their newest suit had been bought for a special occasion, but this time for their own or a friend's wedding or in order to be properly dressed to look for or to begin working on a new job. Between the ages of 30 and 44, men experience their greatest degree of social and business activity with attendant demands upon a wardrobe. As they become older, these needs decrease and they tend to own fewer suits and to keep them longer. Their activities change; a number of them reported that they had bought their newest suit for a funeral.

FACTORS INFLUENTL\L L\ THE PURCHASE OF YEAR-ROUND SUITS Introduction.—The conventional study of consumer preferences is based upon questions which ask the respondent which of various alternatives he prefers, and follows with a request for an explanation of why he expressed a particular choice. This 12 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 13.—Relation between age and ownership of year-round suits^

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years Ownership years years years years and over 1 Percent Percent 1 Percent Percent Percent Owned one or more 70 8fi ! 92 ! 9S ! 91 Newest acquired in ; \ ^ 1 1 1945 or later 68 78 76 63 48 Newest acquired in 1944 or earlier 2 8 16 30 43 Owned none -__ 1 30 — i 14 1 ___¡ 8 1_-_| 7 9 Total ! 100 1 100 100 j 100 100 Number of cases I 108 332 534 ] 468 166 Median lapse of time since last purchase __ -11 ne m \ '26 -'45

^ Five men whose age was not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Months.

TABLE 14.—Relation between age and number of year-round suits owned^

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years Number owned years years years years and over

Per cent Percent Per cent Per cent Percent 1 or more 70 ___ 86 92 93 91 1 4.^ 30 25 35 38 2 20 : 22 30 29 33 i 3 5 21 22 19 16 1 4 2 8 8 6 3 5 4 ! 3 Í 3 1 1 6 or more 1 4 1 1 1 None .__ 30 — 1 14 ___! 8 — i '^ 9 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 108 332 534 468 166 Average number owned 1.06 1.9 2.2 2.0 1.7

^ Five men whose age was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Less than 1 percent. method results in useful data on preferences and the analysis of the reasons contains information of some value for the producer. There is the possibility, however, that such a procedure carries with it at least two limitations. In the first place the question put to the respondent usually is phrased in rather general terms. An example is, **Which do you prefer a double or a single breasted suit?" It is altogether possible for an owner of two suits to prefer double-breasted suits but feel that there are occasions he attends for which a single-breasted one should be worn. Because of this latter belief one of his two suits is always single breasted. In this case the statement of preference in response to this general question would be misleading if it was inferred that, in long- MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 13 range terms, this man would be most likely to buy double-breasted suits. The second limitation could exist in the superficiality with which the reasons for preferences are studied. Preferences do not exist in a vacuum or in isolation; factors such as needs, goals, and experiences furnish the background upon which they are formed and modified. Suits, in particular, are relatively large purchases with a rather long period of use and serve functions other than protection from the elements and preservation of minimum mod- esty requirements. They are not often bought without considerable thought, and when they are bought, the preferences leading to the particular purchase could be expressions of underlying factors that are not immediately apparent. If a man who today says he prefers double-breasted suits is very style conscious, it seems likely that he would change his preference if single-breasted suits became the thing to wear. In this instance it is vitally important to know the factors w^hich are the bases for the preference. Because of the complexity of considerations entering into the purchase of a suit, it was felt that the usual, rather general, examination of consumer preferences was not entirely adequate to meet the objectives of this study. What was needed was an intensive examination of the motivations—the various social, economic, physical and aesthetic goals—that are influential in men's suit-buying behavior in an actual buying situation. By identi- fying these goals, measuring their relative strength and examin- ing their preferences in a real-life situation, it was hoped that greater understanding of the factors which contribute to men's decisions could be obtained. To do this it was necessary to depart from the more conventional methods of consumer preference analysis. The questionnaire was designed to permit the respondent to reconstruct in a relatively free way the whole process of the purchase of his newest year-round suit beginning with the circumstances under which he first made his decision to buy a suit and continuing through to the conclusion of the purchase. Of course, such an approach results in data on motivations and preferences which were specific to one particular purchasing situation. How- ever, it was assumed that interviewing a representative sample of men on their most recent purchase would also produce a representative sample of buying situations and that many of the motivations would be the same in successive purchases. The analysis used two approaches. One was the presentation of the answers to factual and opinion questions—the conventional type of tabulation. In many cases, however, these tabulations cut across groups of questions so that all relevant replies were included, not just those included in the answers to a single question. The other was a content analysis of "values" revealed in the replies to open questions. In this analysis it was assumed that in reconstructing the whole purchase situation, men would mention more often those things which were more important to them and would refer less often to those things that were less important. All statements indicating the satisfactions (comfort, social ap- 14 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE pro val, etc.) being sought through suits were considered as being 'Value statements." By counting the number of times particular values were expressed, it was thought to be possible to arrive at a measure of the relative importance of each.^ Of course, what men remembered about their purchase was limited by the time that had elapsed. However, it was thought that, as a suit represents a rather large outlay, considerable detail would be remembered about the most recent purchase since the end of the war—1945 through 1949. The men who had not bought a year-round suit within that period were asked general questions only. The value analysis was based on the responses of men who had bought their newest suits in 1948 and 1949. Circumstances that led to the decision to buy a new year-round suit.—The circumstances that led to the decision to purchase a new year-round suit differed in certain respects for men who had not bought since 1944 and those who had bought more recently (table 15). Most of the former group were men whose occupa-

TABLE 15.—Reasons men gave for buying their newest year-round suits'^

Men who had'bought Reasons given 1945 through 1949 their newest suits buyers in 1944 or earlier

Percent 2 Other suit(s) worn out, shabby, old Percent 2 didn't have a suit 27 49 Wanted new suit to maintain business or social appearances 18 Needed for special occasion 15 14 Wanted to add to wardrobe ; habitual buying 11 Needed civilian clothes when discharged from service 9 Wanted change from old suit; got tired of old suit 7 Outgrew old suit; old one no longer fit__. 6 Family or friends brought pressure 6 Received suit as gift 1 No special need—attracted by particular suit or material 4 Saw opportunity to save money; bought on sale 3 At present sick, retired, or changed to occupation which does not require a suit. Bought last suit in other circumstances 3 Other reasons 4 No reason given ; not ascertained ; needed it—general 22 Number of cases 1,122 325

^ Includes 29 men who had received suits as a gift but whose preferences and desires were not influential in the selection. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for first thinking of buying. ^ Details of the application of this method are given in Appendix I, p. 93. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 15 tions called for work clothes and who had little occasion to wear suits. Since the purchase of their last suits, a small proportion of those who had not bought since 1944 had retired, had been incapacitated by accident or illness, or had shifted from a white- collar occupation to one in which they wore work clothes and consequently had not bought again. Most of them, not unex- pectedly, said they had bought their newest suit to replace a worn-out one, or because they had no suit at all. Relatively fewer of the more recent buyers gave this reason. Having more use for suits, more of them appeared to be susceptible to social pres- sures and had wanted new suits so as to maintain a good appearance on social and business occasions and they were also interested in building up or maintaining their wardrobes. The need for a new suit for special occasions like weddings, funerals, or trips, was about equally influential in the two groups. What men wanted their suits to do for them.—In exploring the motivations that led men to buy suits, it is important to know what functions they thought the suits might have for them. The mental image a man has of himself and his idea of the way to express this in his clothes may be an influential determinant in his selection of a suit. To explore this factor in selection, 1945 to 1949 buyers were asked : "What was your idea of the way you wanted to look in your suit?" and, if not already answered, "What kind of a person did you want to look like?" As shown in table 16, very few men indicated that they wore suits just for protection. The suits had two main additional functions—to make them look stylish and well-groomed and to improve their physical appearance. Judging from their comments, very few seemed interested in becoming innovators in style or bought their suits with the idea of standing out from their associates. They wished, instead, to look well turned-out within limits of what they believed was the proper way to dress. They wanted to be neat and well-pressed, not shoddy, sloppy, or old-fashined, or extreme. Similarly, some indicated more specifically that they wanted to dress for their own part in life, like the business or professional men that they were. But, it was interesting to find that some farmers, laborers, and clerks, wished to look like business men too. That is a valued stereotype in our society. For men as well as women there seems to be an ideal physical type. Suits, it was generally thought, could help in the approach to this ideal by concealing such defects as paunches, hollow chests, and narrow shoulders, thus making for a handsome, attractive appearance. What values did men bring to bear upon their year-round suit shopping and by what means did they think they could attain them?—When a man buys a suit and as he wears it, he is striving to satisfy certain of his needs ; there are certain goals he is seeking. Of the variety of needs he could be trying to satisfy, some one or two could be much stronger than others. If such were the case, these more intense needs would furnish the basic motivation for the purchase and use of his suit. 16 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 16.—What men wanted their suits to do for them

Men who had bought their newest year- What men wanted their suits to do for them round suit in 1945 or later

Make them look : Stylish, well-groomed 71 Handsome, attractive, well-built 47 Like a businessman 12 Like other occupational groups of which they were members 8 Like a man of his own age 4 Like a successful, established business or professional man 2 Like everyone else 2 Wealthy, expensively dressed ! 1 No ideas of this kind—thought of suit as merely necessary 6 Not ascertained 2 Number of cases 1,113

1 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one thing their suits could do for them. At the same time this man has certain goals he is seeking through his suit; he perceives particular attributes or characteristics as leadmg to his goals. These attributes of the suit are the means to an end. Of the variety of attributes of suits that could possibly serve as means to his goals, certain ones are likely to be more important to him than others. To understand fully the preferences of a man with respect to his suit, it is necessary to know the values operating for him and those attributes of the suit he thinks will lead him to his particular goals. After a review of the literature of value analysis and after considerable experimentation and trial analysis of the question- naires, the values given below were defined. They seemed to cover almost all goals the 1948 and 1949 buyers had in mind when they bought their newest year-round suits. Comfort included only physical reactions—the desire for warmth or cool- ness, ease of movement or lack of constriction in suits, or non-irritating qualities of the material used. ^^Orderliness included the desire to be clean and neat, well-pressed and not Economy included the desire to avoid waste, for example, by getting a color which would blend with existing wardrobe; general usefulness of the color, material or style; durability; savings; getting a good value for money; and general concern with price. Pleasure included the desire for change or variety in themselves, the beauty or aesthetic appeal of color and pattern; tactual pleasure of textures: physical becomingness of styles, colors, etc.; and self-indulgence, the feelin¿ that the purchaser liked the suit or some characteristic of it so much that he bought It in spite of the fact that he felt he didn't really need it, couldn't aiford It, or that it didn't really meet his specifications, etc Social approval included the desire to win approval of family, or business and social groups; conformity to standards of dress in one's own group or use of clothing as evidence of belonging to that group; avoidance of extremes; middleness, conservatism; avoidance of being looked down on, shamed, em- barrassed or laughed at. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 17

Recognition included the desire for status, prestige, or class position, above that of one's own group; for notice and attention; pride, confidence; conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure; to attain through clothes recognition as an outstanding person, a man of distinction. Usually these basic values in suit buying were found to be closely connected with the following four major attributes or characteristics of suits which served as the means of attaining these goals : Color included all statements of color and pattern. Although pattern was included there were so few mentions of it that the category was termed "color." Style included references to double- or single-breasted coats; vests; draped or fitted jackets, pegged legs, pleats in trousers if they were clearly style and not given in connection with fit; and such details as buttons, belt loops, lapels, etc. Material included mentions of finish or specific types of materials as well as the qualities of materials—^holding a press and taking a good press whether a material was mentioned or not. Fit included references to fit of either coat or trousers except the length of pants or when the statement was clearly a style factor. Whenever it was possible the value-means relationship was coded as a unit. For example, men frequently indicated that they tried to satisfy their desire for economy by buying durable material (economy by means of material), or tried to improve their appearance by buying the style of coat which was most becoming to them (pleasure by means of style). It should be noted that these means are in themselves types of goals ; they might be called secondary values. That is, if a man says he wants a double-breasted coat, then that style represents a goal for him. But he also has a reason for wanting that style— it helps conceal the fact that he is hollow chested. Here his primary goal or value would be "pleasure." It is also possible that for some men things which began as means to a goal have become ends in themselves, the original goal having been dropped. It was also found that men expressed values without indicating the means by which they might attain them. However, in order to achieve maximum consistency, it was decided to maintain a sharp distinction between the values as fundamental motivating factors (comfort, social approval, etc.) and the means by which they were to be gained (color, style, etc.). Do men mention some values and means more often than others?—It would be expected that there would be considerable variation among respondents in the fluency with which they could communicate their ideas as well as differences among interviewers in the amount and skill of probing and recording. To avoid measuring differences in the amount men talked or interviewers wrote down, the number of value statements or means statements was converted into a score which was a percentage based on the total number of each type of statement made by an individual. That is, if A made a total of 40 Value statements, 10 of which indicated a desire to gain social approval (S), his score for social approval would be 25. B, who made only 20 value statements in all and 5 of which expressed this value would have the same score—25. If 10 of B's 20 value statements dealt with economy, his score for this particular value would be 50, indicating that 18 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE economy was a stronger motivation for him than was social approval. The most important values 1948 and 1949 buyers brought to bear upon their purchase of a year-round suit were social approval and economy. It should be noted that economy does not always mean buying a suit that is relatively inexpensive. For many men, economy was sought by suits that cost more than average. These men believed that in the long run ''paying more gives you more for your money.'' Orderliness and pleasure were next in importance among the values, with comfort receiving a still lower score. Less than half of the men gave indications that recognition was a value operating in the purchase of their suit. Scores for the four means of achieving values—color, style, material, and fit—were nearly equal, but the data suggest that color as a means of attaining values is somewhat less important than the others, especially in the South (table 17).

TABLE 17.—Median scores for values and means

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits Values and Means States Coast other United West South states

Median Median Median Median score score score score Values : Comfort 10 10 10 10 Orderliness 17 15 17 17 Economy 24 23 27 24 Pleasure 18 17 16 19 Social approval 21 25 21 21 Recognition ^0 ^0 ^0 10 Means : Color 21 20 19 22 Style 25 26 25 24 Material 24 24 25 24 Fit 25 25 25 26 Number of cases 686 288 335 461

1 This median score indicates that less than half of the respondents mentioned recognition as a value.

The above discussion treated values and means independently. When, however, the values were considered in terms of the means by which they were sought, very definite relationships were ob- served. Fit and style were the outstanding means by which comfort was sought. The most important means for attaining orderliness (being neat and well-pressed) were material and fit. Material was apparently thought to contribute most toward economy ; color and style were the major means to pleasure. Style was most important in gaining social approval while material, one which "looked expensive" for example was most often mentioned in connection with recognition. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 19

TABLE 18.—Means for obtaining comfort 1 1 1 1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned comfort as a value Means for obtaining comfort United West other States Coast South States

Percent l Percent Í Percenfi Percent l Color 1 2 1 1 Style 58 fî7 61 56 Material 26 21 26 26 Fit 74 77 70 76 Mentioned value but no means for obtaining it 1 2 1 (') Number of cases 548 239 260 370

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining comfort. ^ Less than 1 percent. TABLE 19.—Means for obtaining social approval

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned social approval as a value Means for obtaining social approval United West other States Coast South States

Percent 1 Percenf^ Percent l Percent^ Color 32 37 34 30 Style 60 76 61 58 Material 13 12 10 12 Fit 25 25 24 23 Mentioned value but no means for obtaining it 24 11 22 26 Number of cases 668 281 318 453

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining social approval. TABLE 20.—Means for obtaining orderliness, economy, and pleasure 1 1 1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned: Means Orderliness Economy Pleasure

Percent l Percent i Percent^ Color 8 16 78 Style 39 i 23 57 Material 74 60 i 12 Fit 62 12 ! 31 Mentioned value but no means for obtaining it 3 24 3 Number of cases 686 677 626

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining these values. 20 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE In general, the means by which the values were to be obtained tended to be the same in the various regions. The exceptions were that slightly fewer of the men in the South cited fit as a means of attaining comfort and the westerners were more likely to mention style as a means of obtaining social approval. As we shall see, the latter group is generally more conscious of style than the men in other parts of the country (tables 18-20). Did men in different groups of the population show different patterns of values and means for obtaining them?—In spite of differences in family income, economy and social approval remained the strongest of these motivating factors, but the influence of economy was somewhat less among the men in the upper income bracket than among those in the two lower groups. There were, however, some slight indications that the way the means were related to values varied with income. Men in the upper income group seemed more likely to associate style and material with comfort, orderliness, and social approval than did men in the lower groups. Color as a means of attaining orderliness (neatness of appearance) was more likely to be mentioned by men in the lower bracket. Color as a means to economy tended to be more prominent among the middle income group. This usually meant a color that could be worn on a variety of occasions. Men in the lower income group were somewhat less likely to mention color as a means to pleasure, but were more likely to cite color as a way of getting recognition (tables 21-27).

TABLE 21.—Relation between income and median scores for values and means

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned eachi Values and means Lower group Middle group Upper group

Median Median Median score score score Values : Comfort 8 10 11 Orderliness 14 15 18 Economy 28 27 21 Pleasure 15 18 19 Social approval 21 21 21 Recognition -0 -0 -0 Means: Color 21 22 20 Style 25 23 25 Material 25 23 24 Fit 25 28 26 Number of cases 128 215 321

^ Twenty-two men w^hose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. - This median score indicates that less than half of the respondents mentioned recognition as a value. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 21

TABLE 22.—Relation between income and meayis for obtaining comfort

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned comfort as a value i Means for obtaining comfort Lower group Middle group Upper group

P ?rcent'- Percent-^ Percent- Color 1 1 Style 52 à 60 Material 21 24 29 Fit 72 78 74 Mentioned comfort but no means for obtaining it 1 - 1 Number of cases 95 163 273

^ Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining comfort.

TABLE 23.—Relation between income and means for obtaining orderliness

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned orderliness as a value i Means for obtaining orderliness Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent- Percent- Percent 2 Color 15 7 7 style 33 37 42 Material 72 72 78 Fit 57 60 64 Mentioned orderliness but no means for obtaining it 4 4 3 Number of cases 107 188 301

^ Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining orderliness. 22 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 24.—Relation between income and means for obtaining economy

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned Means for obtaining economy as a valued- economy Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent^ Percent^ Percent 2 Color 14 22 13 Style 25 24 22 Material 53 62 60 Fit 10 16 11 Mentioned economy but no means for obtaining it 27 23 25 Number of cases 127 214 315

^ Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining economy.

TABLE 25.—Relation between income and means for obtaining pleasure

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned pleasure as a value l Means for obtaining pleasure Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent 2 Percent^ Percent 2 Color 72 81 82 Style 55 59 56 Material 9 12 14 Fit 30 34 28 Mentioned pleasure but no means for obtaining it 4 4 3 Number of cases 111 196 299

^ Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining pleasure. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 23

TABLE 26.—Relation between income and means for obtaining social approval

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned social approval as a value i Means for obtaining social approval Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent^ Percent'^ i Percent^ Color 30 35 30 Style 57 56 65 Material 9 12 i 14 Fit 22 27 25 Mentioned social approval but no means i for obtaining it 27 23 22 Number of cases 123 1 211 313

1 Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining social approval.

TABLE 27.—Relation between income and means for obtaining recognition

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned recognition as a value i Means for obtaining recognition Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent^ Percent'^ Percent 2 Color 16 7 7 Style 19 16 17 Material 30 37 29 Fit 10 11 8 Mentioned recognition but no means for obtaining it 45 47 55 Number of cases 43 70 111

^ Twenty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining recognition. Apparently occupation made no differences in the strength of these values as motivating factors and did not appear to be a factor in the way the means v^ere associated with the values of orderliness and comfort. Color, style, and material, however, were less likely to be mentioned by farmers as means to economy than by the men in the other occupational classifications. Color and styles were, to a lesser extent, considered means to social approval too by the farmers, but they were somewhat more likely to mention color as a means for obtaining pleasure. Material was less often given as a means for obtaining pleasure by them (tables 28 through 30). 24 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 28.—Relation between occupation and means for obtaining economy

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned economy as a value i

Means for obtaining economy Profes- sional, Labor, executive, White- protective, Farmer and collar and service proprietary

Percent- Percent- Percent - Percent- Color 18 19 15 10 Style 26 21 23 ' 12 Material 61 65 60 49 Fit 11 14 12 10 Mentioned economy but no means for obtaining it 26 20 23 39 Number of cases 152 115 286 49

^ Nineteen men who were retired, 39 men who were dependents, and 16 men whose occupations were unclassifiable or not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining economy.

TABLE 29.—Relation betiveen occupation and means for obtaining pleasure

1948 and i949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned pleasure as a value i

Means for obtaining pleasure Profes- sional, White- Labor, executive, collar protective, Farmer and clerical, and service proprietary and sales

Percent- Percent- Percent- Percent^ Color 76 81 80 89 Style 60 62 56 ! 53 Material 14 12 12 7 Fit 27 33 29 29 Mentioned pleasure but no means for obtaining it 3 2 3 4 Number of cases 143 1 104 270 45

TABLE 30.—Relation hetiveen occupation and means for obtaining social approval

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned social approval as a value i

Means for obtaining Profes- social approval sional, White- Labor, executive, collar protective, and clerical, and service proprietary and sales

Percent- Percent- Percent- Percent - Color 36 29 31 27 Style 63 57 59 47 Material 14 11 11 10 Fit 23 28 26 18 Mentioned social approval but no means for obtai ning it- 23 26 24 35 Number of cases 152 114 278 49

Age produced the most marked differences in the strength of the values and reliance upon certain means as well as the relationships between the two. In all cases it was the 'teen-ager who stood out from the other age groups. By far the greatest concern of the average 'teen-ager was in being approved by his social group, while economy was the most important to his elders. Being comfortable in his suit was one of the least of his worries. After all, his suit was likely to be for dress-up affairs and not for everyday wear. He was less likely than his elders to be motivated by a desire to appear well-pressed, neat, and clean, but he placed about the same emphasis as the older men on pleasure. Color, style, and fit were as important to him as the other men in attaining his values, but he showed less interest in (and knowledge of) materials. In contrast to the older men, a larger proportion of the 'teen-aged men thought they could gain economy by means of color (one suitable for a variety of occasions), whereas more of their elders relied upon material for it. As a means to pleasure the older men were more likely to cite style, whereas the youngest were less likely to mention it. While the 'teen-agers were more likely to mention material as a means to comfort, style was more important to the older men. For men of all ages, style was the most important way of getting social approval, but the 16-to-19- year-olds placed greater reliance upon it. For 'teen-agers, fit was the most-often-mentioned way to get orderliness, but more men of other ages mentioned material and style for that value (tables 31 through 36). 26 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 31.—Relation between age and median scores for values and means II j 1 1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned eachi

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years years years years years and over

Median Median Median Median Median score score score score score Values : Comfort 6 10 11 11 14 Orderliness 10 19 17 18 15 Economy 23 24 24 25 25 Pleasure 17 19 19 17 12 Social aDDroval 36 19 19 21 22 Recoernition 20 20 20 20 20 Means : Color 19 18 22 22 17 Style 28 25 24 23 25 Material 17 26 23 25 23 Fit 29 24 25 25 27 Number of cases 55 167 254 173 35

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 This median score indicates that less than half of the respondents mentioned recognition as a value.

TABLE 32.—Relation between age and means for obtaining comfort 1 1948 and 1949 buyers of year -round suits who mentioned comfort as a value 1 Means by which comfort was obtained 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years years years years years and over

Percent 2 Percent 2 Percent 2 Percent 2 Percent 2 Color 4 1 Style 28 56 58 66 50 Material 40 31 24 21 22 Fit 64 77 79 65 89 Mentioned comfort as a value but no means for obtaining it 1 1 (') (') ■__ Number of cases 36 137 203 143 28

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining comfort. ^ Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 27

TABLE 33.—Relation between age and means for obtaining economy

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned economy as a value i Means by which economy »^as obtained 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over

Percent- Percent^ Percent^ Percent "2 Color 24 14 17 22 Style 24 26 26 16 Material 44 63 59 62 Fit 18 11 11 14 Mentioned economy as a value but no means for obtaining it . ^ ^ 29 21 25 24 Number oí ' cases 54 \ 163 251 206

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining economy.

TABLE 34.—Relation between age and means for obtaining orderliness

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned order] iness as a value! Means by which orderli ness was obtained ! 16 to 19 Î 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over

Percent^ Percent - Percent 2 Percent- Color 9 6 7 12 Style 26 33 44 41 Material 57 1 78 77 72 Fit 64 64 62 60 Mentioned orderliness as a value but no means for obtaining it 7 I 2 3 5 Nnmhpr of naspa 45 1 149 229 187

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. -Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one means for obtaining orderliness. 28 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 35.—Relation between age and means for obtaining pleasure

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned pleasure as a value i Means by which pleasure was obtained 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over

Percent- Percent- Percent- Percent- Color 11 80 80 80 Style 37 63 60 55 Material 12 14 12 10 Fit 49 34 30 24 Mentioned pleasure as a value but no means for obtaining it 2 4 2 4 Number of cases 50 1 157 235 1 182

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining pleasure.

TABLE 36.—Relation betiveen age and means for obtaining social approval

1948 and 1949 buyers of year-round suits who mentioned social approval as a value i Means by which social approval was obtained 1 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 ! 45 years years years years 1 and over

Percent- Percent- Percent- Percent- Color 33 32 31 32 Style 87 72 54 1 52 Material 18 17 10 9 Fit 32 27 24 I 24 Mentioned social approval as a value but no means for obtaining it 8 17 28 28 52 162 247 1 203 Number of cases i ' 1 Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one means for obtaining social approval.

Feminine influence on purchase of newest year-round suits.— The influence of women upon the purchase of men's clothing- has been of considerable interest to manufacturers and distributors for some time. This influence may make itself felt at several stages of the process of the purchase of a year-round suit—that is, initiating the desire to buy, discussing the pros and cons of the prospective purchase, and selecting the suit finally bought. About half the men who had bought since 1944 reported that a woman had participated at some stage in their decision. This was true in all income groups and among men who owned few suits as well as among those who owned many. Advice and assistance from women was received most often by the 'teen- MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 29 agers and the married men. Of those two groups, more of the former discussed their purchase in advance with women, most often their mothers, and were accompanied to the store when the purchase was made. Least likely to have been influenced by women were the men who had comparatively recently become independent of their families and were still unmarried, the 20 to 29 year olds, and the widowed, separated, and divorced—those for whom both family and marital ties had been broken. According to the men, many of whom might not have liked to admit taking their women's advice, the role of the women was generally reported as relatively passive in the discussion phase. Only a few were said to have initiated the idea of buying the suit. They merely took part in discussing whether the purchase was a good idea or not, or made certain suggestions as to color, style, or material. But when they went suit shopping with their men, most of them took an active part in the selection, helping to choose from the racks, giving comments and criticisms, etc., before ñnal selection was made (tables 37-38). Influence of advertising.—Since advertising is specifically designed to induce sales, it is a factor to be considered in a study of motivation in buying. Men who had bought year-round suits since 1944 were asked what suit advertising they remembered seeing or hearing while they were in the market for their newest

TABLE 37.—Relation betiveen marital status and type of feminine participation in the purchase of the newest year-round suit

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later l Type of feminine participation Widowed, Married separated, I divorced Percent- Percent- Percent- No participation 46 ._-_! 41 — I 58 73 Took part in pre-purchase discussion 36 38 32 10 Initiated the idea of purchase : 7 8 4 2 Discussed but did not ini- ¡ tiate idea of purchase.. | 29 30 28 8 Was present at time of pur- | chase I 41 46 27 20 Took active part in selec- ! tion I 35 40 24 13 Took no active part in selection ; 6 6 3 7 Type of participation not ' ascertained 1 Number of cases 1,113 842 221 48

^ Two men whose marital status was not ascertained are omitted from all columns in this table except the total. - Percentages in the right hand columns add to more than 100 because some women participated in more than one stage of the purchase. 30 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 38.—Relation between age and type of feminine participation in the purchase of the newest year-round suits

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later l Type of feminine participation 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years years years years years and over

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent No participation __i 26 — 54 — Í 43 42 __| 48 Took part in pre-purchase discussion — 56 29 37 38 __ 28 Initiated the idea of purchase 8 3 10 8 8 I Discussed but did not initiate the idea of purchase 48 26 I 27 i 30 ! 20 Was present at time of i 1 ; ■ I purchase b2 _— 34 : —_ i 44 — 43 ___ i 38 Took active part in selection 48 30 35 38 33 Took no active part in selection 4 4 9 5 5 Type of participation not ascertained Number of cases 72 I 260 406 294 78

^ Three men whose age was not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages in the right hand columns add to more than 100 since some women participated in more than one stage of the purchase.

suit and what, if anything, they learned from them. The data in tables 39 and 40 should not be interpreted as a careful measure of the relative effectiveness of the different advertising media. However, assuming that whatever is remembered of past behavior is relatively important to the individual, it is suggestive. Apparently advertising had little or no remembered impact for a considerable number of buyers. Quite a number of men reported that they did not remember reading any suit advertisements in the newspapers or magazines or if they did they paid no attention to the information included. "Yes, I saw some in the paper (but) I never believe anything they say" was not an uncommon reply. Window displays and radio ads did not reach them either. Displays of merchandise in store windows and indoor cases were apparently more vivid than reading about them or hearing their qualities extolled. Many more men remembered them than could recall newspaper ads. Magazines, radio, direct mail, etc., were recalled by very few. The content of advertisements which was most often remembered dealt with price and comparative values. Style or cut, material and color were mentioned by some. It seems that ads were often used in a more general exploratory way as a substitute for, or preliminary to, actual shopping. Fifteen percent of the men said that they use ads "Just to see what they had," "To see if there was anything I liked," or "To decide what I wanted." Even when they mentioned specific content as noted above, it MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 31 seemed that the message was often used to obtain general information rather than to sell a particular suit in a particular store. The prospective buyers found that 'There were new styles for men—patch pockets and longer coats," "... what suits were cost- ing" or "what colors and shades were being worn."

TABLE 39.—Type of suit advertising men remembered seeing or hearing while they were in the market for their newest suits

Men who had bought Advertising media remembered : their newest year- round suits in 1945 or later

Percent^ Merchandising displays in windows and inside stores 50 Newspapers 18 Radio 6 Magazines 2 Direct mail 2 Other media 1 No advertising remembered; got nothing from ads 42 Not ascertained _ - 1 Number of cases 1,113

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one type of advertising.

TABLE 40.—Content of advertising ivhich buyers remembered

Men who had bought Content of advertising remembered : their newest year- round suits in 1945 or later

Percenf^ Price and comparative values 26 Style or cut 18 Materials, fibers, weaves 12 Color 11 Other information 2 Remembered seeing or hearing ads, but did not mention specific content ("Just looking," etc.) 15 No advertising remembered; got nothing from ads 42 Not ascertained 1 Number of cases 1,113

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one type of advertising content.

How men shopped for their suits.—More than a third of all the 1945 to 1949 buyers said they neither remembered any kind of advertising nor looked at suits in more than one store (table 41). Comments indicated that many of them were satisfied customers of a certain store or tailor and went directly to them after deciding to add a suit to their wardrobes. However, the majority of men did some looking around before they bought. Window shopping was the most usual kind ; in fact this was the only kind of 32 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE shopping for a fifth of the men. A number said they had gone to more than one store or had gotten some information from advertising, but few had relied exclusively on either. Most of them combined these latter activities with window shopping. Men in the West Coast States were somewhat more apt to look around than the men in the other States, particularly to shop in several stores. TABLE 41.—Types of shopping men did prior to buying their newest year-round suit

Men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later Types of shopping United West other States Coast South States

Percenf^ Pcrcenf^ Percent^ Percent l Window shoDüiner 50 56 51 49 Looking at suits in two or more stores 27 37 29 27 Hearing or seeing ads. 24 22 23 25 No exploratory activity by these means 37 '31 34 38 Not ascertained 1 1 1 Number of cases 1,113 455 581 731

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men engaged in more than one of these types of activity.

TABLE 42.—Relation between length of time ivaited before buying and reasons for ivaiting

Men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later and had waited more than 1 week between decision to buy and purchase i

1 to 2 2 to 4 1 month All men weeks weeks or more

Percent Percent Percent Percent Co«ît considerations 31 25 31 37 No time to shoD 27 38 30 12 Unable to find what was wanted 14 13 11 21 No immediate need for the suit 13 11 14 15 Shopping around to see what was wanted, what was being shown or was available^ 7 7 9 7 Other reasons 2 2 2 4 Reasons not known 1 2 e) 1 Reasons not ascertained 5 2 3 3 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 395 143 126 113

1 Thirteen men who did not remember how long they had waited are included in the summary column only. 2 Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 33

Length of time between decision to buy and purchase,—Few men said that they had *'just seen it, liked it, and bought if' without any prior decision to buy a year-round suit, but about 2 in 5 of them, having made the decision, acted within a week. Cost considerations and lack of time were the explanations given most often for waiting more than a week (table 42). Some men reported difficulty in finding what they wanted or said they had no immediate need for the suit so were in no ru^h. However, delay of a week or more tended to be related to the reasons for putting off the purchases. If they had difficulty in finding time to shop, they might have waited up to a month, but not much longer. However, a man who was concerned with arranging his budget for this purchase or was waiting for a sale might have waited longer. So would the man who was having difficulty in finding w^hat he wanted. If his need for the suit was not immediate or he had difficulty in deciding what he wanted, he might have bought fairly quickly or have waited over a month. Type of retail outlets patronized by 1945 to 1949 buyers.— More men bought their newest year-round suits in independent men's specialty shops than in any other type of retail store, except in the South where almost as many bought in department stores. Chain stores were patronized by fewer men on the West Coast and in the South than in the rest of the country. These regional differences are, of course, related to the type of outlets operating in the different parts of the country (table 43).

TABLE 43.—Type of outlet where ijeavr-romid suits were bought

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later Type of outlet United West Other States Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Percent Independent men's specialty. 34 41 30 37 Department store 20 14 27 17 Chain store 18 16 12 22 Independent specialty store- 9 10 9 8 Custom tailor's shop^ 6 9 5 6 Made-to-measure outlet 4 4 7 2 General merchandise store _ 3 2 6 3 Factory outlet 2 (-) {') 3 Mail order 1 1 1 Other sources 2 1 2 1 Didn't know; didn't remember {') 1 (■-) Not ascertained 1 1 1 1 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,113 455 581 731

^ Eighteen men reported buying custom tailored suits from other types of oulets. - Less than 1 percent. ^ 34 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Men with higher family incomes were somewhat more likely to buy their suits from independent men's specialty shops than those with lower incomes. It is interesting to find that income had no relation to patronage of other types of outlets (table 44).

TABLE 44.—Relation bettveen income and type of outlet where the suit was bought

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later l Type of outlet Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent Percent Percent Independent men's specialty 29 32 40 Department store 19 21 19 Chain store 17 21 17 Independent specialty store 8 8 9 General merchandise store 7 1 Custom tailor's shop __ 6 \ 8 Made-to-measure outlet 6 3 3 Mail order house 1 (^) {') Factory outlet 1 3 2 Other 4 1 1 Didn't know or remember type 1 {') Not ascertained ~2 2 Total 100 100 100 Number of cases 262 367 452

^ Thirty-two men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent.

Why men bought in particular outlets.—There is evidence that the outlet itself influences the purchase decisions of many men in a variety of ways. Though it may or may not have any direct effect on the decision to buy, the reputation of its merchandise, its price range, its staff and service and other intangibles, de- scribed loosely as "good will" often determine the particular suit selected for purchase. The reasons 1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits gave for buying their newest one in a particular outlet fall roughly into two types (table 45). In one the outlet itself, its reputation, and personnel were positive factors in selection. In the other purchase there was dependent on some specific appeal of the suits that were actually examined. In the first category, previous satisfactory experience with an outlet and its merchandise led a considerable number of men to make a further purchase from it. It is interesting to note the correspondence of this proportion with the percentage of men who had done no shopping around in ads, windows, or other MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 35

TABLE 45.—Reasons men gave for buying in particular outlet where the purchase was made

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later Reasons given United West Other States Coast South States

Percent^ Percent^ Percent l Percent i The store and its services : Previous experience with outlet, satisfaction with purchases and services 39 30 32 42 Prestige and reputation of outlet and merchandise 14 15 16 13 Drawn into outlet by printed or radio ads, window displays or general attractiveness of outlet 12 15 13 Personal or business relationship with owner, firm, employees ; em- ployed in outlet 10 12 11 9 Recommended by friends, business associates or family 10 9 10 Get credit there; had charge account there ; belonged to suit club there Specific qualities of suits examined : Price or value was satisfactory 23 19 20 24 Found what wanted there after shopping around and comparing 12 19 15 10 Found one there that would fit 7 9 8 Other reasons 9 7 9 Not ascertained; not codable.. 5 7 5 Number of cases 1,113 455 581 731

1 Percentages add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one reason for buying at that store.

stores. Traditionally, it has been thought that men do not like to shop. . .^ .^_ Certain outlets and their merchandise have prestige; suits with their labels are in themselves "good things'' and assets to their owners. A number of men said they bought in a certain store because *lt's the place to buy." In addition, personal or business relationships with personnel of the store and recommendations made by friends, associates and families, comparatively intangible assets, led others to patronize them. Some 12 percent of these buyers said that they went into the stores where they actually bought their suits because of adver- 36 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE tising-, the window displays, or the general attractive appearance of the store. Credit services were responsible for a few sales. For quite a few men, however, the store, its services and prestige were of less importance. They bought where they found suits which met their individual specifications of price and value, fit, or, more generally, what they liked. Consistent with findings pointed out above, the westerners, and to a slightly lesser extent, the southerners, tended to be less influenced by the store itself and to shop around until they found what they wanted. More of the men in the other States seemed to go back to stores which had previously been found to have given satisfactory service and merchandise. Role of the salesman in the purchase.—In order to examine the role the salesman played in the actual purchase of this newest year-round suit, the men were asked to describe what the salesman had done—what he said and what suits he had shown. From this and any relevant comments that had been made in the open questions, a rating of the degree of influence he had had on the purchase was made. The great majority of the 1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits felt that the salesman had played a helpful but passive role in the transaction (table 46). They were reported to have shown the prospective customers what they had that might meet their specifications and had been generally accommodating without exerting pressure or influencing the final selection. In a few cases the men said they had made their selection from the racks and called in a salesman only to measure the cuffs or take their money. A small number of men relied upon the salesman or tailors as trusted arbiters of taste, style, etc., and bought what they suggested. Seldom did men say that salesmen had actually changed their ideas of what they wanted. It should be noted

TABLE 46.—The role of the salesman or tailor in the purchase of the newest year-round suit

I Men who bought their newest year- Role of the salesman or tailor j round suit in 1946 or later

Percent^ Showed stock but exerted no pressure; was excluded from selection process; just took money 84 Took active part in selection; was relied upon for advice; vetoed or restricted choice 7 Changed customer's ideas about color, style, material, etc., | his substitute accepted I 4 Determined entirely or in part choice of the store where | suit was bought \ 9 Initiated the decision to buy 1 Role not ascertained; purchased in self-service store | 4 Number of cases I 1,113

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one type of salesman influence. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 37 that this discussion is based upon the memory and interpretation of what took place and may not be entirely accurate. Companions at the time of purchase.—About half of the 1945 to 1949 buyers said they had someone with them when they went to buy their newest year-round suits. The majority of those who were accompanied reported that their wives had been their companions, though some had parents or other friends along. The southerners behaved somewhat differently than the men in the other parts of the country. Relatively more of them shopped alone and, when they did not, were more apt to have had a man with them. On the basis of the comments on what their companions did, it seems that the male companions were less apt to take an active part in the selection than women. Many of them were reported to have been "shopping for a suit too" or *'just happened to be in town with me and waited.'' (Table 47).

TABLE 47.—Companions ivko acco?npanied men ivhen neivest year- round suit was bought

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 to 1949 Companions United West Other States Coast South States

Percent Percent Accompanied (by) 51 56 39 56 Wife 22 37 Mother 4 3 3 5 Father 2 2 2 2 Parents 1 1 (^) 1 Other male 8 8 9 8 Other female 3 4 3 3 Not accompanied 47 43 59 43 Bought by mail order 1 1 1 (^) Not ascertained 1 (^) 1 1 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,113 455 581 731

^ Less than 1 percent.

Men^s ideas about what they wanted in their year-round suits before they bought.—In the preceding sections values men hoped to attain through their suits and a number of the external influences brought to bear on the suit-buying process have been considered. Turning now to preferences, almost all of the 1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits reported that they had formed rather speciñc ideas about the kinds of suits they wanted before they actually bought them. On the assumption that those things mentioned without direct questioning would probably represent requirements that were uppermost in the minds of the men in the market for suits, they were first asked a series of open questions about what they had wanted. These were followed with questions dealing with specific characteristics, color, style, 38 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 48.—Men's ideas about what they wanted in their year- round suits before they bought

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later Pre-purchase ideas United West Other States Coast States

Percent^ Percent l Percent^ Color and pattern of material 80 80 79 ! 81 Blue 25 22 26 26 Dark and/or conservative color 23 26 23 24 Gray 22 19 23 22 Brown 22 21 21 23 Pin, pencil, chalk stripe- 11 10 8 12 Light color 9 11 8 9 Color different from what owned 9 9 10 Plain weave, no pattern- 5 5 5 Tan, buff or beige 3 5 3 Glen plaid, check 3 4 4 Black 2 2 1 Other ideas of color or pattern Fiber, weave or weight of material 63 68 67 Fiber : Wool, 100 percent wool 24 23 29 22 Worsted 6 4 4 7 Finish and weaves: Hard finish (general). 18 24 20 16 Gabardine 11 15 11 11 Other specific hard finished material 7 8 7 7 Soft finish 5 6 4 6 Weight: Medium weight 10 8 13 8 Lightweight 7 8 7 6 Heavy weight 5 2 6 5 "Good" material 2 2 2 1 Other ideas of weave or pattern Style 59 71 53 Double-breasted suit 26 38 20 26 Single-breasted suit 17 15 16 18 Conservative style 12 18 10 12 Current style 3 4 3 4 Loose or draped style coat 3 4 3 3 One-button roll 2 3 3 2 Two or three buttons 2 2 1 2 Other style details 12 16 12 12 Price 46 46 47 Concerned with price ; had limitation or exact idea of price to be paid- 42 42 39 42 Wanted a "good value" 11 10 15 10 Other price ideas 1 1 1 1 MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 39

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later Pre-purchase ideas United West Other States Coast South States

Percent Percent^ Perccwii I Percent^ Fit 43 .___ 41 43 ! 44 Wanted a "good fit" 21 18 21 21 Had special problems to fit 11 11 I ^ 12 Close fit, not loose, not baggy 10 10 I 12 Loose, roomy, comfortable fit 3 3 2 4 Other ideas of fit 1 1 1 1 Suitability for intended use — 39 46 35 39 Dress suit 22 23^ ~2Ô~ "23~ All-purpose suit 8 11 9 7 Business suit 6 8 3 6 All-season suit 4 4 3 4 Other uses 1 Performance of color and material 35 34 35 35 Wear well, stand up 20 18 19 21 Hold a press, not wrinkle- 19 21 18 19 Not show soil, stay clean 4 5 5 4 Other performance ideas. 2 1 4 2 Other types of ideas 11 Two pairs of pants "3" "3" "5" Good workmanship 5 3 5 Other 2 2 1 No specific pre-purchase ideas Number of cases 1,113 455 581 i 731

^ Percentages in left columns may add to more than their subtotals in right columns and these add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one pre-purchase idea. 2 Less than 1 percent. price, etc., since it was thought that some of them might be taken for granted and so not mentioned.* Since the freely expressed pre-purchase ideas were scattered through all the open questions, the tabulations were made on the basis of pertinent comments in all the open questions. As shown in table 48, a large majority of the 1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits spontaneously reported pre-purchase decisions on the color and pattern of the material in their newest suits. Many also knew what fiber, weave or weight of the materials and the style, particularly double- or single-breasted coats, they wanted. Fewer men mentioned specifications of price, fit, suitability for intended use or performance qualities. The- importance of these characteristics was quite uniform through all sections of the country with two exceptions. Again relatively more westerners expressed concern with style as well * Since answers to these specific questions were made in reference to suits bought in 1945 to 1949, caution should be used in comparing results to other data. 40 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 49.—Relation between income and men's ideas about ivhat they wanted in their year-round suits before they bought

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later i Pre-purchase ideas

Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent- Percent- Percent- Color and pattern of material 75 81 83 Fiber, weave or weight of material 58 63 66 Style 53 59 63 Price 50 51 41 Fit 41 44 45 Suitability for intended use 34 39 42 Performance of color and material 30 33 38 Other types of ideas __ 5 9 13 No specific pre-purchase ideas

Number of cases 262 367 452

^ Thirty-two men for whom income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because most men mentioned more than one pre-purchase idea.

TABLE 50.—Relation between age and men's ideas about what they wanted in their year-round suits before buying

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in 1945 or later i Pre-purchase ideas 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years years years years years and over

Percent - Percent- Percent^ Percent 2 Percent - Color and pattern of material __ 85 86 79 79 70 Fiber, weave, or weight of material 49 72 64 59 52 Style 72 65 60 51 46 Price 60 47 47 42 42 Fit 43 44 46 39 44 Suitability for intended use 57 42 37 37 30 Performance of color and material 20 35 38 33 32 Other types of ideas 8 9 11 10 11 No specific pre-purchase ideas__. 1 1 2 3 5 Number of cases 72 260 406 294 78

ÏJ Three men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because most men mentioned more than one pre-purchase idea. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 41 as awareness of a differentiation in the suitability or appropriateness of certain types of suits for certain uses. As shown in table 49 the greater the family income the greater the proportion of men who said they had had fairly specific ideas about color and pattern, fiber, weave or weight of material, style, suitability and performance but the fewer who were concerned with price. Compared with their elders, the 'teen-agers as a group made relatively more mentions of color and were far more interested in style, suitability, and price but considerably less concerned with the material in their suits and its performance. Among the older men this pattern shifted. Men in their twenties, though still evidencing above average interest in color and style, were much more conscious of materials, particularly in hard finishes and specifically gabardine. From that age on there was a steady decline in interest in all the appearance quahties of their suits, perhaps a tendency to think of a suit as a suit so long as it was durable, it fit, and the price was satisfactory (table 50). Color preferences for newest suits.—When asked directly what color they had in mind to buy in their newest year-round suits, four in five indicated that they had a color preference. Blues and browns in varying shades were more popular than grays (table 51). Note the close correspondence between these figures and those given spontaneously (table 48). The most frequent explanations given by the men for specific preferences in color were a desire for variety, aesthetic enjoy-

TABLE 51.—Colors men planned to buy

Men who had bought their newest Color preference year-round suits in 1945 or later

Percenf 1 Blue 31 Navy or dark blue Blue, shade unspecified Medium blue Light blue Gray-blue Brown 28 Brown, shade unspecified Tan or beige Gray 23 Gray, shade unspecified Dark gray Medium gray Light gray Greenish tones 1 Black 1 Other colors 2 Preference not ascertained 1 No color preference 17 Number of cases 1,113

^ Percentages (in right column) add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one color preference. 42 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 52.—Reasons for color preference

1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits Reasons who had a color preference

Percent l Wanted variety, something different 33 Just liked it; my favorite color 25 Enhances physical appearance, becoming, etc. 22 Wanted a conservative or dark color 16 Component of wardrobe—usually wear that color, keep several colors and replace as worn out, etc. 8 It doesn't show dirt 5 Saw others wearing it; it's the style 4 It would go with other clothes owned 4 Wanted a lively color; not drab, conservative 1 Other reasons 7 Reasons not known, not ascertained 3 Number of cases 926

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one reason for their color preferences.

TABLE 53.—Style of coat men in various groups planned to buy

Preferences of men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later Groups No Not Number Double Single prefer- ascer- Total -of breasted breasted ence tained cases

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Number Region : United States 46 46 8 (-) 100 1,113 West Coast 31 61 7 1 100 455 South 53 39 8 (-) 100 581 Other States 45 45 9 1 100 731 Community size : Metropolitan 50 41 9 100 355 Other Urban 45 47 7 1 100 629 Rural 37 49 14 100 129 Age:i 16 to 19 years 54 36 10 100 72 20 to 29 years 52 43 5 100 260 30 to 44 years 49 43 7 1 100 406 45 to 64 years 38 51 10 1 100 294 65 years and over_- 22 58 20 100 78

^ Three men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 43 ment from certain shades, and a belief that certain colors were particularly becoming to them (table 52). Style of coat preferred in newest suits.—Though preferences for double- and single-breasted coats were equally divided throughout the country as a whole, they varied considerably between different areas and groups (table 53). The double-breasted style was the majority preference among the men on the West Coast, while the single-breasted was the leader in the South. No differences were found among men in the other States. Similarly, more men living in rural areas said they wanted a single-breasted coat with their newest suits. The double-breasted style was more often the choice in the metropolitan areas. Among the younger men, the majority preference was for the double-breasted coat, but the single was favored among men over 45 years of age. Again, the relatively larger group of older men who said they had no preference suggests less interest in this aspect of style. The reasons men gave for their preferences for a double- or single-breasted coat were similar in many respects (table 54). Both were chosen because they were becoming, had advantages

TABLE 54.—Reasons for preferences in style of coat

1945 to 1949 buyers who, in their newest suits intended to buy: Reasons Double breasted Single breasted coat coat

Percent^ Becomingness : More becoming—general 19 8 Minimizes weight, size, paunches, etc 13 15 Makes thin men look heavier 10 More becoming to short, small men.- ÏÔ More becoming to tall men 1 Appearance : Dressier, more formal, business-like^ 18 Fits, hangs better 18 14 Can be worn unbuttoned 24 More casual, informal 3 Covers one up, makes a vest unneces- sary Style : In style now 3 More apropriate for older men 3 More appropriate for younger men ^ 2 Habit; always wear it 11 Variety, wanted a change 9 Makes a better year-round suit 7 Can be used as separate coat 2 Personal preference 5 Other reasons 9 Didn't know; not ascertained 2 Number of cases 507 506

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one reason for intending to buy a certain style of coat. 44 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE in appearance and style or because the men habitually wore that type of coat or wanted something different in this suit. However, interesting differences were found in what the two styles were thought to contribute to the attainment of the ideal physical type and advantages of each in appearance. Weight, paunches, etc., were thought to be minimized by both styles but the double-breasted coat was also thought to make men who were too thin look heavier. The single-breasted type was often chosen because it was thought not to accentuate below- average height. ''Vm SL short man," explained one respondent, "and a double-breasted suit makes a short man look shorter.'' The double-breasted style was chosen because it was dressier, more formal and more business-like in appearance. The single- breasted was preferred because it could be worn unbuttoned and still be acceptable. **A double-breasted doesn't look like anything when it's unbuttoned." Vests or no vests.—During World War II no vests were provided with double-breasted suits. Did this situation contribute to a change in consumer demand for vests, and if so, among

TABLE 55.—Did men want vests with their yieivest year-round suits ?

1945 to 1949 buyers of year-round suits

Groups Prefer- No not Number No prefer- ascer- Total of ence tained cases

Percent Percent Percent Number Region : United States 37 52 10 1 100 1,113 West Coast 22 68 9 1 100 455 South 39 48 12 1 100 581 Other States 37 53 9 1 100 731 Community size : Metropolitan 33 59 {') 100 355 Other urban 36 52 10 2 100 629 Rural 48 36 15 1 100 129 Age;! 16 to 19 years 3 88 9 100 72 20 to 29 years 15 74 10 100 260 30 to 44 years 35 53 11 100 406 45 to 64 years 57 31 10 100 294 65 years and over_ 69 21 9 100 78 Number of suits bought since 1944:^ 1-2 suits 40 48 10 100 804 3 or more suits 28 61 10 100 300 Style of coat wanted:^ Single breasted 50 38 11 100 506 Double breasted __ 23 68 8 100 507 No style preference 39 40 21 100 94

^ Three men whose age, nine for whom number of suits bought since 1944 and six for whom style of suit bought was not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 45

what groups of men and under what conditions? The tables which follow suggest some answers to these questions since they deal with vest preferences in suits bought since 1944. Suits without vests were 5 to 4 favorites among all the 1945 to 1949 buyers, but wide deviations from that ratio were found among various groups (table 55). The greatest demand for vests was among men living in rural communities, those who were 45 years of age or over, and those who had planned to buy a single-breasted suit. The least was among the westerners, men under 30, those who had three or more suits which had been bought since 1944, and those who wanted single-breasted coats. Men's reasons for wanting or not wanting vests with their newest year-round suits fell into two general categories—comfort or convenience and style or convention in dress (tables 56-57). Often they were opposite sides of the same coin. Vests were wanted because they gave additional warmth or refused because they were too warm. The pockets in vests were found con- venient for carrying such things as pencils, cigarettes and wallets, and vests were useful in keeping ties in place. On the other hand they were thought to be too confining, bulky—'*like a straight jacket" or "just something else to wear—too much." Vests were desired because it was felt that they made a suit "dressier," that they were essential parts of a year-round suit. As one man answered in a rather surprised tone when asked why he wanted a vest, "I can't imagine a year-round suit without one—need a vest to make the suit complete." However, a number of the men who did not want them felt that vests were out of style, old-fashioned or "just for old men." In addition, there appeared to be a feeling that it was just as improper for the shirt front to show as the shirt sleeves. Vests were wanted

TABLE 56.—Reasons men gave for wanting a vest ivith their neivest year-round suit

1945 through 1949 Reasons given buyers who said they wanted a vest

j Percent l Comfort and convenience : Vest is warm | 49 Pockets handy 11 Keeps tie down 3 Style and convention : Pressed up, dressy 21 Essential part of year-round suit 20 Vest covers one up 9 Take off coat and look all right 2 Other reasons 8 Didn't know Not ascertained Number of cases 406

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for wanting a vest. 46 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE because men felt that they would then be "covered up better" and would look *'all of a piece." According to one '*If your coat is open it looks better to have a vest show than your shirt—other- wise you look undressed." However, even without vests the shirt could be properly concealed. So long as they wore double-breasted suits, it was felt that the vest could be dispensed with.

TABLE 57.—Reasons men gave for not wanting a vest with their newest year-round suits

1945 through 1949 Reasons given buyers who said they did not want a vest

Percent^ Comfort and convenience : Vests are too warm 19 Vests are too confining, too bulky 16 Vest not necessary, a nuisance 16 Style and convention: Vests are out of style 16 Vests are for older people 14 Not necessary with double-breasted suit 14 Other reasons: Habit, never wear one 12 Couln't get them during the war and have gotten used to going without 2 Miscellaneous 8 Not ascertained . 7 Number of cases 580

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for wanting a vest.

One or two pairs of trousers.—Most of the 1945 to 1949 buyers throughout the country said they wanted two pairs of trousers with their newest suits rather than only one, though a number gave no preference. As shown in table 58 the majority preference was the same in all the subgroups examined except among men living on the West Coast, in rural areas or among those who owned four or more suits bought in the 41/2 years prior to the interviewing. Those groups were about equally divided in their preferences. Many of the reasons men gave for their preferences for one or two pairs of pants reflect their patterns of use of a suit (tables 59-60). Only one pair was wanted because men felt that they had no need for more than that. **I have other trousers and hardly ever wear the trousers without the top and one pair lasts as long as the coat" was characteristic of this reaction. Many of the men who wanted two pairs gave as one of their reasons the reverse side of that coin. "One pair you often wear alone, like in the summer and it gets looking ragged before the coat," said one. A salesman explained his preference for two pairs by saying, "I drive a lot and sliding in and out of the car, pants wear out twice as fast as the coat." MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 47

TABLE 58.—Number of pairs of trousers wanted ivith neivest year- round suit

1945 to 1949 buyers who wanted:

Groups rr,„^ c\ No Not ; Number Iwo One prefer- ascer- Total of pairs 1 pair ence tained cases

' i 1 Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Number Region : United States 54 32 12 2 100 1,113 West Coast 44 38 16 2 100 455 South 50 36 11 3 100 581 Other States 59 29 11 1 100 731 Community size : Metropolitan 60 28 11 1 100 355 Other urban 54 32 12 2 100 629 Rural 45 41 13 1 100 129 Family income i^ Lower group 49 38 10 3 100 262 Middle group 60 28 11 1 100 367 Upper group 56 30 14 __ 100 452 Number of suits bought since 1944:^ 1-2 suits 57 30 11 2 100 804 3 suits 52 31 15 2 100 181 4 or more suits 44 46 9 1 100 119

^ Thirty-two men whose income and nine men for whom number of suits was not ascertained are omitted from this table.

This use together with the extra cost of the second pair is probably the explanation of the finding that the relative number of men who preferred two pairs of pants increased with income. As pointed out before, men engaged in occupations receiving lower pay are in those occupations that do not require the wearing of a suit on the job. The extra pair had other uses too. Some men felt that two were an advantage because the trousers needed cleaning and pressing more often than the coat, and in that way they would always have a full suit available. A few men said they kept one pair for dress wear and one for ordinary wear. Others liked the idea of having a spare in case one of them was damaged. A number of men disliked wearing the same garment for a long period of time. Some of them wanted only one pair of trousers with this suit because they felt that they could, then, get more variety in tjieir wardrobe—'*By the time I wear out one pair, I'm tired of the suit" one man explained. For these men two pairs of trousers would extend the life of a suit to an un- desirable extent. Men who wanted two pairs got variety by using the extra pair with separate jackets. "It makes another outfit." 48 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 59.—Reasons men gave fo7' wanting one pair of trousers with their year-round suits

1945 to 1949 buyers who said they Reasons given wanted one pair of trousers Percent l No need for more than one 57 Can get more change, variety with one pair 19 Two would cost extra 18 Colors don't match in coat and 2d pair 6 Quality of 2d pair inferior 1 Other reasons 6 Didn't know, didn't remember 2 Not ascertained 7 Number of cases 352

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for wanting 1 pair of trousers.

TABLE 60.—Reasons men gave for ivanting two pairs of trousers ivith their neivest year-round suits

1945 to 1949 buyers who said they Reasons given wanted two pairs of trousers

Percent i One coat lasts as long as two pairs of trousers 74 Still have a suit when one pair of trousers is at cleaners 20 Use the extra pair as slacks 16 Still have a suit if one pair is damaged 6 Have one pair for ordinary wear and one for dress-up 2 Other reasons 5 Not ascertained 2 Number of cases 612

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for wanting two pairs of trousers.

Performance wanted in the materials of suits.—In all the questions dealing specifically with materials it was found that men had little exact knowledge of finish, weaves, or fibers. This was especially true of fiber content as was dramatically shown in the answers to questions dealing with fiber (Content of suits adver- tised as "tropicals'' and "tropical worsteds" (table 61). Note the relatively large proportions who did not know what either was made of. In fact only one percent of all the men interviewed accurately identified the fiber content of both these suiting designations. However, almost all men interviewed had rather definite requirements of performance for the material in their newest suits (table 62). They fall into three general categories: appearance, durability, and weight. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 49

TABLE 61.—Knowledge of fiber content of ''tropicals'' and ''tropical worsteds"

Statements of fiber content Tropicals i Tropical worsted

Percent Percent Made of wool exclusivelv 7 32 Made of any of several fibers including wool 62 27 Did not know fiber content 25 36 Not ascertained 6 5 Total 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 1,613

In the first what might be called the '*neat and clean" emphasis again is evident. The most important requirement of the material was that it would hold a press and would not wrinkle. In addition, some men specified a fabric that would stay clean, would not show spots or pick up lint and dust. Then too, the material should wear well, "Last long enough time without getting holes in it." More specifically it should take cleaning well, not get shiny nor shrink during the cleaning process nor "Draw up so you'd be wearing shorts if you got caught in the rain."

TABLE 62.—Qualities men said they wanted in the maternal of their year-round suits^

Men who had bought their newest year- Qualities round suits in 1945 or later

Percent- Appearence : Hold a press, stay in shape, not wrinkle 75 Stay clean, not pick up lint 21 Durability : Wear well, be long-lasting 61 Take cleaning and pressing well 13 Not get shiny 8 Not shrink, draw up 2 Weight: Medium weight; adaptable to year-round wear 32 Light weight, cool 12 Heavy, warm 10 Feel soft and pleasant to touch 16 Other qualities 2 Not ascertained 4 Number of cases 1,113

^ Based on answers to questions about sample swatches of different types of suitings presented for inspection at time of the interview as well as on answers to questions about the material in the most recently purchased suits. - Percentages add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one quality which they wanted in the material of their suits. 50 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE A medium weight material, adaptable for wear throughout the year was most often desired. Light or heavy suitings were wanted by relatively few. Prices men thought they would pay.—When asked specifically about the prices they had in mind when they were shopping for their newest year-round suit, most men reported top price limitations. They said that their budgets would allow only a certain expenditure for a suit, that no suit was worth more than a certain amount to them, or that they felt they would be able to get a "good" suit for that money. Only 16 percent said they had no top price in mind, but over a third had no bottom limitation.

TABLE 63.—Median top prices men in different groups intended to pay for their newest yearr-round suits

Men who had bought their newest year- Groups round suits in 1945 or later

Median price l Region : United States $54.70 West Cnast 64.30 South 48.00 Other States 54.90 nommiinit-.v siV.f» • Metropolitan 54.70 Other urban 55.50 Rural 47.70 Occupation : Professional 61.90 White collar 54.90 Labor, protective, service 50.10 Farm 47.40 Income : Lower group 47.20 Middle group 49.25 Upper group 60.90 Age: 16 to 19 years 41.75 20 to 29 years 56.85 30 to 44 years 56.10 45 to 64 years 50.00 65 years and over 56.20 Year newest suit bought : 1945 47.60 1946 48.00 1947 50.20 1948 and 1949 56.75 Number of suits owned and bought 1945 to 1949: 1 48.39 2 54.00 3 58.70 4 64.00 5 or more 69.10

^ On the assumption that those men who said they had no top price would have paid a relatively high price for their suits, they have been included in the top price bracket in computing the median prices. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 51

TABLE 64.—What men wanted in the fit of their coats and trousers

Men who had bought their newest year- round suits in 1945 or later Fit requirements Coat Trousers

Percent Percent Wanted a "good" fit; had specific requirements of fit 97 92 Had no requirements ; took what salesman 1 or tailor recommended 2 6 Not ascertained 1 Î 2 Total 100 100 Number of cases 1,113 1,113

TABLE 65.—Kinds of alterations which were made in the newest year-round suits

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits ready-made in 1945 or later i Alterations United West States Coast South North

Percent- Percent^ Percent 2 No alterations made 54 Í 42 50 Had alterations made 46 58 32 50 Coat sleeves adjusted 16 16 18 Waist of trousers adjusted 10 13 10 Coat shoulders adjusted- 9 13 10 Coat collar and back of neck adjusted 4 7 5 Waist of coat adjusted __ 4 7 4 Seat of trousers adjusted- 3 5 2 Crotch adjusted 1 2 1 Non-specific adjustments of either coat or trousers ; not ascertained whether adjustments of coat or trousers 13 16 14 Other alterations 5 8 6 Not ascertained; not 3 2 3 known Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 990 394 499 660

^ One hundred and twenty-three men who bought custom-tailored or made- to-measure suits are omitted from this table. ^ Percentages in left columns may add to more than their subtotals in right columns because some men mentioned more than one kind of alteration. 52 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

Many, however, felt that they would not be able to get anything "worth carrying home'' under a certain amount. The median top price varied considerably among the various groups of men though the proportions who had no top price did not (table 63). The westerners, men living in urban communities, those engaged in professions, and those in the upper income group indicated a willingness to pay the highest prices for their suits. The 'teen-agers limited their prices more than the older men. The median expected top price increased each year from 1945 to 1949 indicating a realistic base for men's price expecta- tions. In addition, the more suits men had in their wardrobes, the more they were willing to pay for their newest suits. Fit and alterations.—Most men had some idea of how they wanted their suits to fit, but usually this was expressed in rather general terms—that is, "just wanted a good fit." Only a few felt this matter up to the salesman or tailor (table 64). About half of them found ready-made suits which were satisfactory without adjustments other than making the cuffs. How- ever, the westerners appeared to be more particular and relatively more of them required alterations, perhaps another suggestion of their greater interest in clothes (table 65). Did men get the kind of suit they wanted?—It seems that most men who had a preference for any or all of these characteristics (color, style of coat, vest, price, fit of coat and trousers, and number of pairs of pants) with one exception, bought what they had in mind. Only half of them got the number of pairs of trousers that they wanted. Many of the men who wanted two pairs, bought a suit that had only one (table 66).

TABLE 66.—Success men had in buying the suit they wanted

Men who had bought their newest year-round suit in 1945 or later

Characteristics : Purchase Number style of pairs Fit of Fit of Color of Vest of Price 1 coat 2 trou- coat trousers sers 3

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Bought what wanted __ 73 86 75 44 73 86 88 Did not buy what wanted 10 5 13 42 9 5 3 Had no preference 16 8 10 12 8 6 Not ascertained 1 1 2 2 1 3 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,113 1,113 1,113 1,113 1,113 1,113 1,113

^ Paid an amount that was within his price range. ^ Answers to the question "Does the coat fit (the way you wanted) ?". ^ Answers to the question "How do these trousers fit?". MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 53

Satisfaction with purchase.—Very few of the owners of winter or year-round suits said they were sorry they had bought their newest suit. The degree of satisfaction seemed to be related to the length of time they had been wearing the suit. The more recently they had been purchased the more men rated their over-all feehng about them as **like it very much" (table 67). This is, of course, a very natural reaction.

TABLE 67.—ReloMon hetiveen year bought and owner* s self-rating on satisfaction with their newest year-round suits

Men who had bought their newest year-round suits in:

Rating on satisfaction 1944 and 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 earlier

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Liked it very much 55 59 61 62 71 69 Thought it was all right 42 39 31 31 26 28 Sorry he had bought it— 2 1 6 7 3 2 Not ascertained 1 1 2 1 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 319 63 126 237 431 256

^ Less than 1 percent.

MEN s PREFERENCES FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF WOOL SUITINGS Introduction,—At the time this study was planned there was a surplus of coarser grade wools, but almost all suitings being produced were made of the finer grades, which, even then, were in short supply. Information on consumer acceptance of materials utilizing the coarser grades was, therefore, very important to the entire wool industry. Today, when there is an extreme shortage of all grades of wool, this information can be helpful in planning maximum use of all available suppUes and will be valuable when supply and demand are again more normal. In order to examine men's preferences for materials made of finer and coarser grade wools, it was decided that a method which would result in information on both the order of preference of the materials and how much more popular one might be than another, should be used. The method of paired comparisons provides a design and statistical procedures by which this information can be procured.^ Obviously, the names of weaves could not be used as the basis of the comparisons. There would have been no assurance that the men were referring to the same type of materials. Therefore, a cheviot, a flannel, a worsted sharkskin, and a gabardine were selected to represent the finer grade wool fabrics, and a tweed, an imitation sharkskin, and a twist as illustrative of the coarser ^ For details of the method and its application to this problem, see Appendix I. 54 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

grades (figs. 1-2).^ Swatches of these suitings, 2x6 inches in size, were stapled to light-weight manila cards, the four finer grade wool materials on Card A and the three of the coarser grade on Card B. Because there was so little material of the coarser grade wools available, it was necessary to use two forms of the imitation sharkskin. They were identical in color and weight, but one was a simple twill weave and the other a herringbone twill. These two swatches are referred to hereafter as "plain" and "striped" imitation sharkskins, respectively. The plain was included in Card B-1 and the striped in Card B-2. These two forms of Card B were distributed among interviewers in such a way that the groups of men who made their comparisons on one or the other were unbiased. No interviewer had both forms, so no respondent saw both. None of the materials were identified so that any bias that might have been contributed by the name would be avoided. All swatches were as nearly the same color as possible—a medium gray—, but the differences in the weaves necessarily involved some variation in shading. The suitings on Card A were made of fine or half-blood wools; those on Cards B-1 and B-2 were three-eighths and quarter-blood wools. They ranged in weight from 7.6 to 9.0 ounces per square yard. The interview was of such a length that it was not feasible to place all these samples in one series of comparisons, so the preference scores were obtained separately for the finer and the coarser grade wool materials and the over-all preference found by asking for a comparison of the materials most often preferred on each of the two cards. All owners of one or more winter or year-round suits were asked to make the comparisons. Card A was introduced as follows : The next questions have to do with materials. We want to find out what kind of materials men prefer. I'm going to show you a card with samples of four types of wool materials that are frequently used in men's winter or year-round suits. They happen to be different shades of gray, but don't pay any attention to that, because they might come in any color. The men were then handed Card A and the comparisons of the swatches on that card were begun by saying, "If you had to choose between a suit made of sample 1 and sample 2, which would you pick?" A choice was urged even when men found it diflScult to decide because they liked or disliked both. In spite of this "pushing" a few could not choose. This was repeated for samples 1 and 3, 1 and 4, 2 and 3, etc., until each swatch had been compared with every other one on the card. In the process of making these choices, the men were allowed to feel, rumple, or crease the swatches as they wished. Card B was then handed to the respondents and introduced with the statement, "Now, here is another card with samples of materials that are not used quite so frequently in men's winter or year-round suits. Again, don't pay any attention to the color, because they might come in any color." Then all the comparisons were made as before. ^ For complete descriptions and analysis of yarn content see Appendix I. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 00

FIGURE 1.—Swatches of finer grade wools used in comparisons A. Cheviot C. Worsted sharkskin B. Flannel D. Gabardine 56 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

FIGURE 2.—Swatches of coarser grade wools used in comparisons A. Tweed C. Twist B. Striped imitation sharkskin D. Plain imitation sharkskin MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 57 The final comparison to obtain over-all preference was prefaced by the explanation, "Now, Fd like you to compare the sample you liked best on the first card with that you liked best on the second card. Would you rather have a suit made of sample ( ) on Card A, or one made of sample ( ) on Card B?", the blanks being filled according to the preferences which had been expressed earlier. It should be remembered that the relative preference scores which were calculated on the basis of the choices generally cannot be compared from one card to another because they were obtained from comparisons of different sets of alternatives and are relative only to the materials on a particular card. However, since the plain and the striped imitation sharkskins were, in all cases, compared with the tweed and the twist, their scale ratings are directly comparable. Preference ratings on finer grade wool suitings (Card A).— Gabardine and worsted sharkskin were by far the most popular of the four suitings of the finer grade wools presented for comparison (fig. 3). Among all suit owners they had relative preference ratings of 68 and 66^ respectively, approximately 2.3 times that of flannel and about 1.8 times the score of the cheviot. Tastes in material did vary with age, though not with region or any of the other socio-economic variables used in this study. Gabardine was a prime favorite with 'teen-agers and retained a smaller lead over the sharkskin among men in their twenties.

PREFERENCE SCALES FOR SELECTED SUITINGS OF FINE AND COARSER GRADE WOOLS Based on Selections of Men Who Owned Year-Round Suits FINE GRADES COARSE GRADES COARSER GRADES 100 (CARD B-1 ) (CARD B-2) Striped ^ imitation 80 -sharkskin- Plain Gabardine 'imitation . - ■ sharkskin 60 ^Worsted _ sharkskin ^Twist - -Twist

40 ;;.Cheviot —

— Flannel - - -

—Tweed - - - -Tweed

U. S. DE PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NEG 4eie3-X BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS |

FIGURE 3. 58 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE These two materials were rated almost equal by men aged 30 to 44 years. Past that age group the worsted sharkskin pulled ahead. The flannel, though receiving generally much lower preference scores than the two leaders, was better liked by the 'teen-agers and the oldsters 66 years and over than by the middle- age groups. Cheviot retained a fairly low score throughout all age groups, but was somewhat more popular among men 30 years and over (fig. 4).

PREFERENCE SCALE FOR SELECTED SUITINGS OF FINER GRADE WOOLS Based on Selections of Men Who Owned Year-Round Suifs, by Age Groups 100 1 ^ - Gabardine - 80 \.... 1 •--.. Worsted - OOOOO^OOooo Sharkskin /^i>*"-°::. °°ooo» - 60 l^.•°•°- • — - .o-°° Cheviot - 40 S'-äiäi, - - 20 1/ 1 Flannel - -

16-19 20-29 30-44 45-64 65 & over YEARS OF AGE

us DEPARTMENT OF AGPICULTURE NEG 48184-X BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

FIGURE 4.

Preference ratings on coarser grade wool suitings (Card B),— The imitation sharkskin, whether plain or striped, received the highest preference rating of the three suitings of the coarser grade wools. Although nearly identical in weight, color, fiber grade, and thread count, the striped material received a considerably higher score relative to the other two swatches with which it was compared than the plain. Among the men who made their comparisons on Card B-1, which included the plain imitation sharkskin, its relative preference score was 71, three and one-half times that of the tweed and 1.2 greater than the twist. The men who used Card B-2, which included the striped imitation sharkskin, gave that swatch a rating of 86—nearly eight times that of the tweed and 1.7 times that of the twist (fig. 3). Here, too, the preference of the 'teen-agers were somewhat different from those of their elders. Although their ratings of the swatches of coarser grade wools follows the same order and showed the same differences between Cards B-1 and B-2 as those MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 59 of the older men, they tended to rate both imitation sharkskins lower and the tweed higher than did their elders. All other age groups among the men who compared the swatches on Card B-2 were consistent in their ratings of the three suitings—the imitation sharkskin received a relative preference score of between 83 and 89, the twist about 53, and the tweed approximately 10. In contrast, among the men who compared the Card B-1 swatches, the ratings for the plain imitation sharkskin and the twist moved closer together as age increased until they were almost equally approved by the men 45 years of age and over (fig. 5).

PREFERENCE SCALES FOR SELECTED SUITINGS OF COARSER GRADE WOOLS Based on Selections of Men Who Owned Year-Round Suits, by Age Croups USED THE PLAIN USED THE STRIPED IMITATION SHARKSKIN IMITATION SHARKSKIN 100 Imitation sharkskin ,0 0«w—„oo,

80 »o o o o o»o —h/^ o#o o o o o Imitation sharkskin 60 y 40 Twist -Twist — Tweed •--. 1 \ Tweed 20 —rv «X»XXXXX«XXX XX«

16-19 i 30-44 ■:65&over ': 20-29 i 45-64 20-29 45-64 16-19 30-44 65 & over YEARS OF AGE

U. s. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NEC. 48IS5-X BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

FIGURE 5.

Over-all suiting preferences.—When the favorites among the materials of the finer and coarser grade wools were compared with over-all preferences, the gabardine, the worsted sharkskin and the striped imitation sharkskin were found to be the most popular (table 68). Among the men who used the Card B with the plain imitation sharkskin, 36 percent selected the gabardine as their over-all favorite and 25 percent chose the worsted sharkskin. However, the striped imitation sharkskin displaced the worsted sharkskin as a leader among the men who had seen it. In fact, it tied with the gabardine in popularity. This shift of preferences is highlighted when the specific choices between the leading fabrics were examined (table 69). While only a fifth of those who compared the worsted and the plain imitation sharkskins chose the latter, 45 percent chose the striped form when they compared it and the worsted sharkskin. 60 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE This patterned suiting of the coarser grade wools even pulled a number of supporters from those who favored the gabardine among the fabrics made of the finer grade wools. These findings raise the question as to whether or not the grade of wool, at least within the limits of the variation represented by these materials, is of less importance in consumer acceptance than the weave of the fabric. Reasons for preferring favorite suitings of the finer grade wools.—After all the comparisons had been made on each card, the men were asked why they would rather have a suit made of the material they had chosen most often. The terminology they

TABLE 68.—Overfall preference in the compaHsons hetiveeyi favorites among the finer and coarser grade ivool suitings

Winter or year-round suit Winter or year-round suit owners who chose be- owners who chose between their favorite suit- tween their favorite suit- Preference 1 ing on Card A and their ing on Card A and their favorite on Card B-1 favorite on Card B-2 (included the plain imi- (included the striped imitation sharkskin) tation sharkskin)

Percent Percent Gabardine 36 30 Worsted sharkskin 25 19 Imitation sharkskin 11 29 Twist 11 5 Flannel 7 7 Cheviot 6 5 Tweed . 2 2 No choice, not ascertained __ 2 3 Total _\ 100 100 Number of cases 613 818

TABLE 69.—Over-all preferences in comparisons of the worsted sharkskin and gabardine, with the plain and striped imitation sharkskins ^

j Owners of year-round suits who compared :

Worsted Worsted Preference sharkskin sharkskin Gabardine Gabardine and plain and striped and plain and striped imitation imitation imitation Imitation sharkskin sharkskin sharkskin sharkskin

' Percent Percent Worsted sharkskin 80 55 Imitation sharkskin | 20 45 ¡ 16 27 Gabardine -- -- 84 73 Total ! 100 ; 100 100 100 Number of cases 125 231 155 270

^ Other specific comparisons are omitted because the numbers of men who made each were too small for statistical reliability. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 61 used in discussing the materials may or may not correspond to trade definitions. Note that *'hard'' and '*soft" finish are used in quotes. Though these terms may have been applied with technical accuracy in many cases, it was obvious from some of the interviews that they were also being used in the sense of harsh and rough, or smooth and pleasant to the touch—in other words, the hand of the fabrics. **Weave," too, was used in a descriptive, not a technical sense, as synonymous with pattern or design of the material. In interpreting the data, it should be borne in mind that the analysis has been based on the terms men could and did use. In addition, it should be remembered that the reasons for preference and the criticisms which follow were often relative to particular materials compared. Caution should be used in generalizing about them. However, the technique of discussing men's reactions to particular fabrics drew much more specific information about the qualities they looked for in the materials of their suits than the question, *'What kind of material did you want. . ." and '*Why ?". For this reason, the technique was judged to be valuable. The '*hard-finish" and non-wrinkling, press-holding qualities of the gabardine were explanations for their preferences given most often by the men who liked that fabric best of the finer grade wool suitings. Probably, for many men, this performance characteristic was judged by the finish. Quite a few thought it was durable and approved the firmness of the material. Some of them said they chose it because it was light weight and cooler than the others. Similarly, the most frequently given reason for preferring the worsted sharkskin was its **hard finish," and, in second place, the belief that it would hold a press and not wrinkle. Durability was attributed to this fabric more frequently than to the gabardine. Its pattern or design, its tight, firm weave, and adaptable, year-round weight were also mentioned as advantages. The attractive pattern of the cheviot was the most frequently mentioned reason for choosing that material. This approval was expressed in such general terms as *'I like the design," or more specifically, "Like that herringbone weave." That it would hold a press, was warmer or more adaptable to year-round wear, and had a "hard-finish" were other reasons given by 10 percent or more of the men who preferred this material. Among the men who preferred the flannel, its most attractive feature was its "soft finish." Its pattern, or in this case its lack of it, was given as an advantage over the other suitings. It, too, would wear well, not wrinkle, and be warmer or more adaptable to all-season wear, according to some of the men who chose it most often (table 70). Reasons for preferring favorite suitings of the coarser grade wools.—The "hard finish", tight weave, durability, and non- wrinkling qualities were leading reasons given for their choice by those winter or year-round suit owners who preferred the 62 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE imitation sharkskins, both plain and striped, as well as the twist. But approval of the patterns of these three swatches was markedly different. The design was an attractive feature to many who favored either the striped imitation sharkskin or the twist. The "vertical lines'' and the "pattern which isn't a pattern" of the former and the "flecks of color" of the latter were given special notice. But comparatively few indicated they had chosen the plain imitation sharkskin for its "weave" (table 71).

TABLE 70.—Reasons men gave for their preferences among the suitings of fine grade ivools

Owners of one or more year-round suits who preferred : i Reasons given Worsted Gabardine sharkskin Cheviot Flannel

Percent 2 Percent'^ Finish 46 56 23 I 37 "Hard finish'^ 41 50 11 5 j "Soft finish" 2 1 8 29 "Like the finish," general 3 5 4 3 Will hold a press; not wrinkle 40 41 16 14 Will wear well, last long 22 35 32 14 Close, tight, firmly woven material 17 15 Like the pattern, weave, design—general and specific — 15 23 I 36 15 Like the weight 20 : 19 27 23 Lighter weight, cooler 11 3 1 Adaptable to year-round wear 10 10 10 Good weight; nice for this climate 2 3 4 1 Heavy, warmer 3 12 10 Stylish, what's being worn Will stay clean, won't show lint Will take cleaning well Soft and pleasant to touch; not irritating to skin Looks like all wool; better material 7 7 Looks expensive 3 2 Adaptable to any occasion 1 6 Won't get shiny 4 1 Conservative material 6 Other reasons 7 15 Made choice on basis of color of particular swatch 6 12 Didn't know, not ascertained, answer uncodable 7 Number of cases 617 503 140 158

^ Thirteen men had no favorite on Card A and are omitted from this table. - Percentages (in right column) add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for their preference. ^ Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 63

TABLE 71.—Reasons men gave for their preferences betiveen samples of suitings of coarser grade wools

Owners of one or more year-round suits who preferred: i Reasons given Striped Plain imitation imitation Tweed sharkskin sharkskin

Percent- Percent ~ Finish ___ i 41 38 31 10 "Hard finish" 32 30 28 3 "Soft finish" 3 4 1 7 "Like the finish," general 6 4 2 Like the pattern, weave, design—general and specific _. 40 17 43 14 Will hold press, not wrinkle 23 25 21 10 Will wear well, last long 20 22 20 23 Close, tight, firmly woven material 16 21 11 3 Like the weight 13 13 12 24 Lighter weight, cooler __. Adaptable to year-round wear Good weight, nice for this climate 2 Heavy, warmer 19 Looks like all wool; better material 4 3 Conservative material 4 6 Will stay clean; not show lint- 3 4 4 Will take cleaning well 3 1 1 Soft and pleasant to touch; not irritating to skin 2 2 3 Stylish; what's being worn 2 1 3 Adaptable to any occasion 2 1 2 Looks expensive 1 1 1 Won't get shiny 2 Sporty, casual 7 Other reasons 13 Made choice on basis of color of particular swatch Didn't know, not ascertained, answer uncodable 10 i ___ 13 Number of cases 638 344 314 122

^ Thirteen men had no favorite on Card B and are omitted from this table. ^ Percentages (in right column) add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for their preference. ^ Less than 1 percent.

Reasons for choosing over-all preference.—Reasons men gave for their preferences between their favorite materials on Cards A and B were so much the same as those given earlier that they have been tabulated here by general headings rather than in detail. Performance included both durability and staying in press, finish, both soft and hard, while quality of material included such statements as, "It's a better quality material," '^Better goods," and "It's a tighter firmer weave." Approximate details may be inferred from the more specific breakdowns. F4^

o TABLE 72.—Reasons Tnen gave for their overall preferences amoîig eight suitings > Owners of one or more year-round suits whose over-all preferences were: ' O

Reasons given striped Plain to Gabardine Worsted imitation Twist Flannel Cheviot imitation Cl sharkskin Tweed sharkskin sharkskin f w Perccn t - Percent - Perçoit- Percent - Percent - Percent- Percent- Percent - Performance 45 42 25 31 32 32 33 31 Finish ^._ 30 36 22 20 27 16 28 16 Quality of material .- 19 36 10 13 13 18 22 7 Pattern, weave, design 18 15 50 39 20 25 21 18 Weight 16 10 15 20 18 26 27 34 Ö Suitability for personal use 3 3 6 3 5 2 1 1 W Other reasons _ -_- 6 4 7 2 14 3 5 12 Choice made on basis of color of specific swatch 3 5 4 5 6 8 5 H Didn't know, not ascertained 8 6 2 5 12 10 6 17 O Number of cases _ 467 310 236 112 97 74 69 27 > O 2 ^ Thirty-nine men who had no favorite swatch on Card A and/or Card B are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for their preference. d to MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 65

Comparisons, where possible, of the reasons given for over-all choice and those for the favorites on each card support the logical assumption that, since one elimination had already been made, certain desired qualities were about equal in the final comparison. For example, the Card A and B favorites might have been the worsted sharkskin and the striped imitation sharkskin and about equally desirable so far as finish was concerned. So some other quality of one of them w^ould decide the choice. No matter which fabric they chose, relatively fewer men gave reasons of finish for their over-all choice than had for their first two. For this reason those qualities mentioned by more men in their final comparison are particularly interesting. The pattern of the flannel and the striped imitation sharkskin seemed to be particularly important in the final choice of those two materials, while the worsted sharkskin emerged as the quality material (table 72). Criticisms of the suitings of the finer and coarser grade wools.— All the men who made the comparisons of swatches were asked whether there was anything they didn't like about these suitings, including the one that they had chosen as their favorite on each card. There was no reason to think that they would be perfectly satisfied by the one they liked the best of this limited selection. Actually, it was found that they did mention things they disliked about their favorites, though they had far fewer criticisms than the men who preferred other materials. Judged by the number who had nothing bad to say about their favorites, not only did more men prefer the gabardine, the worsted and the striped sharkskins, but their preferences were stronger. Pattern (weave or design), ''finish," performance, and weight were the four main areas of criticism of these materials (table 73). The four swatches of finer grade wools might be arranged in order of the amount of pattern, running from the flannel with none, through the gabardine, a monotone but having a distinct twill, the worsted sharkskin with two shades and a clear twill, to the cheviot with its herringbone. Of these the pattern of the cheviot received the most criticism, but the likes and dislikes of pattern were found to be quite consistent with men's preferences and relatively strong. Further examination revealed that the less pronounced the pattern in their favorite materials the more apt were the men to criticize the suitings which had a design. The men who liked the flannel best objected most to the herringbone of the cheviot. Few of those who preferred the gabardine and still fewer of the sharkskin-men did. Similarly, the most frequent criticism of the plainness of the flannel was made by those who preferred the cheviot, etc. Of the coarser grade wool suitings the twist was most criticized, often because of the flecks of color, and particularly by the men who preferred the tweed and the imitation sharkskins. The criticisms of the design of the tweed were made largely by those who preferred the other materials. The correspondence of the criticisms of these materials because of their ''finish" and their lack of quality of staying in press, again suggests a rather firm conviction on the part of many men 66 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE that "hard-finish" suitings would hold a press while "soft" ones would not. The flannel, the cheviot, and the tweed were dis- Uked much more than the other fabrics because they wouldn't stay in press. These same three were most often criticized because they were too "soft" or too fuzzy. But, again, these attitudes were related to individual preferences. It was the men who liked best any of the three sharkskins or the gabardine who criticized the softness and lack of press of the other three most often. A number of those who preferred the flannel and the cheviot felt that the worsted sharkskin, though not the others, were too hard, harsh, and stiff. The flannel received the most criticism for lack of durability, often that the nap would wear off. The weight of three of these sample materials was criticized as year-round suitings—the gabardine and the plain imitation sharkskin for being too thin, light, and not warm and the tweed for being too heavy and hot. The latter was, in fact, the heaviest of the eight materials, weighing approximately 9 ounces per square yard. The former were two of the three lightest at 7.6 and 7.5 ounces per square yard, respectively. The striped imitation sharkskin was the third, at about 7.6 ounces, but it was seldom disliked for being too light weight. This finding is particularly interesting, since the two imitation sharkskins were also identical in thread count, color, and grade of wool. Apparently the herringbone in the striped swatch produced an optical illusion of depth which was interpreted by a number of men as greater weight. As it appears that men want suits of medium-weight materials for their winter or year-round suits, this probably contributed to the greater popularity of the striped imitation sharkskin.

SPORTS JACKETS Introduction.—In recent years the sales of sports jackets have increased at a more rapid rate than the sales of suits with matching coats and trousers. Is this rising popularity just a fad, or is it a permanent change in the type of clothing men wear? Are sports jackets and slacks coming to be substitutes for suits? Will this eventually result in a decrease in sales of suits, or are the jackets used as extra garments which have increased the demands of fashion upon men? Answers to these questions are of obvious importance to the clothing industry in planning their production. They are of special interest to the manufacturers of materials because of the differences in types of fabrics which are used in sports jackets. In addition, the wool producer is concerned because of the effect upon the market for different grades of wool which are used in the weaving of these materials. In this section information of several kinds is presented which should help estimate the importance and extent of this trend. The past market for sports jackets was defined by an examination of the ownership of this garment by men in various socio- TABLE 73.—Criticisms of the sample suitings

Owners of one or more year-round suits i

Striped Worsted Plain Garbardine imitation Twist Flannel Cheviot imitation Tweed sharkskin sharkskin sharkskin tí

Percent''^ Percent'-^ Percent^ Percent'^ Percent - Percent^ Percent^ cent 2 ^ Too thin, light, not warm 17 4 4 3 2 12 w Disliked pattern, weave, design 6 13 9 20 7 29 5 11 Would pick up lint, show soil 4 5 1 1 Won't hold a press; won't stay in shape 3 1 22 13 "4 18 tí Won't wear well; won't last long 3 1 4 11 5 7 6 Would get shiny 2 1 tí0 Too coarse, hard, stiff, rough 1 7 ~7 "3 ~3 12 w Looks cheap, flimsy 1 3 4 3 5 4 > Just for young men 1 2 3 0 Too loud, sporty; not dressy 1 3 4 Old fashioned; too conservative 0 Too loose, or coarse a weave 10 2 "4 12 t^. . Too heavy, too warm 1 6 5 Too soft, too fuzzy 14 18 16 13 Would irritate the skin 2 2 3 Too bulky, too bundlesome 1 Ö Not all purpose material 4 2 3 ^ Other criticisms 4 4 5 5 5 4 0 Criticised on basis of color of this swatch 4 3 0 2 3 2 2 2 2 f Nothing disliked 2 4 57 60 75 45 21 24 58 12 Didn't know, not ascertained H 4 6 5 6 6 4 7 7 W Number of cases 1,418 1,418 811 1,418 1,418 1,418 607 1,418

2 'i^i^^^^^ ^^^ y,ho had no favorite on Cards A and/or B are omitted from this table Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one criticism of the swatches " L

OWNERSHIP OF SPORTS JACKETS What men own sports jackets?—A sports jacket was defined as any cloth jacket which was worn in the same way as a suit coat and was sold as a separate garment, that is, without matching trousers. Windbreakers, leather jackets, etc., as well as suit coats that were worn separately, were thus excluded. Somewhat more than one-third of all men interviewed said that they owned one or more such garments. Over half of the owners had only one, and a third owned two (table 74). How- ever, the distribution of owners was far from even throughout the sample (tables 74 through 78). Most apt to have sports jackets in their wardrobes were the men living on the West Coast, in metropolitan centers, those engaged in professional or white-collar occupations, those in the higher income bracket, and those under 30 years of age. It will be recalled that all these groups, with the exception of the 'teen-agers, were also highest in ownership of year-round suits. Men of high school age use jackets as their elders do suits. In fact, as shown in table 79, 9 in 10 sports-jacket owners also had at least one year-round suit. It seems, then, that for the large majority of owners, their sports jackets were extra garments which did not wholly take the place of their suits.

TABLE 74.- -Ownership of sports jackets

United West South other Ownership States Coast States

Pen ^ent Percent Perc ^ent Percent 1 or more 36 53 30 i 38 1 19 : 22 20 2 12 i 20 ' 11 12 3 3 ! 8 ! 3 4 ' 4 or more 2 3 1 2 Number not ascertained 0) None - 64 1 47 70 62 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 \ 681 942 1,006

^ Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 69

TABLE 75.—Relation between commmiity size and oicnership of sports jackets 1 Ownership 1 Metropolitan Other urban Rural 1 Perce It Percent Percent 1 or more 45 38 1 21 1 I- "~22 19 I 12 2 — 16 12 7 3 5 5 1 4 or more i 2 2 1 None 55 62 1 79 "- i Total __ j 100 100 i 100 1 Number of cases 1 433 905 275 ~ i

TABLE 76.—Relatio7i betiveen occupation and oitmership of sports jackets^

Labor, Ownership Profes- White service, Farm Retired sional collar protective

Percent Percent Percent Percent 1 or more 49 ___ i 46 _-_ I 36 21 -_ ! 11 1 23 I ; 22 1 20 I 13 9 2 16 ! 16 I 12 i ; 7 2 I 3 6 > 5 I i 3 1 4 or more 3 I 1 : n None 51 54 64 i __ 79 89 -L Total 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 245 182 743 221 103

^ Eighty-six dependents and 33 men whose occupation was not ascertained or non-classifiable are omitted from this table. - Less than 1 percent.

TABLE 77.—Relation betiveen ificome and oiimership of sports jackets^

Ownership Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent Percent Percent 1 or more 38 48 1 19 1 23 2 7 13 1 16 3 2 5 6 4 or more 1 1 None 75 62 1 52 Total 100 ! 100 ¡ 100 Number of cases 1 507 1 516 , 541 1 ^ Forty-nine men whose incomes were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 70 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURÏ

TABLE 78.—Relation between age and ownership of sports jackets^

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years Ownership years years years years and over

Per cent Percent Percent Percent Percent 1 or more 58 ! 63 __- 1 41 _-] 20 i 8 1 i>8 24 I 23 1 12 7 2 13 Î 26 13 i 5 1 3 13 i 9 3 2 4 or more 4 i 4 î 2 1 1 i Number not ascer- 1 tained (-) í2^ 1 None 42 1 37 — 59 80 1 92 Total 100 1 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 108 332 534 468 166

^ Five men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent.

TABLE 79.—Relation between ownership of sports jackets and ownership of suits

Owners of sports jackets Ownership of suits United West Other States Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Percent Owned: At least one winter or year-round suit but not a summer suit 57 75 52 56 Both a winter or year- round suit and a summer suit 32 13 29 37 At least one summer suit ] but no winter or year- round suit 1 1 i 2 1 No suits 10 11 17X 1 j 6V Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 602 361 28.^ .^«8

CHARACTERISTICS OF SPORTS JACKETS OWNED Material in sports jackets.—Owners were asked what fibers the material of each of their sports jackets was made of. In the country as a whole more than 7 in 10 owners said they had at least one which was all wool. Jackets made of a mixture of fibers were reported by 12 percent, and less than 1 in 10 said they owned a jacket made of all cotton, all rayon, or other fibers. Relatively more southern men said they owned jackets made of a mixture of fibers than owners in the other States. Owner- ship of all-wool sports jackets increased as family income increased (tables 80-81). MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 71 Year newest sports jacket was bought.—In general, men have bought sports jackets more recently than any other article of clothing covered by this study, the average age of the newest being 16 months (table 82). Price paid for newest sports jacket.—The general price increase in the postv^ar years v^as reflected in the amounts men said they had paid for their newest sports jackets. Those who had bought theirs in 1944 or earlier reported a median price of less than $15.00, while those who had purchased theirs between 1945 and 1947 paid a median price of $19.00. The 1948 and 1949 buyers paid shghtly more, on the average—$19.90 (table 83).

TABLE 80.—Fibers owners said their sports jackets were made of

Owners of sports jackets Fibers United West Other states Coast South states

Percent^ Percent l Perceiii 1 Percent l All-wool 72 74 71 72 Mixture 12 11 22 9 All-cotton 8 3 7 10 All-rayon 4 1 5 4 Other fibers 1 4 1 1 Fiber not known 8 8 7 9 Fiber not ascertained 7 12 5 7 Number of cases 602 361 283 388

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men owned two or more sports jackets made of different fibers or mixtures.

TABLE 81.—Relation between income and fibers owners said their sports jackets were made of^

Owners of sports jackets Fibers Lower group j Middle group Upper group i Percent- Percent- 1 Percent- All-wool 65 72 94 Mixture 18 10 11 All-cotton 9 8 ; 8 All-rayon 2 5 3 Other fibers (') 1 i 2 Fiber not known 7 8 9 Fiber not ascertained __ 8 7 2 Number of cases 129 ! 198 257

^Eighteen men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men owned two or more sports jackets made of different fibers or mixtures. ^ Less than 1 percent. 72 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 82.—Year last sports jacket was acquired^

Owners of sports Year acquired jackets

Percent 1944 or earlier 9 1945 to 1947 34 1948 to 1949 -—-- 55 Didn't know year bought, bought second-hand 1 Not ascertained 1 Total 100 Number of cases 602 Median age of newest garment -16

^ Bought or received as a gift. - Months.

TABLE 83.—Relation between year last sports jacket ivas bought and its price

Men who had bought their newest sports jacket in: i Price 1944 or earlier 1945 to 1947 1948 to 1949

Percent Percent Percent $15 and less 47 27 24 $16 to $25 28 47 46 $26 to $35 14 13 17 $36 to $45 2 4 7 $46 and over 2 2 Price not known, not ascertained Total 100 100 100 Number of cases _ 51 208 331 Median price paid $19.00 $19.90

1 Twelve men who did not report the year when their newest sports jacket was bought are omitted from this table. - Less than 1 percent. ^ Less than $15.

PLANS TO BUY A SPORTS JACKET At the time the study was made, findings indicated that the proportion of men who owned sports jackets would probably increase. All men interviewed were asked: *'Do you think you will buy a (another) sports jacket sometime in the next 12 months?" About a fifth of them said they did, the same proportion that had reported the purchase of a sports jacket m the 18 months previous to the interview. An additional fifth were undecided ; they had no definite plans to buy or not to buy one (table 84). As might be expected, those who already owned a sports jacket were most apt to have plans for the purchase of another one, but 10 percent of the non-owners expressed rela- MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 73 tively definite plans to add a sports jacket to their wardrobes; 18 percent of them were undecided (table 85). Tables 86 through 88 present data on the purchasing plans in the various groups of the population. In general, the differences are similar to those found in the examination of ownership, but they are much less marked. The largest proportions of men who said they were in the market for a sports jacket were among those living on the West Coast, in urban communities, men in the upper income bracket, and the younger men.

TABLE 84.—Plans to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months

United West Other Purchasing plans States Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Percent Did not plan to buy 60 48 57 63 Planned to buy 19 27 19 18 Might buy; didn't know 19 22 21 18 Not ascertained 2 3 3 1 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 681 942 1,006

TABLE 85.—Relation hetiveen ownership of sports jackets and plans to buy one in the next 12 months

Purchasing plans Owners Nonowners

Percent Percent Did not plan to buy 44 69 Planned to buy 34 10 Might buy; didn't know 22 18 Not ascertained (') 3 Total 100 100 Number of cases 602 1,011

^ Less than 1 percent.

TABLE 86.—Relation between community size and plans to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months

Purchasing plans Metropolitan üttaer urban Rural

Percent Percent Percent Did not plan to buy 60 59 63 Planned to buy 22 20 12 Might buy ; didn't know_ 17 19 23 Not ascertained 1 2 2 Total 100 100 100 Number of cases 433 905 275 74 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 87.—Relation between income and plans to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months^

Purchasing plans Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent Percent Percent Did not plan to buy 59 59 59 Planned to buy 16 19 23 Might buy ; didn't know_ 22 20 17 Not ascertained 3 2 1 Total 100 I 100 100 Number of cases 507 ! 516 541

^ Forty-nine men whose incomes were not ascertained are omitted from this table.

TABLE 88.—Relation betiveen age and plans to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months^

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years Purchasing plans years years years years and over

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Planned to buy 39 35 20 8 3 Did not plan to buy 28 40 59 74 83 Might buy; didn't know 30 24 20 12 Not ascertained 3 1 1 'I 2 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 108 332 534 468 166

^ Five men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table.

Reasons for not planning to buy a sports jacket in the year following the interview.—The most frequently mentioned reason for not planning to buy a sports jacket within the year was that they were not liked or that the men had no use for them. As one man put it, ''Don't like them—never had one and don't want one." Another's resistance was not so much a matter of personal taste. He said, "Just don't think I need one. Like the loots of them but don't need them—don't have places to wear them," while still another expressed his lack of desire for one by saying, *T don't wear a coat while I'm working in the summer and wear a suit in winter." In the country as a whole, a fifth of the men who did not in- tend to buy in the next 12 months felt that they had enough sports jackets already. In the West, where the garment was already more popular, this proportion rose to one-third. Most of the other reasons given for not planning to buy a sports jacket were related to some specific objection to this type of garment, but a tenth of the non-prospects said they simply could not afford to buy (table 89). MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 75

TABLE 89.—Reasons men gave for not planning to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months

Men who did not plan to buy Reasons given United West ^ . other States 1 Coast South States

Percenf^ Percenn Percenf^ Percent^ Didn't like sports jackets; no need for one; preferred other garments 42 Í57 4i> 42 Had sufficient number in wardrobe 20 32 15 ! 21 Sports jackets not becoming or appropriate for older men 15 10 19 1 13 Couldn't afford one; too expensive 10 Id i Ç) Î 10 Sports jackets too flashy, sporty; colors too loud 3 3 1 I 4 Didn't like cut, the way they hang, the style 1 1 1 ¡ 1 Other reasons 2 : 2 2 3 No reason given; not ascertained 16 10 17 16 Number of cases 962 325 542 626

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because many men mentioned more than one reason for not planning to buy a sports jacket in the next 12 months.

TABLE 90.—Reasons owners gave for starting to wear a sports jacket

Owners of sports jackets Reasons given United States

Percent^ Thought them attractive; becoming, comfortable, useful, etc. 52 Saw others wearing them; it was the fashion 29 Thought them economical; more economical than a suit 12 Wore them as a boy; w^ore them in school; always wore them 9 Received one as a gift 8 Suits were scarce 2 Other reasons 4 Didn't know 1 Not ascertained 3 Number of cases 602

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for starting to wear a sports jacket. 76 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

CONSUMER REACTIONS TO WEARING SPORTS JACKETS Reasons for starling to wear a sports jacket.—Men living in all regions of the country reacted in much the same way to the appeal of this relatively newer type of garment. According to the replies shown in table 90, the attractiveness of sports jackets was the most important factor in winning over users. About half of the owners said they had begun to wear one because they liked the colorfulness, comfort, or diversified usefulness of the garment. Current fashions, too, were inñuential. A number said they first bought one because they noticed other men wearing them or felt that they had become the style for certain kinds of occasions. Price played a rather minor role in the rise of popularity of this garment. Age and reasons for starting to wear a sports jacket.—The influence of current fashion was felt most strongly among the younger men. They mentioned the stylishness of sports jackets almost as often as their intrinsic attractions in explaining why they had begun to wear them. To their elders, however, by far the strongest attraction of the garment was its comfort and general usefulness. The idea of economy was appealing to about equal but relatively small proportions of the owners in all age groups (table 91). Reasons for liking to wear a sports jacket.—Nearly half of the owners of sports jackets said they enjoyed wearing them because they were currently the fashion or because they were the appro-

TABLE 91.—Relation hetiveen age a7id reasons for starting to wear a sports jacket

Owners of sports jackets l Reasons g^iven 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 | 45 years years j years years ¡ and over

' Percent- Percent- Percent- \ Percent Thought them attractive; becoming", comfortable, use- ¡ \ ful, etc 45 48 57 53 Saw others wearing them; it I was the fashion 41 34 21 26 Thought them economical; ! ¡ more economical than a suit i 16 10 I 13 I 16 Wore them as a boy; wore \ ; them in school, always wore them 9 13 8 3 Received one as a gift 7 4 8 14 Suits were scarce 1 2 2 1 Other reasons 2 3 4 7 Didn't know 2 1 2 Not ascertained 3 3 3 5 Number of cases 63 211 218 ! 108

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. - Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for starting to wear a sports jacket. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 77 priate dress for certain occasions. Many expressed this in general terms—"It's the style," or **Everybody is wearing them," or indicated that sports jackets were socially presentable when a sweater or shirtsleeves would not be. Others were more explicit. As one man said, *'A sports jacket to me is as important as a hat or pair of shoes. It's a necessary part of a man's wardrobe. (Why?) I think the word 'sports' describes the purpose, that is, to wear on sports occasions where a business suit would look out of place." However, the popularity of the garment is based, apparently, to a great extent upon the physical and psychological comfort it gives the wearer. It was loose fitting, gave freedom of movement, was light weight but gave enough warmth, and could be slipped on and off easily and conveniently. Men also liked the way the garment made them look and feel informal and relaxed and permitted them to wear other informal clothes like tieless sports shirts which would not combine well with suits. Men living in the South seemed less attracted by the jacket's physical comfort and informality than the men in the other regions. It has been pointed out before that standards of dress were apparently less stringent in the South, where a large proportion of the population is found in rural areas. So these data suggest that the southerner might go without a coat, wear a sports shirt, etc., if it was warm or he wished to be relaxed and casual. Economy and appearance were less important characteristics (table 92). Age and reasons for liking to wear a sports jacket.—Different characteristics of sports jackets were appealing to men of varying ages (table 93). The leading reason for their popularity with men under 30 was that they were stylish—^'Everybody wears them." Older men, on the other hand, most often said they liked to wear them because they were comfortable. In the 'teen-age group the appeal of livelier colors and materials, the possibility of attractive two-tone effects with different slacks, and the generally youthful appearance of the jackets was as frequently given a reason for liking them as style. This enthusiasm for the appearance of sports jackets was much more general among 'teen- agers than among older men. These findings reflect different patterns of dress among men of varying ages. The characteristic informality of dress aniong 'teen-agers and the free rein they give to individual taste is a favorite subject of cartoonists. Their usual dress when a coat is required is apt to be a jacket and slacks. Urban society, however, tends to force their elders into a stricter observance of rigid requirements of dress for business and social occasions. So it would be expected that informality and loose-fitting comfort would be a greater attraction to the latter group. Comparative long-run economy of jacket and trousers and a suit.—All owners of sports jackets were asked, "In the long run, which do you think is most economical—to buy a separate jacket and trousers, or to buy a suit?" The replies (tables 94 and 95) 78 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 92.—Reasons owners gave for liking to wear sports jackets

Reasons given Owners of sports jackets

Percent l Comfort 53 Loose fitting ; gives freedom of movement Lightweight, cool Warm in cool weather Comfortable—general Easy to slip on and off Other comfort reasons Style or fashion 46 Everyone wears them, it's the style 14 Dressy, neater, more presentable than a sweater 11 Appropriate or required dress for sports or informal social occasions. 10 Change from a suit; add variety to wardrobe 9 Appropriate for wear with different trousers, slacks 9 Other style reasons 1 Informality 41 Makes you feel and/or look relaxed, casual 24 Ties and stiif-collared shirts not necessary with them 12 Don't have to be so careful with them as would with a suit 5 Prefer casual or sport clothes to suit for general wear 4 Permissible to take off jacket 3 Economy 22 Stretches wardrobe, gives more combinations, wears out odd pants Saves suit by providing substitute for informal occasions Initial cost is less than that of a suit_- Adaptable to more occasions than a suit Upkeep less because needs cleaning and pressing less often Other economy reasons Appearance 14 Colorful, can be used in attractive color combinations Becoming; looks well on me Other appearance reasons Other reasons Reasons not ascertained Don't like sports jackets Number of cases 602

^ Percentages (left column) add to more than their subtotals (right column) and these add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than 1 reason for liking to wear a sports jacket. 2 Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 79

TABLE 93.—Relation between age and type of reasons owners gave for liking to wear a sports jacket

Owners of sports jackets i Reasons given 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over

Percent^ Percent^ Percent 2 Percent 2 Fashion or style 52 52 42 40 Appearance 51 15 13 11 Comfort 44 46 58 61 Informality 33 48 43 29 Economy 22 21 26 19 Other reasons 9 6 6 4 Reasons not ascertained 8 5 6 8 Number of cases 63 211 218 108

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. 2 Percentages add to more than 100 because some men mentioned more than one reason for liking to wear a sports jacket. tend to support the supposition that economy is not the major reason for the increasing sales of sports jackets. Among owners, about two in five thought the combination of a separate jacket and trousers was more economical, but about half of them considered a suit equally economical or more so. However, certain regional and age differences were found. Relatively more men who lived in States outside the South and West Coast and more men past their teens favored the suit for economy. Reasons for thinking a suit more economical.—Among men in all sections of the country who considered suits more economical, by far the most frequently given explanation was their greater

TABLE 94.—Replies to the question: ''In the long run, which do you think is most economical—to buy a separate jacket and troupers, or to buy a suit ?*'

Owners of sports jackets Considered more economical United West Other states Coast South States

Percent Percent Percent Percent Jacket and trousers 41 46 45 39 Suit 43 36 35 46 No difference 9 10 9 9 Didn't know 6 6 9 5 Not ascertained 1 2 2 1 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 602 361 283 388 80 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEFT. OF AGRICULTURE

TABLE 95.—Relation hetiveen age and replies to the question: ''In the long run, ivhich do you thiyik is ynost economical—to buy a separate jacket and trousers, or to buy a suit?"

Owners of sports jackets l Considered more economical 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over

Percent Percent Percent Percent Jacket and trousers 52 42 39 36 Suit 27 42 50 40 No difference 7 10 6 14 Didn't know 10 5 4 10 Not ascertained 4 1 1 P) Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 63 211 218 108

^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent. usefulness (table 96). Sixty-one percent of this group said they could wear a suit anywhere they went or at any time and be appropriately dressed. To them the sports jacket was a garment for occasional and limited wear and to a certain degree a luxury. A much smaller group said the initial cost of a suit was just as low or lower than the combined cost of both the jacket and slacks so that no saving could be made by buying the latter. Others felt the suit coat and trousers could be worn separately or together, thus extending the life of the suit or achieving greater variety.

TABLE 96.—Reasons men gave for thiyikiyig a suit more economical than jacket and trousers combination

Owners of sports jackets who thought Reasons given a suit was more economical

Percent ^ More use for a suit; suit appropriate for more occasions-- 61 Initial cost of suit lower or just as low 17 Suit coat and trousers could be worn either together or separately 11 Suit lasts longer 8 Suit could be worn all year round, while sports jacket could not 5 Preferred suit—didn't like jacket and trousers combination 2 Other reasons 5 Didn't know 1 Not ascertained 4 Number of cases 256

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for thinking a suit was more economical. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS gl

Reasons for thinking a jacket and slacks more economical,— The possibility of greater variety in dress with a limited wardrobe and the lower initial cost were the most usual explanations of the men who thought the sports jacket and trousers combination cheaper in the long run. As one man said, "You get more combinations so you have twice as much clothing ; change around more and make it look different." That they had more use for a jacket and trousers, that it was possible to replace each part separately, and that the jacket would outlast several pairs of pants were other advantages which men said made the combination a better buy (table 97).

TABLE 97.—Reasons men gave for thmkiyig a jacket and trousers comhinatio7i was more economical than a suit

Owners of sports jackets who thought Reasons griven a jacket and trousers combination was more economical

Percent^ More variety, appearance of larger wardrobe because jacket ■ and/or trousers could bs worn separately and in different combinations 36 Initial cost lower \ 34 More occasion to wear a sports jacket and trousers, more use for a sports jacket \ 16 Jacket and trousers could be replaced separately 14 One sports jacket outlasts several pairs of trousers ' 10 Cleaning cost less 1 5 Long wearing; wears longer than a suit | 3 Other reasons i 3 Didn't know ' 1 Not ascertained i 4 Number of cases | 247

^ Percentages add to more than 100 because some men gave more than one reason for thinking a jacket and trousers combination was more economical.

Occasions on which a sports jacket was worn.—To investigate the extent to which sports jackets and slacks were being sub- stituted for suits with matching coats and trousers, men who owned both types of garments were asked about the occasions when they considered a jacket appropriate dress. At the time the survey was made, only a relatively small group of men felt a sports jacket to be appropriate dress for all occasions in both summer and winter (table 98). It appears, however, that the general effect of the sports jacket on customs of dress has been much more pronounced with respect to summer than to winter wear. Seventeen percent of the owners of both a suit and a sports jacket said they considered the two garments to be interchangeable, and 28 percent thought they would wear them anyplace except to serious occasions like church, weddings, and funerals, during the summer season. For winter wear, on the other hand. QO to

TABLE 98.—Occasions on which a sports jacket is worn ►*! O Owners of both a suit and sports jacket > Winter Summer o Occasions z other United West other United West South Co South States States Coast States States Coast f Percent Percent M Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Any occasion; said suit and jacket interchange- 14 5 17 10 20 18 able 7 4 Any place except to serious, dignified occasions like weddings, funerals, church—for them a 28 18 16 27 16 28 24 29 Sports, recreation, lounging, country wear only; ö til suit required for all other social or business 52 50 64 42 50 51 63 42 Jacket never worn; suit always required in this 1 O 24 15 14 29 2 2 5 2 1 4 1 Not ascertained 1 1 3 > 100 O 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 2 Total o 360 528 319 218 355 d Number of cases 539 322 230 1 Men who wore only trousers and shirt in both summer and winter are omitted from this table. 5Ö 2 Less than 1 percent. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 83 only 7 percent felt the two garments interchangeable, and just 18 percent thought those dignified times were the only occasions when a suit had to be worn. About half of the men restricted the use of their jackets to sports and recreational events, lounging or country wear in both seasons, but almost a fourth of them felt that there were no occasions in winter when a sports jacket would be appropriate. This shift to more limited use of sports jackets from summer to winter was not just a step-by-step progression up this scale of formality (table 99). About a third of the owners of both suits and jackets felt that the garments were interchangeable no matter what the season, but almost as many who thought they would wear their jackets anyplace in summer considered them entirely inappropriate for winter-wear. In fact, about one-fourth of these men, regardless of their use of their jackets in summer, said they wouldn't wear them at all during the winter.

TABLE 99,—Relation between occasions when a sports jacket was worn in summer and those on ivhich it was worn in winter

Owners of both a sports jacket and a suiti

Summer occasions Winter occasions Suit Suit Said suit required required for Suit and jacket for serious any social required interchange- occasions or business foraU able only occasion occasions

Percent Percent Percent Percent Suit and jacket interchangeable; jacket worn any place- 32 2 1 7 Suit required only for serious, dignified occasions like weddings, funerals, church, business meetings 13 51 1 37 Suit required for any social or business occasion except sports, recreation, lounging, country wear 26 21 75 51 Suit required on all occasions ; wouldn't wear sports I'acket ¿9 26 23 5 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 89 147 269 10

Twenty-four men who said they wore only trousers and shirt or mackinaw or who did not mention occasions on which a sports jacket was worn in summer and/or winter are omitted from this table.

Region and occasions.—Within this general pattern, interesting differences were found between various sections of the country. As compared with the men in the other States, fewer southern and West Coast men considered their sports jackets as primarily summer garments, putting them away for the winter months. The greater informality of dress in the South is demonstrated 84 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE by the wider acceptance of sports jackets on all but the most formal occasions. But the majority of men living on the West Coast felt that, regardless of season, the sports jacket should be worn only on those occasions for which it was originally designed, that is, for sports, recreation, in the country, and on similar casual occasions. The men in the other States were more like the southerners so far as summer wear of sports jackets was concerned, but even more strict than the westerners about the winter- time appropriateness of the garment. These findings seem to indicate that men's clothes have become more differentiated for particular types of activities on the West Coast but that such differentiation has made least progress in the South. They run counter to the stereotype of the westerner as a casual dresser but follow earlier evidence that he is more interested in style in dress than men in other parts of the country (table 98). Community size and occasions when a sports jacket was worn.— The larger the size of the community the more restricted were the occasions for which sports jackets were considered appropriate dress (table 100). A majority of the owners of both jackets and suits who lived in rural areas either said that in

TABLE 100.—Relation betiveen community size and occasions on ivhich a sports jacket ivas ivorn

Owners of both a sports jacket and a suit

Winter Summer Occasions Metro- Other Metro- Other politan urban Rural politan urban Rural

Percent Percent Percent Any occasion; said suit and jacket interchangeable _- 12 20 16 17 Any place except to serious, dignified occasions like weddings, funerals, church—for them a suit required-_ 11 21 31 24 28 48 Sports, recreation, lounging, country wear only; suit required for all other social or business gatherings ^^-- 55 51 25 55 51 29 Jacket never worn; suit always required in this season^ 31 19 30 Not ascertained 1 2 1 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 190 304 45 183 302 43

^ Men who wore trousers and shirt in summer and winter are omitted from this table. ^ Less than 1 percent. TABLE 101.—Relation between age and occasions on which a sports jacket is worn

Owners of both a sports jacket and a suitl

Winter Summer Occasions to 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years 16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 years years years years and over years years years and over

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percen t Percent Any occasion; said suit and jacket interchangeable ' 16 6 5 7 30 18 15 15 Any place except to serious, dignified occasions > like weddings, funerals, church—for them a o suit required 15 20 15 21 25 30 29 24 o Sports, recreation, lounging, country wear only; w suit required for all other social or business tí f gatherings 55 58 49 38 38 48 55 58 W Jacket never worn; suit always required in this n season^ ^ .._ 12 15 30 34 2 2 1 2 w Not ascertained 2 1 1 5 2 1 Ö Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 o o Number of cases __ . 42 187 206 102 42 183 203 98 H w ^ Two men whose ages were not ascertained are omitted from this table. ^ Men who wore trousers and shirt in summer and winter are omitted from this table. • Less than 1 percent. 86 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE the summer they would wear their jackets any place or made exceptions only for church, business meetings, etc. Far fewer of the men living in the cities of all sizes agreed with this rather wide substitution of a jacket for a suit. Although fewer men in different types of communities wore sports jackets at all in the winter, the same pattern of differences was reported for these colder months. Age and occasions on which a sports jacket was worn,—It has already been pointed out that the pattern of dress among the 'teen-agers is quite different from that of the older men. As would be expected, the younger group considered the sports jacket appropriate for a wider variety of occasions than did their elders, though they, too, felt that it had a more limited use in the winter than in the summer (table 101).

TOPCOATS AND OVERCOATS Introductory considerations.—An apparent consumer shift from overcoats to topcoats raises important problems in the consumption of wool and in the production of the finished garments. By trade definition the material in overcoats is 17 ounces per yard or more while topcoat material is less than 17 ounces per yard. Consequently, a shift of this kind means a decrease in fiber consumption, even though it may be partly compensated for by the sales of zip- or button-in linings in topcoats. As in the case of sports jackets, the main question raised by this change in consumer buying is whether topcoats are displacing overcoats in men's wardrobes, or whether they have become extra garments which are adapted to a particular set of weather conditions. To answer this question, it is necessary to know what the pattern of ownership of topcoats and overcoats is. The following data bear on this objective. Unfortunately the length of the questionnaire in this study made it impossible to explore more fully men's attitudes toward the two garments and their reasons for buying one or the other.

TABLE 102.—Ownership of topcoats and/or overcoats

All men interviewed Ownership United West other States Coast South states

Percent Percent Percent Percent Owned topcoat only 31 39 24 33 Owned both topcoat and overcoat 26 12 11 35 Owned overcoat only 26 16 29 26 Owned neither 17 33 36 Total 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 681 942 1,006 f TABLE 103.-—Number of topcoats and overcoats owned

Topcoats Overcoats Number owned w United West Other United West other States Coast South States States Coast South States

Pen:ent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent > 1 or more 57 1 R1 1 .^4 1 fí» 1 Rl 1 9« 1 QQ 1 fí.^ 1 47 44 28 56 44 26 34 52 O 2 or more 9 7 5 12 7 1 4 9 o Number not ascertained 1 1 1 1 None 43 49 66 32 49 72 61 39 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 1,613 681 942 1,006 1,613 681 942 1,006 Average number owned 0.67 0.59 0.40 0.81 0.59 0.28 0.42 0.71 o o * Less than 1 percent. r 1

00 ^3 88 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE The pretest indicated that few men could be expected to make the distinction between topcoats and overcoats based upon weight of the material. Therefore, the owners' classifications, which may or may not correspond to trade definitions, were accepted. This should be kept in mind when interpreting these data. Wool raincoats which served the same function as topcoats were included in that category. Ownership of topcoats and overcoats.—Of all the men interviewed, 17 percent reported that they had neither topcoats nor overcoats, but on the other hand, 26 percent said they were equipped with both. Fifty-seven percent said they had either one or the other (table 102). Few men reported owning more than one of either of these garments, but a higher proportion reported owning more than one topcoat (table 103). In fact, with a few exceptions this lighter outer garment was more widely owned in all the subgroups that were examined. It might be thought that the use of topcoats, overcoats, or both would be determined largely by climatic variations, but the data in tables 102 through 106 indicate that it is far from that simple. It was found that the largest proportions of men who owned neither lived in the West Coast States or in the South.

TABLE 104.—Relation between community size and ownership of topcoats and/or overcoats

Ownership Metropolitan other urban Rural

Percent Percent Percent Owned topcoat only 35 31 22 Owned both topcoat and overcoat 38 26 8 Owned overcoat only 20 25 38 Owned neither 7 18 32 Total 100 100 100 Number of cases 443 905 275

TABLE 105.—Relation between income and ownership of topcoats and/or overcoats^

Ownership Lower group Middle group Upper group

Percent Percent Percent Owned topcoat only 22 34 37 Owned both topcoat and overcoat 16 25 36 Owned overcoat only 34 25 18 Owned neither 28 16 9

Total 100 ^winn 1 AWinn Number of cases 507 516 541

^ Forty-nine men whose income was not ascertained are omitted from this table. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 89 However, when one or the other of these outer garments was owned, the topcoat was far in the lead among the westerners, whereas overcoats were slightly more widely used in the South. In metropolitan centers about equal proportions of men either owned both or just a topcoat, while few were without either. In rural areas the pattern was reversed. More men there reported ownership of overcoats than topcoats, few had both, and almost a third said they had neither garment in the wardrobes. Income, too, was related to ownership. The greater the family income, the smaller the proportion of men who said they had neither and the larger the group that owned both. But, in- terestingly, though the proportions that owned topcoats, whether alone or in addition to overcoats, increased with greater income, the relative number of men who reported owning overcoats remained practically constant. In general, the topcoat was most popular among the younger men while the overcoat was worn by more men 45 years of age and over. However, the largest proportion of owners of neither was among the 'teen-agers. The wide lead topcoats had over overcoats among the men in their twenties, suggests that when the young men buy one of these garments, they are considerably more likely to buy topcoats. Age of newest topcoats and overcoats.—The data in table 107 suggest that the trend in the 41/2 years preceding the interview had been toward the purchase of topcoats rather than overcoats. Almost a third of the owners of topcoats had bought one of them between January 1948 and June 1949. Eighteen percent of the overcoat owners had bought an overcoat. The median age of the newest overcoats was almost 4 years while that of the topcoats was somewhat less than 3 years. On the West Coast, where the topcoat is so much more widely used, the average age of the overcoats owned was 51/2 years, but even in the South, where the overcoat leads in popularity, topcoats, on the average, had been bought more recently. Material in topcoats and overcoats.—Owners were asked to describe the materials of their topcoats and overcoats and spe-

TABLE 106.—Relation between age and oivnership of topcoats and/or overcoats^

16 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 64 65 years Ownership years years years years and over

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Owned topcoat only 27 41 37 22 17 Owned both topcoat and overcoat- 12 22 28 30 27 Owned overcoat only 16 15 21 35 43 Owned neither 45 22 14 13 13 Total 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 108 332 524 468 166

^ Five men whose age was not ascertained are omitted from this table. o

!Z5 O TABLE 107.— -Year last topcoat or overcoat was bought >

Topcoat owners Overcoat owners O

Year bought Cd United West other United West other States Coast South States States Coast South States tr-

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent 1944 or earlier 25 31 24 24 39 50 34 39 1945 to 1947 42 41 39 43 39 33 41 39 1948 to 1949 31 25 32 32 18 8 17 19 Didn't know year bought 1 1 0) 1 3 2 1 Not ascertained 2 2 4 1 3 6 6 2 Ö Total - 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 M Number of cases 919 350 329 684 833 191 362 614 Median age of newest garment ^33 ^39 230 233 246 243 245 o > ^ Less than 1 percent. W 2 Months. a ' More than 54 months. d MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 91 cifically asked about the finish. Their replies, as shown in table 108, should be interpreted with the usual reservations as to accuracy of their knowledge of materials. The majority of topcoat owners said theirs were made of hard-finished materials, while the majority of the owners of overcoats said they were soft-finished materials. Gabardine was the only specific name of a fabric that was mentioned by any appreciable number of men in describing their topcoats.

TABLE 108.—Weave or finish of newest topcoat and/or overcoat

Owners of Owners of topcoats overcoats Weave or finish United States United States

Per cent Percent Hard-finished materials 57 1 9f; Gabardine 30 3 Hard finish ^ 18 21 Covert 9 1 Soft-finished materials 35 67 Soft finish 2 28 '~"6T~~ Tweed 7 6 Other nonclassifiable weaves and finishes. 2 2 Material not known 1 I Material not ascertained 5 5 Total 100 100 Number of cases 919 833

includes respondent designation of "hard finish," "drill," "broadcloth." "twill," "sharkskin," "serge," etc. 2 Includes respondent designation of "soft finish," "camel's hair," "melton," "fleece," "alpagora," "chinchilla," etc.

TABLE 109.—Relation between year last topcoat or overcoat was bought and its price

Men who had bought their Men who had bought their newest topcoat in : i newest overcoat in : i Price paid 1944 or 1945 to 1948 to 1944 or 1945 to 1948 to earlier 1947 1949 earlier 1947 1949

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent $30 and less 34 16 18 37 18 15 $31 to $40 31 35 30 23 25 18 $41 to $50 15 27 23 16 22 28 $51 to $60 9 19 4 11 12 $61 and over 5 in I ir; 9 16 24 Price not known, not ascertained 6 4 2 11 8 3 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Number of cases 227 387 283 319 325 151 Median price paid $34.90 $39.90 $40.90 $33.60 $41.90 $46.40

^ Twenty-two topcoat owners and 38 overcoat owners who did not report «le year when their newest coats were bought are omitted from this table. 92 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE Price paid for newest topcoats and overcoats.—The median price of $34.90 reported paid by owners of topcoats who had bought their newest one in 1944 or earlier was shghtly higher than that reported by owners of overcoats who had bought their last one during the same period (table 109). Those who bought topcoats in 1948 or 1949 said they paid a median price of $40.90 compared with a median of $46.40 reported paid by overcoat buyers during those years. Topcoats with detachable linings.—At the time the interviewing was done, 18 percent of the topcoat owners reported that they had one or more topcoats with zip- or button-in linings (table 110).

TABLE 110.—Ownership of topcoats with or without zipr- or button-in linings

Ownership Owners of topcoats

Percent Owned topcoat(s), with zip- or button-in lining 18 Owned no topcoat(s) with zip- or button-in lining 81 Number and/or tvne not ascertained 1 Total 100 Number of cases 918 MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 93

APPENDIX I

ANALYSIS OF VALUES METHOD The content analysis of values proposed for this study made unusual demands upon the interviewers and necessitated the use of sophisticated coders and an extremely long training period for them. Each interviev^er was provided with a detailed manual of instructions which included the general objectives of the study, a brief discussion of the plans of analysis and explanations of the objectives of each question with suggestions and illustrations for handhng. In addition, the Field Staff of the Division conducted special training sessions for many of the interviewers. Each then made two practice interviews which were criticized by the analysis staff and returned, and took an objective test on the handling of the schedule before they began the actual interviewing. The training of the coders was simultaneous with the process of establishing and defining the categories. Both of them assisted in the survey of the literature on value analysis and contributed to the clarification of the definitions through a series of trial applications to randomly selected interviews. The unit of classifying interview material was any meaningful statement—a word, phrase, sentence or group of sentences—that indicated the respondent wished to attain certain values or certain garment characteristics. They were always classified in terms of probable meaning, rather than in terms of words without reference to the context. Coders were trained to rely on their total impressions of personalities gained from reading whole interviews to interpret the meaning of any particular statement. Higher reliability among coders was obtained by using this method to classify value statements than before they were trained to use clues from the whole interview. Whenever possible, values were related to the means by which they were to be at- tained. The following symbols were used in coding : comfort—C ; pleasure—P ; economy—E ; social approval—S ; recognition—R ; color—col; style—st; material—mat; fit—fit. For example, the statement, "I wanted a brown suit because it looks good with my red hair," would be coded P-col. Each value statement was identified and the classification indicated as follows : Q. What first made you think of buying this suit? S-col "I just got it a short while ago. [I needed a blue suit to wear to a E-col wedding.] [Of course, I could use it later too.] S-col [I really wanted to get a lighter color suit but I thought I should E-col wear a dark suit to the wedding.] [I don't like black and I will wear blue. I'll use it much next winter."] Q. Now, when you started thinking about getting this suit, you probably had some ideas about what sort of suit you wanted. Just what were your ideas? S-col ["I said blue. (Else?)] P-st [I wanted a double-breasted suit. (Why?) I'm sort of stout. P-st I'd look thinner;] [Single breasted are for skinny fellows, now me—my belly would stick out in a single-breasted suit.] (Else?) 0-col [Only bad thing about blue is it picks up all the dirt. You are 94 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

0-col forever brushing it.] [I wanted a little white stripe in it to break up the blue so it wouldn't show how it picks up all the dirt.] E-col [Blue takes lots of cleaning; costs more to keep it looking nice."] Value and means scores were calculated upon the base of the total number of each. Since this method of analysis was being applied for the first time to interview data, it was felt that the results should be statistically tested. An analysis of variance^ was made on a selected group of interviews to determine what portions of the variance in value scores were due to the interviewers, the coders, and to the respondents themselves. For this test it was necessary to use one sample point in which there were a number of interviewers, all of whom had taken interviews from respondents of varied social and economic back- grounds. Fifty-six interviews made by five interviewers in New York City and coded by two coders were used for the analysis. The results are shown in table 111.

TABLE 111.—Analysis of variance of value scores due to respondents, intervietvers, and coders based upon 56 interviewers taken in New York City

Variance Variance Variance Value due to due to due to respondents interviewers coders

Comfort 114.99 1.97 13.26 Orderliness 93.44 .00 .31 Economy 108.97 3.45 .00 Pleasure 167.01 7.41 .00 Social approval 198.28 .00 .00 Recognition 75.01 4.89 .00

The variance attributable to the interviewers and the coders is so low in comparison with the respondent variance that it can be disregarded. This indicates that the differences found in the values of individuals and groups represent actual differences among people. The training of interviewers and coders was apparently highly successful in producing uniform treatment of responses. It was impossible to make this test upon all the interviews used in the value analysis because differences among interviewers in different types of communities might depend on the kinds of respondents they were assigned, rather than on differences in treatment. However, the test of New York interviews suggests that the results of this value analysis are reliable and that the method can be applied to interview material.

' Formulae for this analysis were derived by Stephen Stock of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and their application supervised by him and Joseph Hockstim, also of that Bureau. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 95

METHOD OF PAIRED COMPARISONS The method of paired comparisons is a technique providing an experimental design and statistical procedures by which preference scale values for a series of items can be calculated. The superiority of a scale over a more simple ranking by a specified criterion is that it tells not only the order of preference of the items, but how much more or less preferred one is than another. In applying this method to an investigation of men's preferences for suitings made of different grades of wool there were a number of problems, the basic one being that the method assumes that there is only one variable. To attain this it would have been necessary to have swatches of identical weave, color, weight, etc., which were made of wools of varying grades—for example, a series of gabardines which differed only in the grade of wool used in their construction. Such materials were not available and the time and cost of having them specially woven would have been prohibitive. In spite of this difficulty, it was felt that it would be useful to apply the method experimentally, making every possible effort to equate as many of the variables as possible in a selected group of suitings of different weaves and grades of wool. Finish, pattern or weave, and grade of wool were the most important unequated variables. It was recognized that it might be difficult for many men to make realistic judgments of materials from small swatches, but it was essential that samples of the materials, not just names of weaves, be used as the basis for selection. The materials selected were as nearly the same color as possible—a medium gray —but the differences in weaves unavoidably introduced some variation in shading. They varied in weight from 7.6 to 9.0 ounces per square yard. A cheviot, a flannel, a worsted sharkskin, and a gabardine were selected to represent the materials made of the finer grade wools and a tweed, an imitation sharkskin, and a twist for the coarser grades (figs. 1-2, p. 55). Interviewers were instructed to give the names of the weaves only after the choices had been made if they were questioned and to give no indication at all that the grade of wool was varied. The length of the interview indicated that it would be inad- visable to attempt to use all these materials in one series of comparisons, so the materials of the finer and coarser grade wools were placed on different cards, (labeled A and B respectively) and separate comparisons were procured. To learn the over-all preference swatches chosen most often on each card were then compared. This latter preference is not scaled. Production of suitings of three-eighths and one-quarter blood wools was so low that considerable difficulty was encountered in locating sufficient yardage of these suitings that would be acceptable so far as color was concerned. It was necessary, in fact, to accept two variations of the imitation sharkskin. They were identical in weight and color, but one had a simple twill weave and the other a herringbone twill. The former is hereafter 96 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64. U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE referred to as "plain" and the latter "striped" imitation sharkskin. The unavoidable use of the two types of imitation sharkskin resulted in the use of two cards of the coarser grade wool suitings and necessitated the randomization of their distribution so that unbiased groups of respondents would be shown each form. Card B-1 included the "plain" sample and B-2 the "striped." These cards were distributed to equal numbers of interviewers in sample points where there were even numbers of interviewers. Sample points in which there were odd numbers of interviewers were matched according to socio-economic variables and the two cards distributed at random. No interviewer had both forms. This method of distribution did not produce equal numbers of suit owners who made their comparisons with the plain or striped imitation sharkskins. The weighted totals of those who used the plain and the striped were 613 and 818, respectively. On the West Coast the proportions seeing them were approximately equal, but more men used the striped in the other two regions. In spite of these numerical differences when the regional totals were combined to represent the country as a whole, it was found that the chances were 95 in 100 that the two sub-samples were drawn from the same population (Chi-square = 5.93427 with 2 degrees of freedom), so the distribution is acceptable. The only significant differences found in an examination of the relative preference scores by the standard variables was between age groups. The age distributions of the men who used the plain and striped swatches were tested and it was found that they, too, were satisfactory (Chi-square = 5.0254 with 4 degrees of freedom). The materials were cut into 2x6 inch swatches and stapled to lightweight manila cards. The complications of control of randomization of the order in which the samples would be placed on the cards in the short time available, made this careful design unfeasible. The order of the swatches was, therefore, the same on all cards. Since all of the swatches to be compared were presented simultaneously, it was felt that any bias due to the sequence of comparisons would be at a minimum. A check-off table was provided in the schedule so each choice could be quickly and clearly indicated by the interviewers. Very few men failed to make the choices in any comparison. Statistical analysis of the data consisted in tabulating the number of times each sample was chosen as the preferred one and computing relative preference scores (p) for each swatch by the following formula.^ _ P ^ - (n—l)N where P = preference score or number of times the sample was chosen as the preferred one ; n = the number of items in the com-

^ For further details of this method see WOODWORTH, ROBERT S., EXPERI- MENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. Henry Holt and Co., 1938, p. 378-381. MEN'S PREFERENCES AMONG SELECTED WOOL ITEMS 97 parisons ; and N = the number of individuals making" the choices. This model was set up by Woodworth for one individual and was adapted to give the average for all individuals. A test comparison of this method with the more complex method explained in Guil- ford's "Psychometric Methods" resulted in the same scale positions for the various swatches. CO CX)

TABLE 112.—Analysis of suitings for tveight, thread count, weave, and yarn size^ *^ striped Plain o Characteristic Cheviot Flannel Worsted Gabardine 5Ö sharkskin Tweed imitation Twist imitation sharkskin sharkskin > Yarn ply : O Warp 2 Singles 2 2 Singles 2 2 2 Cd Filling 2 Singles 2 2 Singles Singles 2 Singles Threads per inch : Warp 43 53 70 114 30 62 33 63 w Filling 37 42 63 65 16 59 28 58 Weight, ounces per square yard 8.4 7.9 8.7 7.6 9.0 7.6 8.4 7.5 Weave Herring- 2/2 2/2 2/2 Plain Herring- Plain 2/2 bone Twill Twill Twill bone Twill twill twill Worsted equivalent count (ap prox) :^ o w Warp 9.7 14 17 25 8.5 16 7.8 16 Filling 10.0 14 17 26 3.2 20 7.6 18 Color yarn : O Warp White Blended White; Solid White White; White; White; solid solid solid solid > Filling O Blended Blended Blended Solid Solid Blended White; Blended 2 solid o d r 1 Made by Testing and Specifications Section, Organic and Fibrous Materials Division, U. S. Bureau of Standards. ^ The calculated yarn count includes an allowance for contraction in weaving. td ^ Exclusive of decorative yarn. TABLE 113.—Analysis of yarn to determine the grade of wool in suitings^ w Average for fabric !^ Direction w of Mean standard Fabric yarn diameter deviation hj Mean Standard Spinning U. S. Grade W diameter deviation count (American system) W w Micron» Micron H to Micronn Micron» w Cheviot Weft 22.10 4.45 23.87 4.10 62's V2 Blood ¿! Warp 25.85 3.75 o w Flannel Weft 24.45 4.10 24.10 4.85 60's V2 Blood Warp 23.75 5.60 > Worsted sharkskin Weft 24.70 5.15 24.40 4.50 60's 1/2 Blood O Warp 24.10 3.85 íz¡ Gabardine Weft 21.20 5.85 21.75 5.27 64's Fine o Warp 22.30 4.70 w Tweed Weft 30.55 9.25 29.32 8.47 50's % and 1/4 Blood w Warp 28.10 7.70 n Striped imitation sharkskin Weft 28.30 6.60 27.12 6.25 56's % Blood w Warp 25.95 5.90 Ö Twist Weft 26.80 6.20 27.20 5.92 56's % Blood :^ Warp 27.60 5.65 O Plain imitation sharkskin .. Weft 27.90 5.30 27.52 5.82 56's % Blood O Warp 27.15 6.35 f W ^ Made in U. S. Department of Agriculture, Wool Standards Laboratory, Wool Division, Livestock Branch, Production and Marketing Administration.

CO 100 INFORMATION BULLETIN 64, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE

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FIGURE 6.—Photomicrographs illustrating the different grades of wool in the swatches used in the comparisons. A. 64's or fine wool C. 56's or %-blood wool B. 60's or l^-blood wool D. öQ's or l^-blood wool ^U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1951-954230