Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2013 Exploring consumers' fit perceptions and satisfaction with apparel fit in general Eonyou Shin Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Shin, Eonyou, "Exploring consumers' fit perceptions and satisfaction with apparel fit in eg neral" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 13184. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/13184 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exploring consumers’ fit perceptions and satisfaction with apparel fit in general by Eonyou Shin A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Apparel, Merchandising, and Design Program of Study Committee: Mary Lynn Damhorst, Major Professor Young-A Lee Frederick Lorenz Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2013 Copyright © Eonyou Shin, 2013. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Purpose .................................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................6 Overview ........................................................................................................................6 The Concept of Apparel Fit ...........................................................................................6 Apparel Fit from Designer-Mediated Perspectives: Fit Test and Analysis .............7 Apparel Fit from Consumers’ Perspectives: Fit Preference and Concerns with Fit and Size of Garments ........................................................................................10 Comfort and Fit of Clothing ..................................................................................13 Apparel Fit Satisfaction ...............................................................................................15 Female Consumer Fit Satisfaction and the Body ...................................................16 Male Consumer Fit Satisfaction and the Body ......................................................22 Consumer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction ............................................................23 Definition of Overall Apparel Fit Satisfaction in General .....................................24 Summary and Research Questions ...............................................................................24 CHAPTER 3. METHOD ..................................................................................................31 Overview ......................................................................................................................31 Sample. .........................................................................................................................32 Quantitative Phase: Paper-Based Survey .....................................................................32 Instruments .............................................................................................................33 Qualitative Phase: Focus Group Interviews .................................................................34 Data Collection Procedure ...........................................................................................36 Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................37 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS ...................................................................................................39 Overview ......................................................................................................................39 Participants ...................................................................................................................39 Research Objective 1: Overall Apparel Fit Satisfaction ..............................................42 Research Objectives 2 and 3: Consumers’ Perceptions of Apparel Fit and Other Factors that Affect Consumers’ Fit Satisfaction ..........................................................43 Fit Perceptions from Consumers’ Perspectives .....................................................45 Other Factors that Affect Fit Satisfaction ..............................................................63 Strategies for Achieving Good Fit .........................................................................69 iii Research Objective 4: Consequence of Ill-fitting Clothing .........................................73 Research Objective 5: Gender Comparison on Fit Perceptions, Attitudes, and Overall Satisfaction with Fit in General ......................................................................77 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ........................................................79 Overview ......................................................................................................................79 Research Objective 1: Overall Fit Satisfaction In General ..........................................80 Research Objective 2 and 3: Consumer Perceptions of Fit and Other Factors that Affect Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction with Fit ................................................81 Perceptions of Fit ...................................................................................................81 Other Factors that Affect Fit Satisfaction ..............................................................88 Strategies for Achieving Good Fit .........................................................................90 Research Objective 4: Consequences of Ill-fitting Clothing .......................................91 Research Objective 5: Gender Comparison of Fit Perceptions, Attitudes, and Overall Satisfaction with Fit in general .......................................................................92 Fit Perceptions and Attitudes .................................................................................92 Overall Fit Satisfaction in General ........................................................................93 Implications ..................................................................................................................93 Strengths, Limitations, and Future Research ...............................................................96 APPENDIX A: IRB HUMAN SUBJECT REVIEW ........................................................99 APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORM .................................................................................126 APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE (QUANTITATIVE PHASE) .................................130 APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (QUALITATIVE PHASE) ......................131 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................132 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1. Descriptive Statistics of Sample Characteristics ..............................................41 Table 4.2. Descriptive Statistics of Students’ Status and Class Levels .............................41 Table 4.3. Frequency of Ratings of Participants’ Fit Satisfaction in General ...................42 Table 4.4. Results of Independent t-test for Mean Scores of Overall Fit Satisfaction for Males and Females ......................................................................................43 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 5-1. Proposed conceptual model for fit perceptions from consumer perspective……………………………………………………………………….............82 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank God for giving me wisdom and for being my strength and guide in writing of this thesis. I would like to express my deepest and sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Damhorst, for her constant and invaluable guidance during my master’s program. I also want to express my appreciation for her insightful advice and her devotion of time and energy for my thesis on my thesis. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Lee and Dr. Lorenz, for their helpful suggestions and encouragement to improve my thesis. In addition, I would also like to thank the Korea Textile Development Institute and the department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Managements at Iowa State University for their financial support through scholarships and assistantships during my master’s program. Finally, thanks to my parents for their encouragement and prays and to my fiancé for his hours of patience, respect and love. vii ABSTRACT The purposes of this study were: (1) to develop an understanding