Comparison of Clothing Behavior and Preference of Elderly Women Aged over 70 Years in Korea and the U.S.A

한국과 미국의 70세 이상 노인여성의 의복행동과 선호도 비교

This research was conducted to provide basic data for the formulation of marketing strategies suitable to the increasingly globalizing clothing market for the elderly in the fashion industry, by comparing the clothing behavior and preferences of elderly women aged over 70 years in Korea with those of women in the U.S. The 106 questionnaire responses that were collected in the U.S. and the 235 responses that were collected in Korea were used for the analysis, The major objectives of this study were as follow; 1. It was found that the elderly women of Korea utilize mostly human information as information source when purchasing clothing, whereas women of U.S. utilize mostly media information. Comfort was found to be most important factor both countries, but the Korean women considered the aesthetic aspect of clothing more important than did American women. 2. The clothing preference of Korean elderly women aged over 70 years was concentrated in young and feminine images regardless of items, so it could be seen that they had strong desire for looking young. But American elderly women showed different preference depending on items, so it could be seen that they pursue diverse images depending on clothing items and personality without concentrating in one image. The comparison of the preference style by item of elderly women over 70 years of age between Korea and the U,S. showed significant difference. Accordingly, the designs of the clothes of the Korean and American women should be differentiated and developed according to the clothes item and country.