A Comparative Study on the Clothing Wearing Conditions and Fit for Middle-aged women in their 40s and 50s

40대와 50대 중년 여성의 의복 착용 실태 및 맞음새 비교 연구

The purpose of this study is to analyze the general status of wearing clothes and clothing purchase of middle-aged women in the 40's to 50's, the patterns and colors of clothes they prefer, clothing preference related with fitting or such, and also complaints. And this paper also divides the middle-aged women into those in the 40's and 50's to analyze how they differ in terms of the apparel brands and fitting they prefer and also the status of wearing clothes. For the research, a survey was performed to 350 women, and the survey data went through x2 and t-test analysis by using SPSS 20.0 to examine significant difference. The results of this study are as follows: the women in the 40's included as the subjects showed a high frequency of clothing purchase from casual brands or SPA brands and regarded design to be important at the clothing purchase. Meanwhile, the women in the 50's indicated a higher frequency of clothing purchase of middle-aged women's apparel brands, outdoor brands, madam clothes, or designer brands and thought activity to be crucial at the clothing purchase. As the women in the 40's and 50's showed difference in the brands they preferred, particularly the fitting indicated difference in terms of dissatisfaction. While those in the 40's preferring and buying young casual showed particularly more fitting problems in the arm-hole girth, upper arm circumference, bust size, and thigh or hip area, those in the 50's indicated fitting problems in the hip circumference or waist measurement. It is expected that this study will be used as foundational data to set up the target age by related apparel companies or develop clothes with great size fitting and design satisfaction.