Categorization of Hong Kong Modern Males with Regard to Predictors of Menswear Design Preferences in Terms of Physical and Socio-Psychological Dimensions

• Published in: The Design journal Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 667 - 689
• Main Authors: Li, Travis W., Au, Joe S., Au, Raymond W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Routledge 03.07.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Camouflage; Classification; Clusters; Comfort; Design; design preferences; Evaluation; Fashion; Grading; Males; males in Hong Kong; Mass production; Men; men's clothing design; Menswear; modern menswear; Psychology; psychology in clothing; Size; Sizing; Sociology; Studies; Hong Kong China; China
• ISSN: 1460-6925; 1756-3062
• DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2016.1186928

Proportional grading, which offers the closest fit by producing various sizes, is commonly used in sizing systems for mass production today. However, wearers' socio-psychological concerns are not taken into account during the development of the system, which may churn out ineffective fits. This study provides knowledge of menswear evaluation by taking into account men's physical and socio-psychological dimensions. This study successfully categorizes modern males according to their preferences of menswear, concerning the predictors of menswear design preferences in physical (i.e. Body Mass Index [BMI]) and psychological dimensions (i.e. menswear functions and menswear involvement). Subjects were divided into three clusters: (1) Fashion & Masculine; (2) Low-Function Value; and (3) Camouflage and Comfort; in which they were identified as having different clothing preferences as they had unique characteristics in clothing functions and levels of fashion involvement. The results suggested that modern men treat fashion in a multidimensional way that might be even more complicated than women. Not just for practical function and performance, they also dress to promote their identity, style and image based on their own concerns.