The means-end chain model provided the framework to assess how consumers evaluate clothing quality by examining the cognitive structure that exists between the evaluative criteria used to judge quality and personal values. The in-depth probing technique of laddering was used to elicit responses from 25 women. Analysis of the resulting protocols indicates that for this group of consumers, the concept of perceived clothing quality includes a number of associated concepts at various levels of abstraction. While a number of attributes were identified by the subjects, only "fabric" was consistently chosen by the women to denote quality. The underlying reasons for their choice become evident at higher levels of abstraction where other concepts of perceptions of quality emerged. In this study, consumers evaluated quality using attributes that they associated with social, psychological, economic, physiological, and aesthetic consequences. Research to assess how consumers evaluate quality should be designed to include factors other than physical attributes.
This paper presents support for an African-American aesthetic of dress that has its roots in West African culture. The objectives were to determine (a) how an African-American aesthetic of dress is currently manifested and (b) the values and attitudes relative to that aesthetic. An afrocentric methodology that employs an interpretative paradigm was used in the study. This methodology assumes a culturally centered analysis of discourse in which human actions, emotions, and attitudes are interpreted and understood within the context of the culture of the speaker and listener. Protocol resulting from in-depth interviews with 45 female and male informants was interpreted in order to obtain an understanding of an African-American aesthetic of dress. The aesthetic consists of four elements: The affinity for "high affect" colors; "style" or individual expression; improvisations and exotic features; and the tendency to dress up. These elements are supported by metaphysical beliefs congruent with the African ethos of unity and oneness.
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