Much clothing research examines conformity in dress as if the antithesis, freedom in dress, were possible. While conforming behavior has been documented, no research on social interaction has shown that a continuum occurs from conformity through varying degrees of conformity ‐freedom to complete freedom in dress; before freedom in dress can be measured it must first be defined. When definitions of freedom from various disciplines are applied to dress, it is difficult to derive testable hypotheses from the resulting concepts. All concepts of freedom state that freedom is relative, that it involves some degree of individual control over choice or the decisionmaking process, plus a feeling of self‐satisfaction or reward. It is in the area of satisfaction, involving a nebulous state of mind, that testing becomes truly difficult. For purposes of research, three hypotheses concerning freedom in dress are presented.

The purpose of this study was to begin to identify measurable factors that are associated with a feeling of freedom in dress. Responses to a questionnaire by 71 undergraduate women at a mid western university indicated: (1) their subjective feeling of freedom in dress; (2) the extent to which socioeconomic factors restricted their choices of clothing; and (3) their levels of perception of cloth ing indicated by free association verbal responses to slides. A t‐test comparing the difference of means between those who felt more free and those who felt less free identified three social restrictions significantly associated with a feeling of freedom in dress. Those less free were much more likely to be restricted in their choices of clothing because of their roles as students, their lack of self‐confi dence in choosing their own clothing, and their dissatisfaction with previous clothing choices.

The association between various forms of a product—13 styles of western dress for women introduced into Seoul, Korea, before 1972—and the quantity adopted by 495 Korean women, grouped by age, education, and occupation, was delineated in this study. Three garments—the blouse, overcoat, and separate gathered skirt—were owned by over 80 percent of all women. Of the Korean women over 60 years of age, born in the Yi era prior to 1910, over half owned three western styles: the gathered skirt, separate blouse, and overcoat; of women 30 to 60 years of age, born during the Japanese Colonialism period (1910 to 1945), over half in addition owned the one‐piece beltless dress and the spring coat; of women 18 to 30 years of age, educated in western‐type democracy, over half owned 10 styles of dress. Age and education were significantly associated with the quantity and variety of 12 western styles owned, while occupation was significantly associated with only three styles—suits, pants or shorts, and tight skirts. Quantity plus variety of western styles owned by Korean women can be called “levels of adoption” and may be used to identify three levels of acculturation with western ideas.