Fashion and frequency of purchase: womenswear consumption in Britain, 1961‐2001

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to model the relationships between women's outerwear consumption, frequency of purchase and consumer profiles, and to analyse historical changes in particular, using repeated cross‐sectional data on household expenditure.Design/methodology/approachA sample of over 20,000 female spenders, aged between 16 and 54 were extracted from UK Family Expenditure Survey (FES). Tobit model, “two‐part” model and pseudo‐panel model were used to estimate consumer demand for women's outerwear, taking infrequency of purchase into account.FindingsThe importance of “fashion” in clothing consumption has risen by two‐fold since the 1960s, measured by purchase probability. Clothing have transformed from durable goods to consumables. Youth, class and women's employment are found to be significantly related to fashion consumption, controlling for the rise in income.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are limited to UK female consumers and to the demographic data that are available from FES. The effects of occasions, serendipity, emotions and weather remain to be assessed in future research.Originality/valueThis paper provides a unique measurement of “fashion” for a comparative social science research across time and space. It promotes the usefulness of the perspective of fashion as a powerful critique against the rationality assumption of neoclassical economics with complementary evidence.

How cosmopolitan are Indian consumers?: a study on fashion clothing involvement

“…Age, marital status, and gender had no influence on Indian consumers fashion clothing involvement. The findings are differ from earlier researches which suggest that fashion clothing involvement varies across age groups (Fairhurst et al, 1989;Auty and Elliott, 1998;Banister and Hogg, 2004;Majima, 2008;Handa and Khare, 2013) and younger age groups are likely to be more fashion conscious. However, results indicate no difference across age groups.…”

“…Norms have a value expressive function (Bearden et al, 1989) and help in managing identity in socio-cultural setting. Individuals use fashion apparels to communicate their social affiliations and cultural values (Schofield and Schmidt, 2005;Majima, 2008). In the third model, type of city was introduced.…”

“…It improved their self-esteem and bolstered their confidence in themselves. Majima (2008) found that consumers' involvement with fashion clothing has been growing. It was positively related to youth, increase in employment of women, and social class.…”

Antecedents to fashion clothing involvement: role of global self-identity, cosmopolitanism, and normative influence

“…Researchers have discussed the roles of age and gender in fashion clothing involvement (Auty & Elliott, 1998;Banister & Hogg, 2004;Bye & McKinney, 2007;Greco, 1986;Kozar and Damhorst, 2008;Michaelidou & Dibb, 2006;Majima, 2008;Thomas & Peters, 2009). Older women were found to be involved in fashion clothing purchases, and use of fashion apparel had a positive impact on their self-esteem and behavior.…”

“…Global values and culture are likely to influence consumers' involvement with and choice of fashion clothing. Research suggests that clothing is an integral part of individuals' personality and self-concept (Auty & Elliott, 1998;Banister & Hogg, 2004;Majima, 2008;Piamphongsant & Mandhachitara, 2008). It helps in self-construal and identification with relevant social groups and values.…”