Record Details
Clothing selection practices and related clothing problems of a selected group of low-income women
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Clothing selection practices and related clothing problems of a selected group of low-income women |
| Names |
Stender, Veneita Augusta
(creator) Diedesch, Marie (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1969-06-12 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1970 |
| Abstract | This thesis is a study of the clothing selection practices and related problems of a selected group of low-income women enrolled in work-training programs conducted at Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon and Southwestern Oregon Community College, Coos Bay, Oregon. Sources of clothing, sources of information influencing selection of clothing, types and numbers of outerwear obtained for the training period before and after entry into the training program, types and numbers of outerwear items owned for classroom and job-interview use and for at-home wear and clothing problems encountered are included in this study. Interviews, to determine the type and number of outerwear items considered most satisfactory for the training period, were conducted by the writer with three community college instructors and three Oregon Public Welfare Commission employees who worked directly with trainees in work-training programs. Ten types of outerwear were specified by those interviewed as the most satisfactory types of outerwear for the work-training program. These types were: all-purpose coats, tailored dresses, tailored suits, tailored blouses, street shoes, nylon hosiery, handbags, tailored skirts, cardigan sweaters, and gloves. Forty-seven women enrolled in work-training programs completed the questionnaire and met the criteria established by the writer which included having a yearly family income which ranked as lowincome when using the Orshansky income scale as a guide. These low-income women obtained clothing from 14 different sources, but 88.4 percent of the total number of outerwear items were obtained from seven clothing sources: department stores, dress shops, gifts, homemade, shoe stores, handed down, and rummage and garage sales. Some outerwear items were obtained from one or more of three sources of used clothing, handed down, thrift shops, and rummage and garage sales, by 70.2 percent of the respondents; however, all respondents obtained outerwear from sources of new clothing. The sources of information which influenced the clothing selection practices of the largest percentages of respondents were friends, magazines, television, newspapers, and teachers. Six of the ten types of outerwear designated as most satisfactory for the work-training program by the work-training personnel were obtained by a larger percentage of respondents after entering the program than before entering. Over 68 percent of the respondents owned more clothing for classroom and job-interview wear than for at-home wear, however many women did not own the ten types of outerwear designated as most satisfactory for classroom and job-interview wear by the work-training personnel. Less than half of the respondents, 44.7 percent, classified their wardrobes as satisfactory for classroom wear before they entered the training program. The clothing problems encountered by the respondents included, obtaining outerwear too casual for classroom wear reported by 87.2 percent, and obtaining outerwear too dressy for classroom wear reported by 68 percent. Certain functions were avoided by some respondents because they believed their wardrobes were unsuitable for the occasions, including social functions, employment interviews and church services. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Clothing and dress |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/46307 |
