Abstract
The purpose of this study is to find out the wearing conditions and cause of discomfort with shoes for male college students which will provide useful information fur the shoes manufacturer. The questionnaire survey was conducted on 346 male college students on purchasing practices, wearing conditions, and overall satisfaction with shoes. The results were as follows: Male college students have a tendency to have longer buying cycles and buy more expensive shoes compare to high school students. The order of criteria considered fer purchasing was shape, price, style coordination with clothing. The order of criteria considered for purchasing differed according to their major, economic status and purchasing place. Most of them have two pairs of white or black sports shoes and one pair of either black or brown dress shoes. The most popular material was man made leather but college students have more leather shoes than high school students. There were differences between high school students and college students in wearing conditions, how many they have, material and color. The varieties of shoes differed by season. They were satisfied with their shoes' design and color but unsatisfied with qualify or the material and durability of the shoes. Due to the pressure of the shoes, they experienced discomfort such as numbness, blisters on the feet and red skin. They experienced discomfort on the soles of the feet. The causes of discomfort were shape, width, hight of the heel, material and length in order. Dress shoes cause more discomfort than sport shoes due to the hardness of material, and flexibility of the sole. Since the material differed by the price, the degree of discomfort significantly differed by price too.
