Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate current garment sizes of women's formal jackets, targeting plus-size women in online shopping malls, and to identify effective size information involved in online apparel purchase behaviors to overcome the short comings of current garment sizes from the perspectives of consumers. Basic 88 size formal jackets from the seven companies found on the 22 websites were collected and analyzed. The data were collected from March to October 2007, and analyzed using SPSS 14.0. The results were summarized as follows. First, there was no website using standard garment size labeling with 'bust-hip-height' set up by KS K 0051 among the 22 websites. Instead, all 22 websites used garment size labeling with figures such as 88, 99, 100, 110, and 120 or with letters such as L, XL, and XXL. The websites presented no body size, but listed garment size. Furthermore, the size information was presented differently, ranging from three items of bust circumference, upper arm length, and jacket length to six items of shoulder width, bust circumference, waist circumference, sleeve width, sleeve length, and jacket length. In addition, no website presented basic information for hip circumference, despite the jacket length covering the hips. Second, a total of 85.7% the websites listed bust circumferences in 88 garment sizes collected as 100cm. Shoulder widths were presented as 39cm or 37cm. Sleeve circumferences were addressed the same, 36cm, in all websites. Third, comparing the differences between guidance sizes and measurement sizes, only 28.5% of the web sites posted guidance sizes of shoulder widths the same as those of the measurement sizes. All web sites presented guidance sizes of bust circumstances as 1 to 5cm smaller than those of the measurement sizes.