Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles (한국의류학회지)

The Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles (한국의류학회)
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Does Economy Dictate Hemline Move? -Verification of the Hemline Theory-

경제와 헴라인의 상관관계 -헴라인 이론의 검증-

  • Ahn, Insook (Dept. of Fashion Design, Chung-Ang University)
  • 안인숙 (중앙대학교 예술대학 디자인학부 패션디자인 전공)
  • Received : 2015.05.21
  • Accepted : 2015.08.26
  • Published : 2015.10.31
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Abstract

This study investigates if the relationships between hemline and macro-economic factors (rGDP, recession, and unemployment) are still applicable as well as analyzes time lags that reflect economic factors on the hemline index using U.S. data. The hemline theory and fashion cyclical theory were applied to propose the relationships studied. The data for the hemline measurements of women's day-wear were obtained from US Vogue spring and fall editions from 1950 to 2014. Data were standardized by dividing the length from shoulder to hemline by the length from the shoulder to ankle. I aggregated 2260 samples and hemline data to create a yearly average. This study used OLS of Stata 13 program to explore the relationship between macro-economic factors and hemline. The main findings were the recession and unemployment influenced hemline length for four years in a positive direction. Furthermore, the effects of previous recession and unemployment on the current hemline were very close to the significant level respectively. This finding supports the hemline theory in that a recessionary economy is related to longer hemlines and hemlines become shorter in flourishing economic periods.

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References

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