DRESS-RELATED ATTITUDES OF EMPLOYED WOMEN DIFFERING IN FEMINIST ORIENTATION AND WORK STATUS: EMPHASIS ON CAREER APPAREL (CLOTHING, ATTRIBUTION, SYMBOLIC INTERACTION)

The purpose of the study was to investigate selected attitudes toward dress and career-related apparel of employed women differing in feminist orientation and work status. A synthesis of symbolic interaction and cognitive attribution theories provided a contextual framework to examine the interrelationship between individual and social processes in the assignment of meanings associated with dress. An ex post facto research design was used to test hypothesized relationships between the eight dependent clothing attitude variables and the independent variables of feminist orientation, work status, and interaction between feminist orientation and work status. A random sample of 1000 panelists was drawn from a national consumer mail panel to represent women between the ages of 25 and 45, employed full-time in either professional, managerial/administrative, or clerical occupations. Data were collected with a mailed questionnaire composed of an Attitude Toward Dress Survey developed by the researcher, a Feminist Orientation Measure (Smith and Self, 1918), and a Demographic Inventory. The Treiman (1977) Occupational Prestige Scale was used to assign scores to self-reported occupations to determine work status. Multiple regression analysis of data from 707 useable returns revealed a significant relationship between feminist orientation and six of the eight clothing attitudes: Conformity, Fashion, Political, Freedom/Comfort, Equality, and Success/Achievement. Those attitudes not found to be significantly related were Economy and Social/Concern for Appearance. Whereas no significant relationship was found between work status and the clothing attitudes, significant interaction between feminist orientation and work status was found on the attitudes of Social/Concern for Appearance, Political, and Freedom/Comfort.; Findings suggest that feminist philosophy and employment situation are intimately associated. Rather than rejecting societal definitions of career appearance, feminists may be using such definitions to increase their social, political, and economic power. Results also support a contextual approach to the study of dress and suggest that explanations of clothing-related behavior are more complex than can be determined by analyzing selected situational and dispositional factors in isolation from each other. Evidence is provided to support the salience of working within a multidimensional framework when investigating the social/psychological aspects of dress.