Abstract
The study sought to examine students’ dressing styles and common attributes assigned to them. A descriptive survey design was used in this study. The study areas were the University of Nairobi, Egerton University, Moi University, Technical University of Mombasa, Maseno and Karatina Universities. Multiple sampling procedures were used to select 566 students who participated in the study. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group discussions and observation checklists. Results show that majority of respondents bought their own clothes with funds provided by the parents or guardians. The most outstanding feature that informed choice of dress was aesthetics, followed by comfort and design. Vests, bare chest tops and shorts were considered modest while high-slitted skirts, miniskirts, unbuttoned shirts, boob-tops, tumbo-cuts, skin-tight dresses and trousers and Bermuda shorts were found to be immodest. Recommendations have been made to develop guidelines on the choice of dress for students in institutions of higher learning to enhance personal grooming.
Highlights
Clothing has always been considered as a form of non-verbal and powerful means of communication (Todorovic, Cuden, Kosak and Toporisic, 2017; Tijana, Tomaz and Cuden, 2014; Grammer, Renninger, and Fisher, 2004; Ehrich, 1994; Barnes and Eicher, 1992; Storm, 1987)
Out of the 600 students requested to participate in the study, 566 (94.3%) respondents voluntarily participated in the study
A higher number of males (51.6%) than females (48.4%) filled the questionnaires (See Table 1). This can be attributed to the fact that some of the female respondents were just not interested in filling the questionnaires
Summary
Clothing has always been considered as a form of non-verbal and powerful means of communication (Todorovic, Cuden, Kosak and Toporisic, 2017; Tijana, Tomaz and Cuden, 2014; Grammer, Renninger, and Fisher, 2004; Ehrich, 1994; Barnes and Eicher, 1992; Storm, 1987). Clothing communicates about the wearer and first impressions can be heavily influenced by the messages conveyed by dress (Howlet et al, 2013). When attention is drawn to them, do people realise that they are actively analysing clothes (Rudd and Lennon, 2001; Kaiser, 1997). In Kenya Strathmore, a private university enforces a dress code that bars students from entering the campus wearing miniskirts, tight dresses, jeans and t-shirts or slippers. This is based on the motto of many business schools in the world that those seeking careers in accounting and finance have no business wearing fashions picked from the soap operas
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