Tall women's satisfaction with the fit and style of tall women's clothing

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess tall women's satisfaction with the fit and style of apparel for tall women.Design/methodology/approachA total of 75 US women, who were at least 5 feet 8 inches and between 18 and 54 years old, were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with misses‐size and tall‐size apparel, in general, and with seven garment categories (jackets/blazers/coats, button‐up blouses, pullover tops/sweaters, skirts, jeans, pants, lingerie).FindingsT‐tests revealed that participants were more satisfied with the fit of tall‐size apparel than with the fit of misses‐size apparel, but were more satisfied with the style of misses‐size than with the style of tall‐size apparel. In addition, participants most frequently used the misses‐size designation to purchase clothing and rated style as more important than fit. Despite reported dissatisfaction with the fit of misses‐size apparel, participants appeared willing to sacrifice fit to have the desired styles.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was limited to US women in Southwestern Virginia. Thus preferences affected by regional product offerings may be reflected in the responses.Practical implicationsThe paper provides discussion on implications of mass customization in resolving the conflict tall women report between the desire for properly fitting apparel and the desire for current style trends.Originality/valueNo existing empirical research has examined tall women's satisfaction with products specifically designed for their special anthropometric and style preference needs. This research serves as the foundation for extending research for the market segment from an applied and basic research approach.