The Helmholtz illusion: Women’s perceptions of horizontal and vertical stripes in dress

Abstract

The aim of this study is twofold: first to test the application of the Helmholtz Illusion’s to dress by examining the viewer and wearer’s perceptions of wearing both vertical and horizontal stripes, and second to examine how optical illusion textile print aids the wearer in moving from their actual self toward their ideal self. Theoretically grounded in the self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987), the current study examined the Helmholtz Illusion. This optical illusion was created by Hermann von Helmholtz (1867) and appears as two squares consisting of 7 evenly sized and spaced lines.