Toward a Definition of Freedom in Dress

Abstract

Much clothing research examines conformity in dress as if the antithesis, freedom in dress, were possible. While conforming behavior has been documented, no research on social interaction has shown that a continuum occurs from conformity through varying degrees of conformity ‐freedom to complete freedom in dress; before freedom in dress can be measured it must first be defined.When definitions of freedom from various disciplines are applied to dress, it is difficult to derive testable hypotheses from the resulting concepts. All concepts of freedom state that freedom is relative, that it involves some degree of individual control over choice or the decisionmaking process, plus a feeling of self‐satisfaction or reward. It is in the area of satisfaction, involving a nebulous state of mind, that testing becomes truly difficult. For purposes of research, three hypotheses concerning freedom in dress are presented.