| Abstract: | The major objective of the study was to test the theories of the function of dress that individuals apply to everyday practice. The study examined the extent to which Maslow's theory of motivation is relevant to male and female practice regarding the selection of daily clothes, the order of importance and the attention to clothing functions demonstrated by males and females, and the inter-relationship between the different clothing functions. The study is based on data collected from male and female students at a midwestern university in the month of April. The Friedman two-way ANOVA by ranks revealed that weather function was the single most important clothing function for males which influenced the selection of daily clothing, while social activity was the most important clothing function which influenced females. Females indicated a higher degree of consideration of each clothing function than males. These findings suggest that females tend to dress more for social reasons, are more sensitive to clothing needs and possess a greater degree of clothing awareness than males. The correlation coefficients of clothing function for males and females indicated that there was a high degree of correlation between several clothing functions. The correlation coefficients of clothing functions for females were more consistent than those for males, indicating that females consistently consider several clothing functions concurrently while males do not. This finding conforms with the theory of functions of dress which illustrates the multiple nature of motivation of clothing behaviour and the interdependent characteristics of Maslow's five basic human needs. |
