An Exploratory Study: Gen Y Males and Their Attitudes toward Fashion

ABSTRACTMuch has been written about the importance of fashion from a female perspective. Apeagyei (2011) indicates that research on males and fashion has been very limited in academic literature. Otnes and McGrath (2001, p. 112) state, Put simply, men are all but absent in studies of shopping behavior. The purpose of this study is to help fill this gap. In a survey of 95 Gen Y male shoppers it was found that there are a large percentage of males who do care about their appearance and place a high level of importance on fashion clothing.INTRODUCTIONMuch has been written about the importance of fashion from a female perspective. Indeed, fashion seems to be considered the private domain of females that few males ever enter. Indeed, while Apeagyei (2001) indicates that research on males and fashion have been very limited in academic literature, Otnes and McGrath (2001, p. 112) state, Put simply, men are all but absent in studies of shopping behavior. Some suggest that if males purchase their own clothing, they are interested only in comfort and care very little about appearance. For example, Cox and Dittmar (1995) suggest that while women use an other oriented approach to shopping and therefore purchase clothing for the purpose of gaining the approval of their peers , men tend to focus primarily on the functional benefits of clothing such as warmth and durability. Frith and Gleeson (2004) present literature indicating men are less interested in clothing, spend less money on clothing, and are less involved in shopping for clothing than are women. The result of this view has been that very little empirical research has focused on the importance of fashion from a male perspective.This rather mundane view of clothing, from the male perspective, may erroneously lead retailers to conclude that, while females may well play a more significant role than males in fashion diffusion (Beaudoin et al., 2003), there is little need to focus on the male clothing shopper as he has no real interest in fashion or fashion clothing. Apeagyei (2011) indicates that while men; in general, do not take as much interest in keeping up with fashion trends as do women, men's interest in fashion and shopping for fashion clothing is on the rise. Apeagyei farther suggests that male shopping behavior is beginning to mirror or emulate the shopping behavior of women. If in fact men are becoming more aware of, and interested in, fashion and fashion clothing, it would clearly be in the retailer's best interest to understand why this change is occurring and what men are looking for in the area of fashion.The purpose of this study is to provide empirical data on the Gen Y male's perceptions of the importance of fashion. This will be accomplished by examining men's attitudes toward social interaction, fashion in general, attitudes towards fashion and the approval of others, and their views of the significance of fashion clothing.LITERATUREMany previous studies of male shopping behavior have described the shopping habits of men as primarily utilitarian (Workman and Studak, 2005), interested only in the functional aspect of clothing (Cox and Dittmar, 1995), and indicate that men spend less money on clothing and are generally less interested in fashion than are women (Frith and Gleeson, 2004). While this may have been true in the past, and may still be the case among certain groups of men, there is an indication that these attitudes are beginning to change and that this change may be particularly true among Gen Y male consumers.It is important to understand that Gen Y consumers, those bom between 1977 and 2002, tend to be rather idealistic, socially aware, voice their opinions, and dress as they please but still seek the approval of their social group (Wolburg and Pokrywczynski (2001). Dias (2003) also concluded that Gen Y consumers wish to exhibit a personal style while conforming to the norm of what is expected in a particular social setting. …