Clothing and Textiles Research Journal

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Self-Esteem, Age Identification, and Media Exposure of the Elderly and their Relationship to
Fashionability
Usha Chowdhary
Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 1988; 7; 23
DOI: 10.1177/0887302X8800700105
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Self-Esteem, Age Identification, and Media

Exposure of the Elderly and their Relationship
to Fashionability
Usha

Chowdhary

Abstract
The study examined the relationship between the fashionability of the elderly (65 and older) and its correlates.
Dillmans Total Design Method approach was executed to conduct the survey. Four hundred and thirty elderly men and
women participated in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and t-tests. The
results indicated that significant differences existed between fashionability and media exposure for the female styles. No
differences were found between fashionability and age identification and self-esteem for either sex. However, the findings
did challenge some of the existing theories, which have been tested on younger populations.

Demographic reports indicate that changes are taking

place in the distribution of age groups in the population in the
United States. The elderly (those over 65) represent about
12% of the total population and are projected to be about
18% by the year 2030 (Merrill & Norris, 1986; U.S. Bureau
of Census, 1983). Eighty-five percent of the elderly live as
heads of households, 10% live with their children or other
relatives, and only 5% percent are institutionalized
(Schewe, 1983). Such a shift in the age groups and in the
changing status of the elderly raises several issues. Two
relevant to this study include the marketing of consumer
goods and the quality of life. Sontang and Schalter (1982)
provided theoretical evidence to suggest that an individuals
feelings toward self are the most important perceptions of
life quality. These researchers also emphasized that clothing
contributes to the psychological proximity of self. With
aging, appearance becomes more of a liability than an asset.
Therefore, appropriate clothing selection can improve both
appearance and self-esteem of the elderly.
The concept of the elderly as a homogeneous group of
&dquo;old-folks&dquo; with negative attributes such as being slow, sick,
poor, and less fashion conscious

consumers

has been

challenged (Martin, 1976; Neugarten, 1980; Schewe,

1983). The elderly do not necessarily have the same
chronological and psychological age. They may feel younger
or older than their actual age. Feeling younger than their age
provides them with the incentive to act and look younger
(Baum & Boxley, 1983). Clothing can help them accom-

plish this goal. Martin (1976) suggested that older women

are not an exploitable target for leftover styles. Rather, most
elderly women wish to keep up-to-date with fashion trends
(Bader, 1983; Richards, 1981; Schewe, 1983). To remain
well informed, the elderly seek fashion information from
media and interpersonal communication (Kaiser & Chandler, 1982).
Clothing is a form of nonverbal communication and helps
individuals in boosting their self-esteem (Aldredge, 1973;
Bader, 1983; Calhoun & Morse, 1977; Feather, Martin, &
Miller, 1979; Schneider, 1974). However, conflicting
viewpoints exist as to whether fashionable or classic styles
of clothing would enhance individuals cognitive and
physical selves. Therefore, this study was designed to
address the following three questions: 1) Is there a
relationship between self-esteem and fashionability? 2) Is
there a relationship between age identification and
fashionability among the elderly? 3) Is media exposure of
the elderly associated with their fashionability? In spite of
the

strong theoretical basis and usefulness of these

questions, they have not previously been examined together.

In addition to advancing theory and the knowledge base,
some practical applications from the results are possible.
Literature Review

Several researchers have focused on self-concept and selfesteem of the

Authors address: Department of Textile and Apparel Management,

University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.

Acknowledgments are to the Faculty Research Committee, Miami

University, for funding this research and to Pushp Kamal, Program
Consultant, Miami University, for helping with data analysis.

elderly (Aldredge, 1973; Brubaker, 1976;

Evans, 1978; Hunter, Linn & Harris, 1981-82; Perry &
Slemp, 1980; Puglisi, 1983; Rodins & Langer, 1980; Suls &
Mullen, 1983-84). However, contradictory viewpoints exist
as to whether self-esteem among the aged is decreased
because of loss in physical, social, and/or psychological

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1988 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

23

or fear of exploitation. Bader ( 1963) reported that

self-worth and self-respect were important needs of the
elderly and that clothing promotes the appearances of those
who live on an ego support system. She also added that style
and fit were as important to the elderly now as they were
when they were young. However, there has been no research
to suggest what kinds of styles (latest or classic) enhance an
individuals self-esteem. Adoption of the latest styles
involves risk-taking. Individuals with low self-esteem are
less likely to take risks. Thus, one may hypothesize that they
would be less likely to adopt new styles. In contrast, they
may adopt new styles in order to reflect the image of a well
known fashion model. By doing so, they will take the role of
the fashion model and hide their own poor self-esteem. For
example, elderly men with poor self-esteem may like to dress
like John Forsythe in Dynasty or Johnny Carson in NBCs
Tonight Show, and elderly women may like to use Betty
White in Golden Girls or Angela Lansbury in Murder She
Wrote as their role models. In another study (Chowdhary,
1987) the elderly identified these television performers as
some of their favorites. Therefore, it was deemed pertinent
to test empirically the concepts and clarify the relationship
between the fashionability (degree to which an individual
selects classic versus fashionable styles) and self-esteem.
Considerable research has been reported on the age
identification or perception of the elderly (Baum & Boxley,
1 y83; Keith, 1977; Linn & Hunter, 1979). Those who
perceived themselves as younger than their real age were
noted to have more positive attributes than those who
identified themselves as older. No research has been
reported on age perception of the elderly and clothing.
However, clothing researchers who have focused on
availability of clothing for elderly women (Bartley &
Warden, 1962; Hoffman & Bader, 1974; Lumpkin &
Greenberg, 1982; Newton & Tweten, 1975a; Newton &
Tweten, 1975b; Richards, 1981; Smathers & Horridge,

power

1978-79) reported that the elderly preferred to have stylish

clothing. The research reported in this paper empirically
tested the relationship between the style preference and age
perception of the elderly.
The literature on media exposure has indicated that this
exposure is an important variable in any fashion related
research. Media exposure refers to both personal and
impersonal sources of fashion information used by
individuals to learn about the latest styles (Chowdhary, in
press; Chowdhary, 1984; Turnball & Meenaghan, 1980).
It is well documented that the better-informed consumer is
more likely to choose the latest styles than is the lessinformed consumer. However, most of the past research has
focused on youth and middle-aged groups while little
research has examined elderly populations. Lumpkin and
Greenberg ( 1982) reported two conflicting views regarding
the use of fashion information sources by elderly consumers.
The first viewpoint suggested that the elderly use both mass
media and interpersonal sources of fashion information
before making clothing purchases. The second viewpoint
suggested that the elderly choose one or the other method.
Therefore, it was believed relevant to investigate empirically
the existing theoretical concepts which have been previously
24

tested
The

younger populations.
majority of fashion research has centered around a
younger population and women (Chowdhary, 1984;
Polegato & Wall, 1980; Schrank & Gilmore, 1973;
Summers, 1970). Only three articles regarding clothing for
men are known to have been published (Baumgarten, 1975;
Behal, 1977; Darden & Reynolds, 1972). It is now time to
on

extend the frontiers of fashion research to determine how

clothing choices are related to self-esteem, age identification, and media exposure among elderly men and women.
This assertion is also supported by the findings of Merrill
and Norris ( 1986), who reported that &dquo;maintaining physical
and social attractiveness&dquo; is one of the most important
competencies for the elderly individuals, and of Mertz and
Stephens (1986), who noted that a majority of the elderly
use several beauty treatments and cosmetics in the same
number or more than the young individuals. Since the study
reported here is the first known research of its kind, it was
believed relevant to restrict clothing choices to the classic
and latest styles in suits for both men and women. Other
outfits (dress shirts, pant suits, jeans, etc.) were omitted to
control the study better and to avoid complexity in the
interpretation of results. However, follow-up works could
include other outfits in order to understand these
relationships from a broader perspective than exists in the

reported study.
Based
research

the literature cited above, the following three

hypotheses were generated:
Hypothesis I: The elderly with lower self-esteem will
choose more classic styles than those
with higher self-esteem will.
Hypothesis II: The elderly with younger age perceptions are more likely to select the latest
styles than those with older age perceptions will.
Hypothesis III: The better-informed elderly will tend to
select the latest style more often than do
the less-informed elderly.
In addition, demographic characteristics of the sample

were

on

also examined.

Materials and Methods

Nine hundred and

fifty elderly (age 65 or over) men and

randomly selected from the list of voters for
Butler County; the list was obtained from the Board of
Elections Office in Hamilton, Ohio. Mail-in survey
techniques were used to collect data. The Total Design
Method (TDM) approach of Dillman (1978) was adapted to
women were

construct

and administer the mail surveys because this

methodology has been successfully used on various

populations. For the construction of the questionnaire,
Dillman (1978) suggested that a cover letter should address
the problem and stress how opinions of respondents are
important. He also recommended grouping similar questions
and providing instructions for individual as well as a grouped
set of questions. He also suggested fitting or grouping
questions for each individual measure on a separate page.

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1988 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

The majority of his recommendations were followed except

for his suggestion for formating the questionnaires in booklet
form.
The Total Design Method (Dillman, 1978) approach
suggests the use of three follow-ups (one week, three weeks,
and seven weeks after the first mailing) to improve the
response rate. Time and money constraints required that the
number of follow-ups for this study be limited to two. The
initial mailing included the questionnaire, cover letter, and a
return envelope with first class postage. Dillmans (1978)
suggestions for the folding of contents together and mailing
early in the week were followed. A post card follow-up was
mailed to all subjects one week after the initial mailing. The
intent was to thank early respondents, to inform the
nonrespondents about the importance of their participation,
and to extend an invitation to obtain a replacement questionnaire. Subjects who failed to respond to the questionnaires
within three weeks were sent a replacement questionnaire,
follow-up letter, and return envelope. As a token reward,
interested participants were promised a summary of
results.
The instrument included three established measures with
demonstrated reliability and validity and a fourth one which
was developed by the researcher. The Self-esteem measure
of Rosenberg (1965) was used for this study. Rosenbergs
measure has been tested globally with a variety of samples
including the elderly and has been reported to be reliable and
valid. Sontang and Schalter (1982) recognized that
Rosenbergs instrument of self-esteem is an appropriate
measure to use in clothing research. The Age identification
measure (Baum & Boxley, 1983) has been used in research
with the elderly and is consistent with Neugartens (1980)
concept of heterogeneity in the elderly population. The
Media exposure measure of Polegato and Wall ( 1980) was
adapted for the elderly population of both sex groups. The
adaptation included deleting &dquo;campus newspaper ads&dquo; and
&dquo;classmates,&dquo; changing &dquo;television performers&dquo; to &dquo;male
television performers&dquo; and &dquo;female television performers&dquo;
and &dquo;current movies&dquo; to &dquo;movie actors&dquo; and &dquo;movie
actresses,&dquo; and adding &dquo;prominent men&dquo; and &dquo;fashion
columns in newspapers.&dquo;
The Fashionability measure was developed by the
researcher. The measure consisted of one classic style and
one latest style for both male and female suits. The
researcher looked at the latest magazines (Gentlemens
Quarterly, Esquire, Glamour, and Seventeen) from the last
five years and selected 50 different styles which were then
reduced to four male and three female outfits. Since the
intent was to select one classic and one latest style for both
males and females, the styles which looked similar but
reflected very subtle differences were deleted. Finally, 40
retailing majors rank ordered selected outfits from classic to
the latest for both male and female outfits. The highest
ranked outfits were kept as the latest style (see Figure 1 and
Figure 2). It may be mentioned here that the classic style
was perceived as classic (for both male and female) by all
judges. Based on the findings of Buckley (1983), who
compared the perception of judges and respondents regarding attractiveness as manipulated by dress, bipolar

styles (classic and latest) were used. She recommended that

perceptions of subjects and judges are more in line with each
other when extreme levels of attractiveness are used. To
determine the fashionability of respondents, subjects were
asked to select the garment they would prefer to wear.

Figure

FEMALE OUTFITS

Figure

MALE OUTFITS

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1988 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

25

Factor analysis was executed to test the unidimensionality of the measures. Cronbachs alpha was used to test the
reliability of both developed and established measures. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the
data.

Table 1. Factors extracted from the self-esteem

measure.

Results

Of the 950 mailed questionnaires, 800 were delivered and

usable sample of 430 (54%) was obtained. The mean age
was 70.8 with a range of 65 to 91. Thirty-eight percent were
male and sixty-two percent were female. Ninety-six percent
were white, about two percent were black, and one percent
were either American Indians or Asians. Eighty-five percent
were the heads of their households, eleven percent lived with
their children or relatives and only one percent were
institutionalized. These patterns were quite consistent with
the national data except for the institutionalized elderly.
Sixty percent were married, five percent were single, five
percent were divorced or separated, and twenty-nine percent
were
widowed. The average annual income of the
a

respondents was $18,000.

Factor analysis was computed to test the unidimensionality of the measures used. Since the self-esteem measure of
Rosenberg (1965) has five positive and five negative
statements, it was deemed important to test whether
respondents saw two dimensions of the measure while
responding to the items. The same was true for the media
exposure measure which had 21 items, theoretically
representing consumer-dominated, market-dominated, and
neutral sources of fashion information. It was believed that
factor analysis would categorize those items into three
categories with more accuracy and precision for the selected

population.
The findings revealed that two factors were extracted for
the self-esteem (Table 1 ) measure: positive and negative.
Two factors explained 57.2 % of the variance. Three factors
were extracted for the Media exposure (Table 2) measure:
consumer-dominated sources (which include other people as

influentials), market-dominated sources (which include

impersonal sources of fashion information to convince
consumers), and neutral sources (which could be personal or
impersonal type but are not persuasive). Three factors
explained 49% of the total variance. Extraction of three
factors is consistent with the findings of Polegato and Wall
( 1980). However, the items for all three categories were not
exactly the same as those used by Polegato and Wall (1980).
Some of the differences were as follows. The elderly
respondents perceived &dquo;fashion shows&dquo; and &dquo;fashion
counselors&dquo; as market-dominated rather than consumerdominated sources and used &dquo;television performers&dquo; and
&dquo;male friends&dquo; as consumer-dominated sources rather than
neutral sources of information as reported by Polegato and
Wall (1980). These inconsistencies may be attributed to the
fact that the sample for the present study represented senior
citizens of both sexes from one American county. In contrast, Polegato and Wall (1980) studied college women from
Canada.
26

analysis indicated that the elderly with high selfdid not differ from the elderly with low self-esteem in
relation to their fashionability as determined by their
response to both male and female outfits. However,
respondents were found to have enjoyed fairly high selfesteem (M=32.4). The total possible points one could
receive was 40. Hypothesis I was rejected. Although no
differences existed between the elderly who selected classic
versus latest styles, some differences were found when selfesteem was tested for the male and female respondents.
Male elderly (M=0.16) received significantly higher factor
scores than female elderly (M= -0.10) for the positive selfesteem factor (t 1403]
2.67, p<.01). However, the two
not
did
differ
for
the
groups
negative self-esteem factor.
The t-test results indicated that no difference was found
between the age perception of the elderly and their
fashionability. It was interesting to note that 68% of the
elderly perceived themselves as younger than their age, 28%
perceived themselves as the same as their age, and only 3%
perceived themselves as older than their age. Although the
concept of heterogeneity of the elderly population was
supported, its relationship to fashionability was not.
Hypothesis II was rejected.
Factor analysis of the media exposure measure yielded
three factors which were classified as consumer-dominated,
market-dominated, and neutral sources of fashion information (Table 3). Therefore, fashionability of male and female
outfits was examined for three different types of fashion
information sources. The findings from the t-test of the
female outfits revealed that the two groups differed
significantly in their use of consumer-dominated and
market-dominated sources of fashion information (Table 4).
However, the two groups did not differ in their use of neutral
sources of fashion information. Although the selection of
styles was found to be related to the media exposure for the
Data

esteem

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1988 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

female outfits, the elderly with more media exposure

selected classic styles as opposed to the latest styles. No
differences were found for the male outfits. Therefore,
Hypothesis III was rejected.

Table 3. T-test analysis of media exposure factors

by fashionability.

Discussion

The finding that the elderly who selected classic styles

used more sources of fashion information than those who
selected fashionable styles was in conflict with the existing
literature. Further analysis of individual items in the
relationship between fashionability and media exposure (for
female outfits) indicated that the individuals who selected
classic styles used five of the eight consumer-dominated
sources of fashion information and four of the eleven marketdominated sources of fashion information.
Table 2. Factors extracted from the media exposure

+ factor
**

scores were

used for

analysis.

P<.Ol
p<.05

Table 4. T-test analysis of specific items cn

media exposure by fashionability.

significant

factors of

measure.

+ Actual

mean scores were

used for

analysis.

**~<.01
*
p<.05

The individuals who chose classic styles used more sources

than the respondents who selected the fashionable style
(Table 4). The findings did support the concept that
consumers in general use several information sources to
know about the latest styles (Chowdhary, in press;

Chowdhary, 1984; Polegato & Wall, 1980). These findings

supported the first viewpoint of Lumpkin and Greenberg
(1982), which suggested that the elderly use both personal
and impersonal sources of information.
In response to another question, 80% of the elderly
reported that they like stylish clothing. In contrast, when
they had to choose between classic and latest styles,
approximately 75% selected the classic style. This finding
appears confusing. However, it is relevant to recognize that
the classic style was a fashionable style in the 1930s and
1940s when a majority of the respondents were in their teens
or youth. Therefore, one may expect that they could relate to
the classic styles better than the latest styles of today.
Consequently, what was perceived as classic by the collegeaged judges was perceived as fashionable by the elderly
respondents. This is a legitimate finding in research on
physical attractiveness as manipulated by dress (Buckley,
1983). Furthermore, about 75% of the respondents
indicated that the reason for selecting the classic style over
the fashionable style was that the classic outfit was the one
that was like them and they were used to seeing themselves
in it. It may be speculated, since a suit is an expensive item
in anyones wardrobe, they may have considered it safe to

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1988 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

27

select classic over latest styles. The elderly could use

accessories to make their classic outfits look more stylish.
Since the present study did not include accessories, this
speculation needs further investigation.
The nonsignificant results for the age identification
variable can also be explained on the basis of the logic given
for the media exposure variable. Since a majority of the
respondents felt younger than their age (68%), they may
have tended to select the style that would make them think
about their youth rather than something that is considered
youthful today. This finding is consistent with Baders
( 1983) finding which reported that the elderly are as
fashionable in their old age as they are in their youth.
Another explanation for this finding could be the narrow
range of the possible responses on the age identification
measure.

The nonsignificant results for the relationship between the

self-esteem and fashionability measures may be attributed to
the fact that the sample represented individuals with fairly
high self-esteem and that those individuals did not care for
the fashionable styles in order to take the role of somebody
else. The findings support Baders (1983) concept that
clothing promotes the appearance of those who live on an

ego-support system.

Implications
~

The findings of the present study could be a useful

contribution to the existing body of gerontology literature
containing an abundance of studies on medical and health
issues but little on clothing-related issues. The resulting
information on media exposure could also help manufacturers and retailers in better identifying the elderly market
segment and in using more appropriate merchandising
techniques. Additionally, the results could be used by those
who provide services to the elderly and by the elderly
themselves.
fhe findings have several implications for future research.
Since the sample was selected from Butler County, Ohio,
which is a white-dominated and conservative area of the
country, findings may be different if samples were selected
from other regions of the country which are more
cosmopolitan and have a more liberal populace. Fashion is a
concept that is related to modernity and change, which may
be more acceptable to liberal people than to conservative
ones. It may also be relevant to repeat this study in a blackdominated community, which may be more fashion
conscious than the population studied for the present study.
This study yielded results in conflict with the stereotype that
the elderly are a poor segment of the society. The average
annual income was found to be $18,000 for a household of
two or fewer, which is higher than that reported by Merrill
and Norris (1986) and Greco (1984). Greco also mentioned
that, while calculating income of the elderly, tax exemptions,
medicare, home ownership, and freedom from financial
obligations should not be ignored because they improve the
purchasing power of this group. However, it is important to
understand that the elderly are a heterogeneous group and

28

could include various socioeconomic segments. This study

represents a more precisely defined market segment among
the elderly population and could yield inconsistent findings
when conducted in different locations.
The findings also challenged the existing stereotype that
the elderly are less fashion conscious consumers. The results
from the present study indicate that both men and women in
the elderly population like stylish clothing and wish to see
elderly models in commercials. With regard to the
relationship between fashionability and media exposure, the
findings extended the existing literature on media exposure
for a younger population (women use more sources of
fashion information than men) to the elderly population. It
would be useful to extend this study and compare the media
exposure of the young and the elderly. Additionally,
assessing these relationships for individuals from different
residential backgrounds (rural versus urban) or socioeconomic groups could yield relevant information for the
manufacturers and the retailers who serve the needs of the
elderly segment of the population.
The findings did not support the relationship between selfesteem and fashionability. Before generalizing this concept
for the entire elderly population, it will be useful to repeat
this research in other regions of the country which are more
liberal than the geographic region selected for the reported
research. Different findings might be yielded if fashionability
were to be defined as the degree to which an individual
selects the latest versus an outdated style(s) or if apparel
articles other than suits were considered. Another
interesting finding was the nonsignificant relationship
between age perception and fashionability. However, since a
majority of the respondents perceived themselves as younger
than their age, the spread was decreased. It may be helpful
either to expand the measure to more possible response
categories for the same question or to increase the number of
items for the age identification measure.
This research is just a beginning of a more complete
understanding of the conceptual relationships between
fashion related variables and the elderly population. There is
a need to explore further the variables of this research and to
clarify the misconceptions that exist in the gerontology
literature. Such an effort will help to serve better the clothing
needs of the elderly. Moreover, these findings constitute an
important message for designers, manufacturers, and
retailers of apparel for the elderly. These individuals need to
think beyond stereotypical attributes attached to the elderly
individuals, and to understand better the needs of the future
elderly who will be more active, affluent, fashion conscious,
and healthy than the elderly of the past.

..

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