Exploring Fashion Choice Criteria for Older Chinese Female Consumers: A Wardrobe Study Approach

This paper outlines a wardrobe study conducted within a larger research investigation that aims to examine the daily clothing choices and preferences of older female consumers in China to inform clothing design for this demographic. Based on inclusive design principles, the paper discusses the method and results of a wardrobe study designed to gather evidence of clothing preferences from 27 Chinese women aged between 55–70 years old. Four favourite casual outfits were selected by each participant from their own wardrobe. These were then photographed on the body and flat, with garment details recorded. The visual data from the wardrobe study was collated into a textual format enabling quantitative content analysis to be applied to find areas of commonality and divergence in participants’ choices regarding clothing design features, fabrics, fastenings and fit. The results of the study provide information that could assist in developing design guidelines for fashion designers and companies manufacturing clothing for ageing female Chinese consumers.