Career-oriented women's dress : input, influence and mediating forces

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of situational and personality characteristics on the acceptance of normative and informational influence of women's career dressing. Influence was conceptualized as communication from market sources and reference others to career women. A random sample of 1,000 career women was sent questionnaires, resulting in a 59 percent return rate.

The dependent variables were normative and informational influence from market and personal sources. The independent variables were the career situations of Visibility to Superiors and Peers, Implicit Dress Code, Length of Time in Career, and Career Line; and the personality characteristics of Perceived Importance of Clothing, Specific Anxiety in Career, Specific Self-Confidence in Dress, and Self-Monitoring. Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation was used to validate the summated independent variables and to reduce the number of market and personal sources of influence to nine influence factors. Data from the influence factors were ranked and a One-Way ANOVA was performed on the amount of influence accepted at levels of the demo graphic variables. Multiple Linear Regression analyses were performed to determine relationships between influence, and personality and situational characteristics related to career dressing. Findings indicated that influence acceptance was affected by career orientation, age, income, education, children, and amount spent on wardrobe. Significant univariate relationships were found between all influence factors and the independent variables of personality and career situations except Visibility to Superiors and Peers.

Normative and Informational Influence from Work Associates and Normative Influence from Business Sources were the three influence factors most related to personality and situational variables. Respondents accepted the most influence from market sources and important people around them when they felt clothing was important, were aware of their own and others' appearance, were most anxious about their careers, and had worked the shortest amount of time in their careers.

Since respondents varied in the amount and type of influence accepted on their career dress in relation to personality and career situations, career women as a group may be comprised of several distinct market segments, similar to the larger group of working women.