Meaning of Physical Dimensions of Women's Clothes

This paper examined the possibility that the impression of a woman dressed in a certain outfit varies simply and directly with the physical dimensions of the component garments. Line drawings of 8 skirts were produced, of 4 lengths and 2 widths and combined with two types of top to make 16 ensembles. These were shown to 30 subjects who rated the probable wearer on 8 different adjectives. The impressions were transmitted very simply and the dimensions did not interact with each other or with the tops. It is suggested that complex meaning rules for clothing only occur when and if particular outfits become so familiar as to acquire idiosyncratic meanings.