Yuhan (Grace) Guo

Have you ever wondered why you are drawn to certain clothing items more than others?

Fashion plays an integral role in our daily lives, and act as a powerful tool in identity expression. Despite fashion and clothing being one of the most common aesthetic activities, little research has examined the mechanisms underlying clothing preference formation. Through a mixed-methods approach consisting of an online survey (N=202) and interviews (N=10), this research explored two key areas of influence in our clothing preferences: 1) individual differences factors including personality traits, age, and gender; 2) the role of repeated exposure, known as the mere-exposure effect.

Findings suggested that personality traits and gender exert some influence on clothing preferences, but overall preferences remained relatively stable before and after repeated exposure of clothing items. Interview insights revealed the significant role of social media and context dependent dress codes in affecting participants’ clothing preferences. Regarding exposure, participants’ expressed it only enhanced liking when first impression of the item was positive. Moreover, the desire for uniqueness meant that clothing items lost appeal once they became too widespread through repeated exposure. Overall, the integrated findings added substantially to the current understanding of clothing preferences, with practical implications in fashion marketing to drive consumption with exposure strategies.