Color Research and Application, Vol.43, No.3, 423-435, 2018
Apparel color preferences for different regions in China: The connection to personal values
This article examines the associations between personal values and apparel color preferences, and deduces the apparel color preferences of consumers based on the mainstream values in different regions in China. Clustering analysis was used to classify the values, and a Chi-square test was used to verify whether the different values had a significant effect on the consumer's color preferences. Finally, a corresponding analysis was conducted to clarify the associations between personal values and apparel color preferences. The associations reported in the study suggest the apparel color preferences in the 4 major urban agglomerations in China. It was found that consumers in the Pearl River Delta region were mainly ideal-oriented and authority value types and preferred darker apparel colors than other city groups in China; consumers in the Yangtze River Delta region were mainly responsibility-oriented and justice value types and preferred warmer and more contrasting colors; and consumers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Chengdu-Chongqing regions were mainly benevolence-oriented value types, preferring more highly saturated and brighter colors than the other regions. Self-oriented consumers, who preferred cool and dark apparel colors were found to have no clear correspondence to any region. These results are important for fashion designers and fashion brands in China; it can assist the Chinese fashion industry in regionalizing their product offerings and in providing a theoretical reference for the development of the garment industry.
Keywords:apparel color preference;cluster analysis;correspondence analysis personal values;regional fashion