Abstract

African Americans, the second largest minority group in US, have great potential to be promising apparel consumers with their unique clothing shopping behaviors caused by highly oriented clothing involvement. Those high involved consumers usually choose clothing that makes them look good with the fit and style to follow the latest fashion trends and dynamic clothing style. The satisfaction with clothing fits of African‐ Americans is strongly affected by their self‐esteem related to generous attitudes toward their actual body shapes, leading to preference for tight fit clothing. Interestingly, African American women differently perceive their body shapes from their actual ones, suggesting that clothing fit preferences should be understood with consideration of both physically and psychologically inconsistent body shapes.

Keywords: Clothing Involvement; Body Measurements; Body Shapes; Clothing Fit