Authors

• Iltanen, Sonja (University of Art and Design. School of Design)

Keywords

ageing, fashion, identity, women

Abstract

The study charted the views of the women born in the 1940s or 1950s (post-WW2 generation/baby boomers) and those designing clothes for their age group. The topics investigated included clothing and its relationship with ageing.

8 clothes designers were interviewed twice for the study in 2001-2002. Their opinions were charted on topics such as the kind of outfits suited for 50-60-year-old women, designing process, defining target group, the significance of age and generation for clothing design, and the effect of industrial clothing design on their work. They were also allowed to demonstrate their skills with the help of a work sample. In addition, 12 women born between 1941 and 1955 were interviewed twice for the study. The interviews were conducted in groups of three. The topics of the interviews ranged from memories related to clothing expressed with the help of photographs to their newest favourite clothing. The women also told their views on ageing and its effect on clothing.

The archived data contain 15 designer interviews and 8 women group interviews. The data include altogether 1,283 pages. The length of a single interview varies from 25 to 140 pages. In addition, the photographs of the women's favourite clothing and of the designers' work samples are included in the data, as well as 10 tables containing information on the shapes, colours, materials, and details of the clothes.

The dataset is only available in Finnish.