Ethnic Value Matching & Apparel Industries Project



Ethnic Value Matching & Apparel Industries Project

Jean-Michèlle

”A French Twist On An Old Favorite”

MKTG 301 Fall 2006

Dr. Carter

Stacy Owens, David Davis, & John-Michael Ruder

Project Objective Part “A” - People Values

1. Earth

a.) This link contains a geographical map of France and a map of the globe. It was important as a group for us to understand what exactly was a part of France’s surrounding. The link also helps in enlightening the group on France’s natural hazards, and climate. All of these were necessary in further finding out France, its rich history, and its people.

b.) wiki/France

c.) This information helped us in understanding much of France’s fashion styles and if possible where they evolved from either from France itself, or its neighboring countries. The Climate is generally one of cool winters and mild summers, with mild weather variations along the Mediterranean. Also, flooding has always been a problem since there are oceans on three different sides of France. Avalanches have been known to occur due to the Alps and Pyrenees Mountains causing great concern for people in Southern France. All of this helps identify the population’s general priorities and necessities as far as fashion is concerned.

a.) This link gave us a topography map of France and aided us in visually understanding the different elevation levels within France and its surrounding countries. The topography map also highlights France’s mountainous regions and well as its wetland regions.

b.) visibleearth.view_rec.php?id=1913

c.) The reason our group used a topography map was to show the different regions that are within France. In our research, we uncovered rich deep history of France and fashion trends and movements within the country. The topography map was just another tool the group used to understanding the different ethic groups that resigned within each climate region.

2. History

a.) The history was France dates back to around 56 B.C. and with so much history the group needed a website that summed up France’s major historical events that were relevant to the Apparel Industry. The link below provided France’s history in it’s entirely but the group focused on the periods from 1600 A.D. to Present were the link had greater and more in depth information. Along with a extensive timeline, the website also provided charts with all of France’s rulers, milestones, national heroes, and eras of depression.

b.) France/History.html#ancre509933

c.) This site was great for outlining all of the important history that helped tie into our fashion. Understanding who and what influenced fashion throughout the centuries gave us better knowledge of our chosen fashion. The most useful information attained through the link was a history of the different periods that swept through France. From the Renaissance, to the Age of Enlightenment, France and the world have changed the with the changing times so did the fashion trends and we were able to track the progression of our chosen fashion.

3. Culture

a.) The culture of France is diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as the influence of recent immigration. France has played an important role for centuries as a cultural center, with Paris as a world center of high culture. This link below helped the group in further understanding the importance Paris has on the culture of France. Paris, being the capital of France is also revered as country’s leader in delivering new and fresh ideas on fashion.

b.) wiki/France

c.) The culture of France as somewhat unique and different from the rest of Europe. This link gave insight to this differentiation. Wikipedia also had great depth into France’s values since both culture and values are connected to each other.

a.) Along with culture, we also looked into the France language as another part of the French culture. The link is again from Wikipedia but even though being from the same source as culture, still proves a vital asset in digging deeper into understanding the French society.

b.) wiki/France

c.) .) Most of France's population used to be Catholic, and this is reflected in the calendar of holidays, which mark several major Catholic celebrations. With the waning importance of religious practice, many of those holidays have lost their religious meaning in the general population. Out of 10 national celebrations in France 5 are Christian celebration.

4. Values

a.) French values help explain much about the French people. Values help describe lifestyles, hobbies, preferences, dislikes, and many more. The link found, gives insight as to French preferences, and what the French society deems a priority within their lives.

b.) v01n02/brechon/brechon_e.shtml

c.) The vast majority of French respondents (nearly 9 out of 10 people) consider family to be very important. Next comes work (2 out of 3 people), then friends and leisure (4 to 5 people out of 10). However, only one out of 10 people feels that religion or politics is very important.

Project Objective Part “B” - Product Values

5. Form

a.) This first link was a major asset in connecting “old country” and “new country” France together. The site gives in-depth accounts traditional and non-traditional methods people of France did and have done with lingerie. For our group, the link also helped in giving a list of different types of materials used for any given period in France in making lingerie.

b.) french_lingerie

c.) The group used this site a lot in finding our research for the project. From lists of materials, pictures of different types and lingerie, and even the different fashion trends and followed with lingerie through the years in France. The site also informs viewers how the kings and queens of France popularized lingerie and how lingerie was part of the French culture. The main uses of lingerie between 1600 and 1900 were to flatten a women’s appearance and that lingerie was mainly used to accentuate a woman’s outer appearance. Today however, lingerie is used to accentuate a woman’s inner appearance.

a.) In looking for a better connection between “old country” and “new country” the group found another site that gave a brief history on different types of lingerie. The history addresses mainly on the different cultural trends that emerged on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, giving the group a better understanding as to the history of our product through the many centuries in France.

b.) lingerie-

c.) The information gathered from this site along with the information from our previous link really helped bridge a connection between both “old and new country” in France. We found out about the different types of lingerie used in history and why they were used in fashion. The Elizabethan corset, 17th century kept a flat-fronted, conical body shape which exaggerated and pushed up the breasts. Waist reduction was minimal. The Victorian corset, mid-19th century cinched in the waist to give an exaggerated hourglass figure. The S-bend corset, turn of the century was an attempt at a healthier, less restrictive corset which was flat-fronted, and forced an unnatural arch into the back, pushing the breasts up and out and the rear down and back.

a.) Our group also found this really great site that lists all the different types of textiles used today and of the past in making lingerie. From centuries along, France had been using delicate and expensive materials to product many of the fine under garments. Today, with the invention of man-made textiles, these processed and delicate materials have incorporated themselves into everyday production of lingerie along the world.

b.) lingerie-fabric-guide

c.) The group wanted to know exactly what was used in making lingerie in the old days in France. It was interesting to find out what traditional methods were used in creating the sometimes elaborate garments for people in France. This in turn, also helped us understand that different textiles were used for different people mainly for their wealth status. In France, a woman who was up-to-date with their fashion needed the most modern of lingerie to create that look. If a person was wealthy they were more than able to purchase these necessities and were often created with great care and attention to detail.

6. Function

a.) This link addresses the different fashion movements of women’s clothing from the periods of 1700 to present. In the website it states how fashion in France was driven by attaining a specific look for the body by using different forms of lingerie. Because France values fashion so much, the French would stress great importance for women to use lingerie to stay fashionable “up with the times”.

b.)

c.) This site shows pictures of many different styles of dresses from any given period in France starting with the earliest dresses dating back to 1700. We also benefited from the site giving us details as to how French women styled their clothing, hair, and hats around how their body looked. For instance, early on in France, from 1600 to 1700, the fashionable look for women was to have a flat front section with a busty top. This was only attainable using the primitive Elizabethan corset. Then in the mid 19th century, the fashionable look for women was to have a cinched waist giving a woman an hourglass figure. Throughout France’s history in fashionable movements, it was lingerie that made these highly stylized and very popular movements a reality. The website we found only solidifies our findings.

a.) On the internet, the group was able to find this great link that explained, in detail, how lingerie embodied the French culture. The link also gave a history on the different types of bras that were created through time and how the French were closely connected to the development of the bra. Lingerie came from the French language meaning support, but the French chose to call a bra soutien-gorge.

b.) bras_and_girdles

c.) This site was essential to explaining the link between French culture and lingerie. The website gave the group information into the history of not just France, but the French culture in fashion. With so much history and evolution about lingerie within France, the group thought it would be very important to include this history in the final report.

• Vogue Reports the First Brassiere 1907

Bra history began as far back as Cretan times, but 1907, was the year when the word brassiere was first reported in an American copy of Vogue.  The original French meaning was support, but the word was out of use and the French chose to call a bra soutien-gorge. 

|Reform Bodice Bra | | |

|Early supposedly healthier Reform |Old country |New country |

|Bodice bra with mesh net cups that | | |

|gave virtually no support. | | |

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• Early Brassières Pre 1915

Most of the major designers of the era have tried to lay claim to designing the first bra. Poiret, a famous French designer, probably had the strongest claim. What is certain is that all the designers promoted a simple breast retaining garment for the newer simple straight dress styles. Initially at the turn of the 20th century even the word camisole was used too, but replaced by 'Bust Bodice' by 1905. 

|Wrap around camisole style bra. |Old country |New country |

| |[pic] | |

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• Mary Phelps-Jacobs's Patented Bra 1914

Bra fashion history truly began with the first bra to be patented.  The first bra was patented in 1914 by Mary Phelps-Jacobs.  It is not thought to be the first bra ever, but it is the first patented record and that gives her the credit. Mary Phelps-Jacobs patented her bra design under the patent name of Caresse Crosby.  Some suggest it was her French maid who provided the idea or the stitching help.  Two silk handkerchiefs were tied together, baby ribbon sewn on to make straps and a seam set in the centre front. Phelps Jacobs couldn't get much interest for her idea and sales were minimal, so for $1500 she sold the rights to Warners, and a few years later earned an estimated fifteen million dollars. Warners have been involved in bra production ever since. Within a year, breasts were measured in inches rather than being categorized small, medium or large.

| The Phelps-Jacobs Bra Specification |Old country |New country |

|Patent |[pic] | |

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• Bras after 1930

After 1930 all the names we know well in lingerie and corsetry today began manufacturing bras with quite separate cups. They used quality cotton lace and net. One famous bra designed in the 1930s was the Kestos bra and later the Kestos Utility Bra. It’s simple seaming looks classy and could be effective today.

|The Kestos Bra |Old country |New country |

|  |[pic] | |

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7. Facilitation

a.) During the old age of France, lingerie was worn to help keep clothes clean. They were considered the first undergarments. However this turned into a luxury by some and a fashion trend even further down the line in the Golden Age. Early on, the fabrics used to make these undergarments were not as nice as the ones we know today. But they were widely available and for the purposes of keeping clothes a little cleaner, were in fact useful. As the textile industry grew, fabrics like satin and silk were used to make lingerie and then made it more expensive, therefore making it a luxury for royalty and people of nobility. These new, more expensive, more comfortable articles of lingerie we worn at dinners and dances and gatherings. With the invention of the corset and the brazier, women were able to help shape their body and make themselves more attractive to men. Obviously women of that day weren’t in body exchange working out and looking fit so by wearing lingerie like the corset and brazier women were able to fool men into believing they were more attractive than they were.

b.)



c.) Both of these sites talked about early clothing design in France and why people wore the clothes they wore. Whether it was for work or play, clothes meant something back then. And like today, certain items were a symbol of status. That is what lingerie was back then. Much like Armani or some other major clothing designer is today, owning lingerie was considered to be a top quality item. The wikipedia site talked about when and where people might have worn lingerie and the Yale paper talked about the various fabrics of the day and how they were used, both very useful sites in the research aspect of this paper.

a.) The new age has taken lingerie to a whole new level. The bra has become a necessity for women of all ages and class levels, and the industry as a whole has grown through the roof. Unlike the old age, lingerie is now marketed and sold to women of all shapes and sizes and can be purchased by anyone. With the addition of new pieces, lingerie has become a way of life for some; slips for the business woman, corsets and bras are a need instead of a luxury for almost every woman and skimpy pieces for the sexy housewife are all pieces of lingerie that are being sold in the world today. In the time since the Golden Age, France has become the cornerstone for fashion in the world. Lingerie is being propelled at fashion shows all over the world. Some of the shows are; Victoria’s Secret fashion show, Berlei lingerie launch party, and even the Lingerie bowl, where some of the worlds sexiest women dress in lingerie and play football, a must see for our male viewers out there!

b.)





c.) The lingerie bowl site was very interesting, and had great pictures, but didn’t help much on the actual report writing, but we’d still recommend taking a look. Obviously the victoria's secret site is great, and had some interesting information about how their company operates and where they get some of their ideas. The lingerie-uncovered site is where most of the good information came from. They broke down the history, and where lingerie has gone in the past and where it is expected to go in the future in terms of the market.

8. Triangulation

| |User |Payer |Buyer |

|Universal Values |Performance Value: |Price: |Service: |

| | |Prices for our lingerie will |Consumers may have their |

|Need |Our lingerie will only use the |vary depending on what materials|measurements measured by a staff|

| |finest materials in order to be |were used, how much material is |member if they are shopping in a|

| |high in quality. Our lingerie |used, and varies on styles. |store. |

| |will also provide to be | | |

| |fashionable as well. | | |

|Personal Values |Emotional: |Financing: |Convenience: |

| | |We will not provide financing. |Available in retail lingerie |

|Want |Lingerie may make the consumer |If the consumer wishes to |stores such as Frederick’s of |

| |feel sexy as well as they have |purchase online then they may |Hollywood and La Berma and also |

| |nothing to be ashamed about of |use their personal credit card. |our lingerie can be ordered |

| |their body. |Financing may be available |online. |

| | |through certain retailers. | |

Traditionally undergarments (lingerie) were used to shape a woman’s body so she can wear a certain type of dress. As it was mentioned before, France is noted for its cosmopolitan, civilized approach to life, combined with great concern for style, fashion and appearances. In order for French to keep up with its fashions, it also had to keep up with the undergarments (lingerie) that was worn to keep up with the styles of the dresses.

Fashion is currently important to the French, but instead of modeling dresses in the early days, it is just the lingerie itself that could be modeled. Lingerie is designed to be sexy itself. Lingerie is practically worthless unless it is sexy. As need lingerie needs to be high in quality. In order for lingerie to be high in quality it needs to use the finest of materials. Since our lingerie will be high in quality pricing will not be cheap; however, prices on our lingerie will vary depending on the material used and how fashionable it is. In able to service our consumers, we will offer a chart of what lingerie size is best to fit their bodies by using certain measurements of their bodies. If the consumer is to purchase our lingerie in a store then we can have knowledgeable staff to take their measurements as a service. These should all help satisfy the needs of the consumer.

In order to satisfy the wants of the consumer, our lingerie needs to be designed to make the consumer feel sexy emotionally. The French has a great concern for style and if our lingerie is not stylish to make someone feel sexy then it is useless. No one buys lingerie to feel ugly. They buy lingerie to boost their confidence to look sexy.

In order for consumers to buy our product, but do not have enough money to pay in full we will accept major credit cards. Our store will not offer our own financing, but we will let them finance their purchases through major credit cards.

Consumers who want to buy their lingerie quickly may purchase it at our own store or from any other high maintenance store that carries lingerie. Also people could also purchase their lingerie through our online store. This could also allow a bigger selection for them to choose from.

9. Target

a.) By targeting French-Americans, we are able to use their rich history in the clothing industry to attract them to our product. Since the French people were the first to begin wearing lingerie, we know that they have a vast sense of expression of their sexuality. It has been long known that French people are very open and unashamed of their bodies and that is one of the main reasons they were leaders of the fashion industry years ago and still are today. In doing research, we have found that the highest concentration of French-Americans is in the state of Louisiana. Which makes sense since that is one of the first places they settled when first coming to America. The “Fleur de Lys” originates from French Catholicism (pictured below) and is the symbol of the New Orleans Saints football team. There are many French-American cities on the northern part of the U.S. because of Canada, but we feel that the history and base of the French culture is in Louisiana, and that is obvious by looking at the culture and architecture of New Orleans. Marketing our lingerie products to the French-Americans of Louisiana, not only exemplifies their heritage, it shows that we as a company can win the approval of the originators, therefore making it marketable to anyone.

b.) english/lafrenchhistory.html

New_Orleans/New_Orleans.html

en.wiki/New_Orleans,_Louisiana

c.) The first website was very informative on the population of Louisiana and French people. It gave a very informative description of the history of New Orleans and how the city has grown and flourished throughout the years with French history. The second and third links are where we got all these informative pictures from. The Wikipedia link also gave us some good knowledge about the French people and how they have transformed Louisiana into a thriving French community.

“Stained glass window in the shape of a fleur-de-lys, Bourges cathedral, 15th c. Note the various themes: the Trinity, which the 3 petals were understood to recall, is represented; angels are bearing the shield as they are supporters of the arms of France, the dove descending from heaven recalls the legend of the baptism of Clovis when a dove brought the sacred ointment to Saint Remigius.”

“Lafayette Cemetery”

“Royal Street, New Orleans”

“City of New Orleans Seal”

“City of New Orleans Flag”

User Payer Buyer

|Performance: |Price: |Service: |

|By targeting French Americans, we are showing |Obviously if we make a top quality product we |If we can offer exemplary service to |

|that we value their history and knowledge of |will ask a top quality price, but people who |French-Americans, we can offer it to anyone. |

|lingerie and we can make it better than what |understand fashion, understand that you get |Sizes for all and colors to meet anyone’s |

|their ancestors wore. |what you pay for. People who are fashionably |needs. |

| |savvy will understand that. | |

|Emotional: |Financing: |Convenience: |

|Lingerie has been around a long time, so if we |We are not selling cars or major appliances, |Along with marketing in various stores along |

|can sell to French-Americans while meeting |anyone who buys from us will be able to afford |Bourbon Street, we will have shops in prime |

|their standards of quality fashion, then we |it or they won’t buy. It’s not sensible to take|locations throughout French-American societies |

|should be able to generate a strong emotional |out a loan for lingerie. |within dense urban U.S. cities as well as on |

|bond with our cliental. | |the internet. |

10. Taste

a.) Since as a group we knew we wanted something that was new and exciting but at the same time traditional amongst competitors because all lingerie is the same. We came up with a design for a package that expressed something of delicate nature yet something with class, grace, and beauty. The design is a traditional “shoe box” model with a bottom box and a lid top that fits over it. The product itself will be lined with pink tissue paper and the box itself will be wrapped in a satin ribbon. On the top of the box will bear our logo “JM” with stands for our company, Jean-Michèlle. Our company will not be based out of our own store but instead will be working with various retailers in the lingerie business to sell our product. Our packaging design is only to help establish itself as a product above the rest.

b.)

c.) This link helped in the creation process of our product. The website gives details accounts on different movements with lingerie throughout history and different marketing strategies used to help sell new lingerie ideas. It also shows how European fashion has affected America and almost implies that France is the driving force behind America’s growing business in lingerie.

User Payer Buyer

|Performance: |Price: |Service: |

|By creating an “essential process” in buying, |We wanted to establish our product as something|Our company will other every type of lingerie |

|packaging, and delivering “JM” products, people|above the rest so our pricing scheme will be on|available today just designed with a French |

|interpret that as a product of essential |the higher side of other lingerie brands |flare theme. |

|luxury. | | |

|Emotional: |Financing: |Convenience: |

|Brand architecture will help evoke a strong |We will not be selling credit cards so we will |Making our product readily available to key in |

|sense of brand equity within our company making|have no need for financing. We are mainly |beginning a new business venture. Therefore we|

|people want to invest in our products, and our |selling from our website and from retailers. |offer our customers the option of shopping |

|company. | |online if no participating retailers are |

| | |nearby. |

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