That the vintage consumer’s values exist within the ...

I FEEL LIKE MY LOVE RUNS TOO DEEP: VINTAGE CONSUMERS, SHARED VALUES, AND THE CLOTHING CONSUMPTION PROCESS

by SAMANTHA MEACHAM (Under the Direction of Laura McAndrews)

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of vintage consumers' shared values that led to the decision to consume and wear vintage clothing. It also investigates how those values developed. My goal was to determine how vintage consumers go through a clothing consumption process and care process that may be different from past research, due to these different shared values. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, it was discovered that the vintage consumer's values exist within the individual, the community, and the physical store and developed out of a need for individualism and authenticity. These values do influence the clothing consumption process of the vintage consumer, identified as a cyclical process that goes through the stages of Combat/Hunt, Discovery, Ownership, and New Life. Humanization and research acted as threads throughout value creation and the vintage clothing consumption process. INDEX WORDS: Vintage Clothing, Fast Fashion, Shared Values, Clothing Consumption

Process, Subculture

I FEEL LIKE MY LOVE RUNS TOO DEEP: VINTAGE CONSUMERS, SHARED VALUES, AND THE CLOTHING CONSUMPTION PROCESS

by SAMANTHA MEACHAM BBA, Grand Valley State University, 2013

A Thesis Proposal Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE ATHENS, GEORGIA 2016

? 2016 Samantha Meacham All Rights Reserved

I FEEL LIKE MY LOVE RUNS TOO DEEP: VINTAGE CONSUMERS, SHARED VALUES, AND THE CLOTHING CONSUMPTION PROCESS

by

SAMANTHA MEACHAM

Major Professor: Laura McAndrews

Committee:

Patricia Hunt-Hurst Katalin Medvedev

Electronic Version Approved:

Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Background of the Study .........................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................4 Significance of the Study .........................................................................................5

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................7 Understanding Vintage ...........................................................................................7 Fast Fashion: Mass Produced Clothing .................................................................20 Perceived Quality...................................................................................................24 Clothing Consumption Process .............................................................................27 Vintage Culture .....................................................................................................29 Research Gap and Questions .................................................................................31

3 METHODS .................................................................................................................34 Research Design: In-Depth Interviews ..................................................................34 Researcher's Reflexivity........................................................................................40 Case Selection ........................................................................................................42 Data Collection .....................................................................................................43

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