Literature review

A wide diffusion of wealth and an increase in family income is one of the most
important factors in speeding up the change in clothing patterns and styles.
Families have income that now exceeds the amount of money needed for the bare
necessities of life. Another factor that affects change in styles is that, the middle
class always tries to copy the higher class, while the higher class is always
changing their styles to stand out from the middle class (Kiran, Riaz, & Malik,
2002). Thus it was observed that socioeconomic status was a major influence on
clothing choices.
According to a study done by McDermott & Pettijohn II, 2011they found that
social perceptions of persons were formed based on their attire in terms of whether
they wore name brand or not. Kiran et al. (2002) also conducted a survey to
ascertain the factors responsible for the changes in fashion trends. At the
conclusion of the survey it was found that 28% of the participants were of the
opinion that socioeconomic status was a major factor affecting fashion trends and
thus the way in which persons dressed.
Social media as well as social networking also has an effect on the way in
which persons dress. This is due to the fact that as of September 2013 surveys in
America done by Pew Internet Project shows that 71% of online adults use
Facebook, 17% use Instagram, 21% use Pinterest and 22% use LinkedIn. Also
according to their research as of January 2014 a total of 74% of online adults use
social networking. Research done in Trinidad by Caribbean Ideas (The digital
business solutions company which was behind the Caribbean Digital Expo
conference, on the Digital Habits and Practices of Young Trinidad & Tobago) also
shows largescale use of social media with more than 42 per cent of T&Ts 18-35year-olds spend more than 11 hours a week consuming digital media1. According
to Co-founder and CEO Chike Farrell This underscores for marketers that a key
portion of their target customer base is literally almost always addressable in some
way via digital technology, which creates important implications for marketing
strategy and budget allocation2.

Thus in a world where technology is advancing at a rapid pace and the internet
is the leader in the continued effort of globalization marketers are easily able t
influence consumers. We are constantly being introduced to what is trendy, on a
global scale via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, popular Blogs and Pinterest3.
Social Media has made fashion & lifestyle more accessible4.therefore it is in this
way that persons chocies in attire are able to be more easily influenced.