Apparel Designing and Construction

Apparel Designing and Construction 3(1+2)

Lesson 16 : Clothing Budget and Wardrobe Planning

Family factors

1. Income of the family: most important factor; its availability and shortage affect fulfillment of the basic needs and wants of the family.


2. Size of the family: the more the number of the family members, the less will be the per head distribution of the money among them. This might restrict the quantity as well as quality of the garments and accessories


3. Type of the family: the nuclear and the joint families have different level of cultural conservatism and number of members in the family. It affects decision on the type of clothing items to be purchased and require distribution of in hand money among more family members in joint families. The nuclear families have fewer restrictions.


4. Stage of the family: different priorities are attached with different stages of life cycle that affects the share of budget for clothing. For example, in contracting stage the availability of funds is more but engagement in activities is less so fewer garments are desired; hence quality goods can be purchased. While in expanding stage when children are growing, they are usually engaged in number of activities and this require different types of clothes, so availability of funds per member gets limited.


5. Number of siblings in the family and the age difference between them: the number of children and their age difference affects the clothing requirements and thus the clothing budget. If two siblings are of same sex and have very less difference in their age, they can share their clothes for different activities besides using their clothes to make more mix and match possibilities.