Clothing and Aesthetics: Perception of Form

Prior to and after 40 hours of visual exposure to, and discussion of, a wide range of costume body forms, 51 subjects were asked to respond to eight costume body forms varying in visual effect. Both pre‐ and post‐responses included a description of each costume body form and a selection of the slides liked best and least. Descriptions were compared as to: (1) orientation of the observer to the whole form and (2) the morphologic‐axiologic orientation. A majority of viewers increased in morphologic orientation and there was an increase in responses to the whole costume body form. A chi square test gave support to the hypothesis that viewers could separate their like or dislike of a costume body form from their descriptive consideration of that costume body form.