154 American Marketing Association / Winter 2008 PSYCHOLOGICAL, PRODUCT-RELATED AND SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES IN PURCHASING INTIMATE APPAREL Yelena Tsarenko, Monash University, Australia Felix Mavondo, Monash University, Australia ABSTRACT Three significantly different profiles of involvement in the purchasing of intimate apparel were identified – enthusiasts who are highly involved in purchasing a bra, pragmatists with relatively moderate interest, and realists with very limited interest. Traditional involvement theory is extended by jointly examining consumer personality, product and situational factors. INTRODUCTION The fundamental insights of the literature examining consumer behavior in the fashion clothing market draws on consumer involvement theory. This theory postulates that consumers engage in a range of information process- ing activities stimulated by their level of involvement according to the relevance of the purchase. As Martin (1998) suggests, the consumer involvement measure re- flects a specific consumer response to the product. This measure of involvement is essentially determined by how consumers learn, acquire, and process information when making purchase decisions. A significant body of research literature exists that defines and discusses the application of involvement theory in various product categories, advertising and purchase decisions (Day 1970; Krugman 1965; Bloch 1980). The question which always remains of interest is how involvement profiles differ from each other. While consumer demographic characteristics are traditionally used as descriptors of profiles, there is some agreement in findings among researchers that demographic factors are not always strong differentiators across fashion involve- ment profiles (O’Cass 2004; Moye and Kincade 2003). Based on previous studies, Zaichkowsky (1985) identi- fied three alternative factors, all of which contribute to various levels of consumer involvement: individual per- sonal characteristics, product characteristics, and situ- ational factors. THE BRA AS A PRODUCT CONCEPT Very little research literature concerns bra purchas- ing specifically, with most focusing on clothing in gen- eral. To the best of our knowledge only one study dealing exclusively with this product is available in the marketing literature. Hart and Dewsnap (2001) conducted “An ex- ploratory study of the consumer decision process for intimate apparel,” which outlined a number of challenges and issues associated with the decision-making process. The authors concluded that the bra shopper is a highly involved consumer who perceives a high level of risk associated with the purchase and is motivated by a range of factors such as the desire to be brand loyal, which has the added benefit of reducing the extent of the search process. However, commensurate with the exploratory nature of that study, the methodology was only based on focus groups, open discussion and a blind test experiment. A number of factors may account for the lack of research in marketing-related literature on this topic. Firstly, bras or intimate apparel can be considered as a subset of the apparel constellation that researchers feel is a sensitive and intrusive topic, and hence difficult to research. Secondly, the nature of the product is highly gender oriented, and its function as a garment is equivo- cal. It is a necessary commodity which traditionally formed a discrete part of women’s clothing, yet over recent decades its fashion meaning has changed significantly. While it continues to serve its traditional functionality, modern technologies have brought variety in styles, de- signs and fabrics. Aided by technological advances in manufacturing, the bra is increasingly presented as a product of high fashion that has moved from private boudoirs to the public arena. In some social contexts, the bra becomes a distinguishable part of attire that indexes the increasing dominance of visual culture. This raises the question of whether the bra represents support and com- fort, or allure and sex appeal – or both? However, while the bra is often marketed as high fashion, fun, or a sensually satisfying product, actually shopping for a bra appears to be considered by many as “a necessary evil.” For example, anecdotal reflections on consumer attitudes include the notion that “shopping for a sports bra may rank right up there with a visit to the dentist” (De Moeller 2004, p. 4), or that bra shopping involves “being measured, poked, prodded and fitted by a matronly, but reassuring elderly woman” (Hall 2003, p. 45). To further complicate this matter, choice has ex- panded dramatically in the last ten years, with a large number of new labels appearing, many of them from fashion designers or celebrities such as “Elle MacPherson, Oroton, Kookai, and Kylie” (Hall 2003, p. 44). While it is acknowledged that the bra potentially may contribute to