Social Networing Site Usage and the Female Fashion Leader: A qualitative study of how Female Fashion Leaders use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter Alkharashi, N., Burns, R., and Naz, F. California State University, Northridge Keywords: Fashion; SNS Abstract Introduction Literature Review 1. Two-Step Communication Theory 2. Fashion Leadership The theory of fashion consumer groups by Rogers (1962), suggest that every consumer has a unique pattern of behavior when a new item is presented to him or her. These patterns determine some basic categories that are important in consumer adoption. They include early adopters, innovators, early majority, laggards and late majority. Each of these categories has a different percentage in the population. Knowledge of these categories is important in identifying the specific groups in which an individual falls. Identifying early adopters is especially important as the earlier an adoption of a product is done, the faster it runs through to other consumers. The acceptance of the products then leads to a greater percentage of the population gaining interest. Roger’s model was built upon by Hirschman and Adcock (1978), who differentiated the fashion consumer groups through the use of a scale. The developed scale points out the four groups that are fashion oriented. The groups include fashion opinion leaders, fashion followers, fashion innovators and innovative communicators (Hirschman & Adcock, 1978). The four groups have unique characteristics that depend on their way of interaction with clothing, as well as trends on fashion. Each group has a different motivation when making decisions on whatever they are in need of. Several researchers have greatly assessed the diverse behavioral patterns of various fashion consumers. The research has it that the fashion opinion leaders, as well as innovators are the most conscious on fashion among all other groups of consumers because their fashion interest and trends is the strongest (citation needed). Moreover, the two are driven by the high need for being unique when making their daily decisions. Contradicting to that, innovative communicators, as well as the fashion followers do not do their shopping on fashionable items at frequent rates (Workman & Caldwell, 2007). Shopping motivations that are hedonic also not often drives them (citation needed). Fashion leadership is multi-dimensional. Dimensions that arise from fashion leadership include innovativeness in fashion, as well as leadership opinion (citation needed). Researchers have found that although different in function there are similar characteristics that exist between opinion leaders and innovators (Workman & Johnson, 1993). The idea of opinion leadership as it relates to fashion was first explored in the 1969 study by John O. Summers. Summers looked to identify Women’s clothing fashion opinion leaders. His research examined the sociological variables, personality/attitudinal factors, mass media exposure, and i.

1. Social Networing Site Usage and the Female Fashion Leader: A
qualitative study of how Female Fashion Leaders use Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter
Alkharashi, N., Burns, R., and Naz, F.
California State University, Northridge
Keywords: Fashion; SNS
Abstract
Introduction
Literature Review
1. Two-Step Communication Theory
2. Fashion Leadership
The theory of fashion consumer groups by Rogers (1962),
suggest that every consumer has a unique pattern of behavior
when a new item is presented to him or her. These patterns
determine some basic categories that are important in consumer
adoption. They include early adopters, innovators, early
majority, laggards and late majority. Each of these categories
has a different percentage in the population. Knowledge of
these categories is important in identifying the specific groups
in which an individual falls. Identifying early adopters is
especially important as the earlier an adoption of a product is
done, the faster it runs through to other consumers. The
acceptance of the products then leads to a greater percentage of
the population gaining interest.
Roger’s model was built upon by Hirschman and Adcock
(1978), who differentiated the fashion consumer groups through
the use of a scale. The developed scale points out the four
groups that are fashion oriented. The groups include fashion
opinion leaders, fashion followers, fashion innovators and
innovative communicators (Hirschman & Adcock, 1978). The
four groups have unique characteristics that depend on their
way of interaction with clothing, as well as trends on fashion.
Each group has a different motivation when making decisions
on whatever they are in need of. Several researchers have

2. greatly assessed the diverse behavioral patterns of various
fashion consumers. The research has it that the fashion opinion
leaders, as well as innovators are the most conscious on fashion
among all other groups of consumers because their fashion
interest and trends is the strongest (citation needed). Moreover,
the two are driven by the high need for being unique when
making their daily decisions. Contradicting to that, innovative
communicators, as well as the fashion followers do not do their
shopping on fashionable items at frequent rates (Workman &
Caldwell, 2007). Shopping motivations that are hedonic also not
often drives them (citation needed).
Fashion leadership is multi-dimensional. Dimensions that arise
from fashion leadership include innovativeness in fashion, as
well as leadership opinion (citation needed). Researchers have
found that although different in function there are similar
characteristics that exist between opinion leaders and innovators
(Workman & Johnson, 1993). The idea of opinion leadership as
it relates to fashion was first explored in the 1969 study by John
O. Summers. Summers looked to identify Women’s clothing
fashion opinion leaders. His research examined the sociological
variables, personality/attitudinal factors, mass media exposure,
and involvement in women’s clothing, found to be associated
with women who were fashion opinion leaders. Opinion leaders,
when compared to non-opinion leaders were found to be
venturesome in trying new products, involved in receiving
relational communications about various women’s clothing
styles, perceived themselves as knowledgeable about women’s
clothing styles, and had favorable attitudes toward new products
in general and new women’s clothing styles in particular
(Workman & Johnson, 1993).
The first buyers of new apparel and accessories and those to
first adopt and accept new fashions within their social group are
generally fashion innovators (Phau and Lo, 2004). Fashion
innovativeness has not been specifically defined however
behaviors of those determined to be fashion innovators has been
found to be consistent. A 1969 study by Pasnak and Ayers

3. which compared innovators to non-innovators on clothing
attitudes and personality characteristics found that innovators
were slightly more interested in dressing for self and using
clothing for experimentation. They showed more clarity of
decisions about clothes and had stronger feelings about clothing
and involvement with clothing (Workman & Johnson, 1993).
Research examining the disposal and purchasing habits of
fashion innovators was dome by Chun and Davis in 1988. Using
Hirschman and Adcock (1978) scale to identify the two groups,
they examined whether there was a difference in the two groups
length of time retaining clothes, the ways in which they
disposed of used close and the underlying factors in disposing
of used clothes. The results showed that fashion innovators
were more likely to wear clothing for a shorter period of time
and to dispose of clothes due to fashionability and conformity.
When these fundamental characteristics are taken into
consideration, it is clearly seen that likely the most appropriate
group to examine, are the fashion leaders as they will help in
the knowledge of further understanding the connection formed
with apparel, as well as how they use that apparel in expressing
themselves (citation needed). Fashion leaders with knowledge
given to them on the fashion industry, are likely to be aware of
the diversity of brands that are apparel, as well as the benefits
that the brands offer.
In short, manufactures and marketers wanted to identify this
segment of the market which, if integrated into the marketing
strategy, would be influential 2 dimensionally. 1. They
represent segment of the market with the potential for higher
sales and 2. They act as change agents to disseminate fashion
information (Summers, 1970).
Although the concept of Fashion Leadership and what the
attributes of someone described to be a fashion leader has
evolved, the influence they have in the market has only
increased.
3. Social Networking Sites (SNS)
Social networking sites, as web-based services allow

4. individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a
bounded system, articulate with a list of other users with whom
they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of
connections and those made by others within the system
(citation needed). The nature and nomenclature of these
connections may vary from site to site. Seven major categories
of social media sites include social connections (i.e. Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Google+, and My Space), multimedia
sharing (i.e. YouTube, and Flicker), Professional (i.e.
LinkedIn), and others that are informational, educational, hobby
focused and academia centered. Facebook and Twitter lead the
technology world as the most used social networking sites. They
have the maximum number of users and their numbers of users
increase on a daily basis (citation needed). In addition to
connecting with others, users spend time on these sites in order
to update themselves on current topics and ideas related to their
interest. Social Networking Sites allow its users to post to user
created profiles and create personal networks. User-friendly
options of social media networks attract its users to use them on
a regular basis.
Social Networking Sites have increased the ability to share
knowledge and opinions almost instantly. Although the intended
purpose of many SNS may be similar, the way in which this
information can be shared on each platform will likely vary.
With these variation, the behaviors on each site may differ.
Facebook is the largest social networking website by far with a
1.44 billion users worldwide as of the end of their 2015 first
quarter reporting. This SNS giant was started in 2004 with it
originally being designed for use by college students only, but
it quickly turned into a site in which anyone with an email
address could have access to. Due to its popularity, most other
SNS integrate Facebook into its use. Facebook lets its members
use an array of functions that allow for sharing, communicating
and obtaining information. Users can create a profile, add others
in the network as friends, send messages, post status updates
and photos, share videos, and receive notifications when other

5. users have updated their profiles.
Instagram, created in 2010 is an online, mobile, photo-sharing,
video-sharing and social networking service, which allows its
users to share pictures across several social networking
platforms. Unlike, Facebook and Twitter, which allows its users
to express themselves via the use of different forms of post,
Instagram’s primary purpose is to “share your life with friends
through a series of pictures.” (Instagram FAQ).
Twitter, which follows Facebook in its number of active users,
allows it’s users to communicate and share information in 140
characters or less. Considered to be a micro-blogging site, the
short messages shared can include pictures and can be reposted
on others users pages as well. Twitter also allows for its users
to search for post that may interest them by using the hashtag
function, thus allowing them to communicate with users who are
connected on the site, but not be directly connected to them.
All three of the sites discussed have varying ways in which they
can be used by its members. The main commonality is that these
SNS are used by millions of users for information and idea
sharing. Fashion is an industry in which SNS has tremendously
helped the spread of ideas across the globe.
Methods
Research Context
A college campus located in the Western portion of the United
was chosen as the site of this study. A convenience sample of
60 enrolled college females aged 18-30 were selected as
respondents. The median age of the sample was 21.89. This age
group was chosen as, per the Pew research Center, as of January
2014 89% of adults aged 18-29 use social networking sites;
making them the largest adult age group in the U.S. to use this
form of media (“Social Media Use by Age Group Over Time,
2015).
The number of Social Networking Sites (SNS) available for use
are vast, and each site varies in their purpose, ease of use, and
content that is available to share. Whatever their original
purpose, and whatever the ways in which that purpose is

6. conveyed whether it be photo sharing primarily, status sharing
primarily, both, or neither, the major goal of these sites is
usually to share and review content with others within the same
network. In order to decide the social networking sites to focus
on, a preliminary study with 40 samples was done to determine,
based on our chosen population of college aged females, which
were the top 3 SNS sites used. As a result, Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram were chosen.
Research Measures
The 65 item questionnaire used was mainly adopted from
previous studies where similar relevant research has been
conducted. The scale created used multiple parts to categorize
respondents into fashion leaders vs. non-fashion leaders and to
determine their social networking site usage behavior.
Demographic information was collected to include age, year in
school, ethnicity, and income. Each respondent was also asked
to identify if they were members of Facebook, Instagram, and/or
Twitter. Items from the Facebook Intensity Scale (Ellison, N.
B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. 2007) and the Facebook
Questionnaire (Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseneault, Simmering, Orr,
2009) were modified to include Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. The Facebook Intensity Scale is mostly a 5 point
Likert scale which measures the SNS sites usage beyond
frequency and duration but incorporates emotional
connectedness to the site and integrates it into individuals’
daily activity (Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. 2007).
The Facebook questionnaire contained three categories of items
measuring basic use of Facebook, attitudes associated with
Facebook and the posting of personally-identifying information.
Response choices varied from nine-item multiple choice to
yes/no depending on the nature of the item (Ross, Orr, Sisic,
Arseneault, Simmering, Orr, 2009).
Fashion leadership can be measured several way including
innovativeness, fashion involvement, perceived knowledge of
fashion, and fashion related behavior. The base fashion

7. leadership/innovativeness was measured by the 6 item Domain
Specific Innovativeness Scale (DSI) created by Goldsmith and
Hofacker (1991). This self-reporting scale is considered reliable
and valid.
Fashion Involvement was measured by the three-item
Involvement scale developed by Mittal and Lee (1989). A five-
point agree/disagree response format was used.
Perceived knowledge, which indicates how knowledgeable
respondents felt about fashion, was measured using a 6 item
self-report scale developed by Goldsmith, Flynn, and Moore
(1996). Fashion related behaviors were measured by 2 single
items; the amount of time spent shopping for clothing and the
average amount of money spent on clothing in a month’s time.
Implications
3- SNS for fashion communication
3.1: SNS (Social Networking Sites)
a) Definition:
Social network sites, as web-based services allow individuals to
construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded
system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a
connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and
those made by others within the system. The nature and
nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.
(5)
b) SNS Categories:
Seven major categories of social media sites include social
connections (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, My Space),
multimedia sharing (YouTube, Flicker), Professional
(LinkedIn), others are informational, educational, hobbies and
academia. (Index 1)
Facebook and Twitter leading the technology world as most
using social networking sites with maximum users and
increasing number of them on daily basis. People want to spent
time on these sites in order to update themselves to the current

8. things related to their interest or which they want to know.
Fashion industry is the one that increased its business even in
the recession of other fields. Economic hardships may
minimize the marketing for sometime but to maintain the
interest of followers, its necessary for them to be in the
technology world to maintain their position. Most of the
companies in US increased their marketing budget in this time
as well. (3)
Fashion opinion leadership is the category of peoples who are
famous personalities in any field of life like David Beckham
(Football). Fashion companies use them as a brand ambassador
to maintain or increase the followers’ number associated with
the brand. It is a part of most of the companies marketing
strategy to use a personality who is already famous amongst the
people; in that way they can take the maximum advantage to
increase the trust of the fashion followers associated with the
personalities.
3.2 SNS activity for fashion:
a) Time spent:
In the era of technology life, everyone wants to be the first one
to know the latest developments through social media. In
fashion, the first thing that comes to mind is clothing. Fashion
celebrities (fashion opinion leadership) frequently use the social
media to update their followers about the latest clothing trends
and the followers take the lead from the celebrities and assist
brands in extending different fashion trends.
With the fast changes in the world with the advancement in
technology and increase in their use by the individuals globally
putting pressure on the companies and celebrities to use these
social networking sites for the quick and improved contact with
them, who wants to be updated with the current trends. It seems
impossible before the boom in technology, but now most of the
population around the world is in touch through their computers
and smartphones as well.
Companies focus on the marketing of the products through
social media to bond the customers with them. Customers will

9. be become loyal with the company or brand by the strong and
reliable marketing strategies of the company. Studies showed
that the people who never or rarely use the social media for
fashion updates also accept the power of social media. (2)
b) Content Posting:
Social Networking Sites allow its users to post to user created
profiles and create personal networks (1). User-friendly options
of the social media networks attract its users to use them on
regular basis and review the things with the updated status
notifications. Fashion leadership update their status related to
the current fashion on a regular basis. Usually it happens when
they have been clicked for the new collection by their brands or
sometime they update status with a single photo sharing on a
daily basis. It was not possible before the social networking
sites to get instant updates related to the individuals about
whom the fans want to be updated. But now the world is a
global village with the use of Internet and fans have not to wait
for the printed addition of the fashion magazines to review the
current trends.
Fashion leadership (fashion opinion leaders) gets likes and
comments, as soon as they share the post with their followers.
They must have to respond to their fans because it helps them in
increasing the number of followers and also maintaining their
interest and trustworthiness with them. Most individuals make
there purchasing decisions based on the information they get
from social media and therefore social media plays an important
role in consumer behavior as well as fashion businesses (1). It
is common amongst the fashion followers to review the opinion
leadership updated status to get information what is in the
fashion even if they don’t want to purchase the items from
online shopping option. The social media users of today are
very choosy in picking up the fashion items. Some of them may
attract with the first appearance of the items but others wants to
know the pros and cons related to that item and make decision

10. accordingly. (4)
1. Alfred C. Weaver, Benjamin B. Morrison, "Social
Networking", Computer, vol.41, no. 2, pp. 97-100, February
2008, doi: 10.1109/MC.2008.61
2. Clark, M., & Melancon, J. (2013). The influence of social
media investment on relational outcomes: A relationship
marketing perspective. International Journal of Marketing
Studies, 5(4), 132-142.
3. Kunz, M. B., Hackworth, B., Osborne, P., & High, J. D.
(2011). Fans, friends, and followers: Social media in the
retailers' marketing mix. The Journal of Applied Business and
Economics, 12(3), 61-68.
4. Phau, I. , & Lo, C. (2004). Profiling fashion innovators.
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An
International Journal, 8(4), 399-411.
5. Boyd, D. M. and Ellison, N. B. (2007), Social networks sites:
Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of computer-
mediated communication, 13: 210–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-
6101.2007.00393.x
Index
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2272684/blogging-pr-
secrets-and-style-guides-whats-in-and-out

11. Method
Research Context
A college campus located in the Western portion of the United
was chosen as the site of this study. A convenience sample of
60 enrolled college females aged 18-30 were selected as
respondents. The median age of the sample was 21.89. This age
group was chosen as, per the Pew research Center, as of January
2014 89% of adults aged 18-29 use social networking sites;
making them the largest adult age group in the U.S. to use this
form of media (“Social Media Use by Age Group Over Time,
2015).
The number of Social Networking Sites (SNS) available for use
are vast, and each site varies in their purpose, ease of use, and
content that is available to share. Whatever their original
purpose, and whatever the ways in which that purpose is
conveyed whether it be photo sharing primarily, status sharing
primarily, both, or neither, the major goal of these sites is
usually to share and review content with others within the same
network. In order to decide the social networking sites to focus
on, a preliminary study with 40 samples was done to determine,
based on our chosen population of college aged females, which
were the top 3 SNS sites used. As a result, Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram were chosen.
Research Measures
The 65 item questionnaire used was mainly adopted from
previous studies where similar relevant research has been
conducted. The scale created used multiple parts to categorize
respondents into fashion leaders vs. non-fashion leaders and to
determine their social networking site usage behavior.
Demographic information was collected to include age, year in
school, ethnicity, and income. Each respondent was also asked
to identify if they were members of Facebook, Instagram, and/or
Twitter. Items from the Facebook Intensity Scale (Ellison, N.
B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. 2007) and the Facebook

12. Questionnaire (Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseneault, Simmering, Orr,
2009) were modified to include Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. The Facebook Intensity Scale is mostly a 5 point
Likert scale which measures the SNS sites usage beyond
frequency and duration but incorporates emotional
connectedness to the site and integrates it into individuals’
daily activity (Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. 2007).
The Facebook questionnaire contained three categories of items
measuring basic use of Facebook, attitudes associated with
Facebook and the posting of personally-identifying information.
Response choices varied from nine-item multiple choice to
yes/no depending on the nature of the item (Ross, Orr, Sisic,
Arseneault, Simmering, Orr, 2009).
Fashion leadership can be measured several way including
innovativeness, fashion involvement, perceived knowledge of
fashion, and fashion related behavior. The base fashion
leadership/innovativeness was measured by the 6 item Domain
Specific Innovativeness Scale (DSI) created by Goldsmith and
Hofacker (1991). This self-reporting scale is considered reliable
and valid.
Fashion Involvement was measured by the three-item
Involvement scale developed by Mittal and Lee (1989). A five-
point agree/disagree response format was used.
Perceived knowledge, which indicates how knowledgeable
respondents felt about fashion, was measured using a 6 item
self-report scale developed by Goldsmith, Flynn, and Moore
(1996). Fashion related behaviors were measured by 2 single
items; the amount of time spent shopping for clothing and the
average amount of money spent on clothing in a month’s time.
Running Head: FASHION LEADERSHIP 1
FASHION LEADERSHIP 8

13. Nouf Alkharashi
Fashion leadership is the act of being influential on fashion.
Dimensions that arise from fashion leadership include
innovativeness in fashion, as well as the leadership opinion. The
leaders of fashion basically show interest in the way they dress
and not trying to set trends for others in whatever they wear.
The fashion leaders, most of the times, also do not follow other
trends that are conventional.
Fashion leadership involves an individual being interested in
unique items, as well as group identifications. Brands are
important in expressing fashion leadership but are not really
considered to be a factor of motivation in fashion leaders.
Swapping is used to facilitate fashion leadership. It is also
important in the sense that it broadens the long used exchange
concepts, as well as the cycle of consumption. In the study of
fashion leadership, there is need to find the membership
consumer group of fashion, consumer behavior and the brands
that revolve around the swapping clothing environment.
Fashion leadership needs innovativeness for one to be a good
leader in fashion. Innovativeness involves the idea of one
buying fashion before any other person acquiring. Most
celebrities are fashion leaders who tend to set the pace for the
public. A number of times the fashion designers use the
celebrities to wear their designs as a way of advertising to the
public. The methodology of advertising designs using
celebrities who showcase unique designs, leads to setting of
trends in fashion.
Past research indicate that some brands are more preferred to
some groups of consumers than others (Liu & Wang, 2008).
Furthermore, the various groups of fashion leadership have the
urge to provide high uniqueness levels in their products, which
will further give them a sense of motivation, which will give
them a chance to choose on a variety of different offerings,
within the product category apparel. For these consumer types,

14. some brands may represent precise denotations that may be
imperative to the membership of the group, as well as the
identity.
Consumers make use of clothing when identifying with specific
groups of fashion consumers. Through this process, brands play
a big role. Fashion leaders would thus come in to provide the
necessary need for these types of consumers. Strong
associations may be exhibited to certain brands by these types
of consumers, as a result of their fashion interest. There is the
need to understand the fashion leadership thoughts that relates
to brands. The theory of clothe swapping provides some
information on this.
The theory of clothe swapping refers to two or more consumers
exchanging clothes without any money exchange (Straaten,
2010). The swapping can either be done in person or websites.
The fashion leaders who do the swapping in person may gather
at someone’s home to do the collection of all clothes that are no
longer worn or in need. The items are then gathered and valued
basing on categories that are key concern in fashion, thus, the
expensive and the less expensive ones (Straaten, 2010). It is not
necessary for all items that are swapped to be taken, since
everyone has a right to choose. An explanation by these fashion
leaders is made as to why certain choices are made, since the
selection of the items is done on a one by one basis (Straaten,
2010).
Aside from the meeting to do the swapping, online choice is
another way of swapping. Basing on the respective posts online,
two fashion leaders may exchange their items. The posts that
are placed online include photos and the description of items
needed and those that are to be exchanged. The most common
swapping sites include social networking, as well as blogging.
The online platforms enable the fashion leaders to engage in
brands and fashion talks. The swapping through online, as well
as that of in person is important to the fashion leaders since
they are able to exercise their persuasion skills of considering
new fashion in town (Workman & Caldwell, 2007).

15. Another theory that arises from fashion leadership is the fashion
consumer groups. The knowledge behind the fashion consumers
enables the fashion leaders to identify the specific target
groups, the exact items that are needed which have a gap in the
market and the age and population structures of the areas. When
the behaviors and motivations of fashion consumer groups are
well understood, then there will be a smooth prediction of the
wants and needs, which will be satisfied better than before.
The theory of fashion consumer groups, as narrated by Rogers
(1962), suggested that every consumer has a unique pattern of
behavior when a new item is presented to him or her. There are
some basic categories that are important in consumer adoption.
They include early adopters, innovators, early majority,
laggards and late majority. Each of these categories has a
different percentage in the population. The knowledge of these
categories is important to the fashion leaders in identifying the
specific groups for identifying new products thus they get busy
in designing the desired products. Furthermore, the earlier an
adoption of a product is done, the faster it runs through other
consumers who intend to like it and the fashion leader engages
himself or herself in redesigning of different fits of the product.
The redesigning and acceptance of the products leads to a
greater percentage of the population gaining interest on the
product (Rogers, 1962).
Roger’s model was built upon by Hirschman and Adcock
(1978), who differentiated the fashion consumer groups through
the use of a scale. The developed scale points out the four
groups that are fashion oriented. The groups include fashion
opinion leaders, fashion followers, fashion innovators and
innovative communicators (Hirschman & Adcock, 1978). The
four groups have unique characteristics that depend on their
way of interaction with clothing, as well as trends on fashion.
Each group has a different motivation when making decisions
on whatever they are in need of. Several researchers have
greatly assessed the diverse behavioral patterns of various
fashion consumers. The research has it that the fashion opinion

16. leaders, as well as innovators are the most conscious on fashion
among all other groups of consumers because their fashion
interest and trends is the strongest. Moreover, the two are
driven by the high need for being unique when making their
daily decisions. Contradicting to that, innovative
communicators, as well as the fashion followers do not do their
shopping on fashionable items at frequent rates. They are also
not often driven by shopping motivations that are hedonic
(Workman & Caldwell, 2007).
When these fundamental characteristics are taken into
consideration, it is clearly seen that the most appropriate group
to examine, are the opinion leaders, as well as the fashion
innovators, who will help in the knowledge of further
understanding the connection formed with apparel, as well as
how they use that apparel in expressing themselves. Fashion
leaders on the other hand, with knowledge given to them on the
fashion industry, are likely to be aware of the diversity of
brands that are apparel, as well as the benefits that the brands
offer.
Another theory of fashion leadership is the brands. Brand is the
symbol, name or design that a particular company or seller or
fashion designer is identified with. The brand enables the
fashion leader to distinguish himself from other designers,
whereby, he also shows his consumers and followers a certain
degree of worthiness. In precise, brands protect both the fashion
leader and his followers. The fashion leader is protected
through avoiding imitation of his works while the follower is
protected through acquiring imitations of the fashion he wants
(Aaker, 1991).
Fashion followers judge brands on an emotional and cognitive
way. It implies that the perceptions of brands are thus created
by the consumers (Keller, 2001). The brand perceptions brought
about by emotional values, increases the intentions of purchase.
Also, the fashion leaders who device various strategies that
assist in the promotion of connections that are with their brands
that are apparel, have an impact of value creation in their

17. follower’s mind.
There are factors that enable a brand to be notable and further
expedite a perception that is favorable to the fashion consumers.
In most cases, some aspects of the fashion of the product, that
include attribute of the design, innovative features of the design
and the design of package, mostly create the popularity of the
brand (Franzen & Moriarty, 2009). Nevertheless, the most vital
thing about a brand is the intangible nature it contains, the
brand equity. Brand equity refers to the attached value to a
functional service or product through associating the brand
name with it (Aaker & Biel, 1993). Brand equity can be seen as
a way of capitalizing on the brand name value. In the event
where a brand creates a strong equity, loyalty of the brand
consumers remains and even grows stronger. When there is a
high regard of the brand, most consumers turn to the brand
despite any changes of its prices in the market place.
Identification is another useful theory in the fashion leadership.
The theory revolves around four components that affect fashion.
They include social categorization, social identity, group
distinctiveness and social comparison (Tajfel & Turner, 1979).
The theory explains the process of individuals ordering their
social environment into various groups; how they heighten their
self- concept through membership gain of social groups; make
comparisons with the other people in their groups; and lastly
make distinction of their group common likes from the other
groups. This brings out the distinction of the different
categories of the fashion consumers.
Another theory in fashion leadership is the trickle- down theory.
It involves the distribution of fashion to individuals. It
functions where the societies depends on hierarchy and strive
for upward mobility among the several social strata. The
fashion is first offered to the higher hierarchy within the society
then gradually moves to the lower within the same strata. It
assumes a social model, whereby, the people at the higher side
of the strata seek distinction of style from those at the socially
lower side of the strata.

18. There are trends in the fashion leadership. Such include the
distribution of fashion. The society today consists of various
cultures living together. Different cultures have different taste
of fashion and designs. The fashion leaders need to identify
what different cultures can comfortably accept within the rules
of their societies. Fashion depends at times on the type of
climate within an area. The fashion leaders must be aware of the
climate of the areas they intend to unleash their fashion. It may
include further study of climatic changes and patterns of
different regions so as to present their fashion in appropriate
seasons. Higher levels of technologies are used to come up with
trendy fashions due to the multicultural society.
In conclusion, fashion leadership entails several attributes to
enable an increased number of followers. One has to be trendy,
age specific, cost effective and also sensitive to climatic
changes. Most people look up to celebrities for fashion adoption
since they believe they have the best trendy fashion. Decisions
made to the type of fashion to be worn mostly depend on how
the fashion leader would portray his items.
Reference
Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on
the value of a brand name. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Aaker, D.A. & Biel, A.L. (Eds.). (1993). Brand equity &

19. advertising: Advertising’s role in building strong brands.
Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Franzen, G. & Moriarty, S. (2009). The science and art of
branding. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Hirschman, E. C. & Adcock, W. O. (1978). An examination of
innovative
communicators, opinion leaders and innovators for men’s
fashion apparel. In
H.K. Hunt (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research (pp. 303 –
314.). Ann Arbor,
MI: Association for Consumer Research
Keller, K. L. (2001). Building customer-based brand equity.
Marketing Management.
Liu, T. & Wang, C. (2008). Factors affecting attitudes toward
private labels and
promoted brands. Journal of Marketing Management, 24(4), 283
– 298.
Rogers, E. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. Glencoe, IL: The
Free Press.
Straaten, L. (2010). Get some retail therapy -- without spending
a dime. Redbook, 214,173 – 175.
Tajfel, H. & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of
intergroup conflict.
Monterey, CA: Brooks-Cole
Workman, J. & Caldwell, L. (2007). Centrality of visual product
aesthetics, tactile and
uniqueness needs of fashion consumers. International Journal of
Consumer
Studies, 31(6), 589 – 596.
ADM_SNS

20. Social Network Usage and Self-Concept of U.S. College Female
Fashion Opinion Leaders
Alkharashi, N., Burns, R., Kensra, D. and Naz, F.
California State University, Northridge
Keywords: Fashion; SNS; Behavior
Research Description, goal, question, and significance
1. The goal of this research is to discover the relationship that
exist, if any, between Fashion Opinion Leadership, Social
Networking Site Activity and Self-Concept.
2. In this research we ask, is there a relationship between the
Fashion Opinion Leadership of U.S. College Females and their
Social Networking Site Activity and Self-Concept.
3. Social media has been widely adopted as the channel for real-
time interaction with customers and to get them engaged with
various companies and products. This study is significant as it
can possibly help fashion marketers to identify fashion opinion
leaders on various SNS through their behaviors on the various
sites to be studied. Fashion Opinion Leaders can act as a
channel of diffusing fashion trends to the masses through the
use of this widely adopted channel. Additionally, it may be
helpful for fashion marketers to determine the ways in which
fashion opinion leaders self-identify in order to properly
identify this segment of the market.
Research Variable & Definition
1. Conceptual Definition
Independent Variables
-Fashion Leadership
Fashion opinion leaders are influential in persuading others to
adopt fashions (Weisfield-Spolter & Thakkar, 2011). They have

21. a high level of fashion involvement, a perceived knowledge
about fashion, and spend a significant amount of time on
fashion related behaviors-time spent shopping for clothing and
spending for clothing (Goldsmith, Flynn & Moore, 1996)
Social M
edia Site usage refers to activity on several social networking
sites including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Activity can
be measured by the time spent on these sites, the content posted
on these sites, and the members in their network (i.e. followers
and friends).
Dependent Variables
-Social Networking Site Activity
Typically allow users and subscribers to post to created profiles
and create personal networks for the exchanging of information
with other uses (Weaver and Morrison, 2008).
2. Operational Definitions
Female Fashion Opinion Leaders will be those identified as
those who have a high level of perceived fashion knowledge,
those whose fashion behaviors indicate significant activity
related to fashion and a high level of fashion involvement .
Their social networking profiles will indicate a high level of
interest in fashion. A large portion of the social networking
groups they belong to as well as the pages they follow will be
fashion driven. Additionally, a significant amount of the content
they share will be fashion driven.
3. Control Variables
Demographics.
Research Model & Hypotheses

22. 1. Research Model (drawing)
Research Model
2. We hypothesize that
1. Fashion leadership spends more time on social media; the
fashion leadership will have a greater influence.
2. Fashion leadership’s content of the post influences shoppers.
Preliminary Outline
1- Introduction
· Background-The background of our research stemmed from a
desire to further understand fashion opinion leaders. Research
has been done to study their consumer behavior but very little
research has been done to study their social networking site
behavior and their self-concept
· Motivation- to be able to identify fashion opinion leaders
through their social networking activity as well as the self-
concept
· Significance-identifying fashion opinion leaders is significant
to fashion manufactures market new clothes
1. Summers, J. (1970). The Identity of Women's Clothing
Fashion Opinion Leaders. Journal of Marketing Research,7(2),
178-185.
2. Goldsmith, R., Flynn, L., & Moore, M. (1996). The Self-
Concept Of Fashion Leaders. Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal,14(4), 242-248.
2- Fashion Opinion Leader Characteristics
· Fashion Leadership

23. · A Fashion Opinion Leaders have influence on other’s attitudes
and behaviors towards fashion trends
· They are knowledgeable about fashion and their advice is
taken seriously
· Self-Concept
· There are many facets to self-concept (actual self, ideal-self
and social-self to name a few). Our study will focus on the
actual self, which is the way one sees themselves
· The idea that self-concept can serve as a predictor of
consumer purchasing behavior was proposed in the late 1960s
by Grubb and Grathwohl.
1. Weisfeld-Spolter, S. & M. Thakkar (2011). Is a Designer
Only As Good As A Star Who Wears Her Clothes? Examining
the Roles of Celebrities As Opinion Leaders for the Diffusion of
Fashion in the US Teen Market. Academy of Marketing Studies
Journal,15(2), 133-144.
2. Goldsmith, R., Flynn, L., & Moore, M. (1996). The Self-
Concept Of Fashion Leaders. Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal,14(4), 242-248.
3. Abel, J., Buff, C., & O’Neill, J. (2013). Actual self-concept
versus ideal self-concept: An examination of image congruence
and consumers in the health club industry. Sport, Business and
Management: An International Journal,3(1), 78-96.
3- SNS for fashion communication
1. SNS for fashion communication:
1.1: SNS
a) Definition:
Social network sites, as web-based services allow individuals to
(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded
system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share
a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections

24. and those made by others within the system. The nature and
nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site.
Boyd, D. M. and Ellison, N. B. (2007), Social Network Sites:
Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication, 13: 210–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-
6101.2007.00393.x
b) SNS Categories:
Seven major categories of social media sites include social
connections (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, My Space),
multimedia sharing (YouTube, Flicker), Professional
(LinkedIn), others are informational, educational, hobbies and
academia.
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2272684/blogging-pr-
secrets-and-style-guides-whats-in-and-out
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2272684/blogging-pr-
secrets-and-style-guides-whats-in-and-out
1.1 SNS activity for fashion:
a) Time spent:
In the era of technology life, everyone wants to be the first one
to know the latest developments through social media. In
fashion, the first thing that comes to mind is clothing. Fashion
celebrities (fashion leadership) frequently use the social media
to update their followers about the latest clothing trends and the
followers take the lead from the celebrities and assist brands in
extending different fashion trends.
b) Content Posting:
Fashion leadership update their status related to the current
fashion on a regular basis. Usually it happens when they have

25. been clicked for the new collection by their brands or sometime
they update status with a single photo sharing on a daily basis.
Fashion leadership gets likes and comments, as soon as they
share the post with their followers. They must have to respond
to their fans because it helps them in increasing the number of
followers and also maintaining their interest and reliability with
them.
· Social Networking Sites allow it’s users to post to user created
profiles and create personal networks
· Most individuals make their purchasing decisions based on the
information they get from social media and therefore social
media plays an important role in consumer behavior as well as
fashion businesses.
1. Alfred C. Weaver, Benjamin B. Morrison, "Social
Networking", Computer, vol.41, no. 2, pp. 97-100, February
2008, doi:10.1109/MC.2008.61
Theory
· Two-step flow of communication theory-
· According to the two-step flow of communication theory,
there are two steps in which the influence of mass
communication flows. The first step being mass media
messages’ influence on opinion leaders, also known as the
“influential”, and the second step being the opinion leaders
relay of this mass communication to social networks close to
them.
· By using different social networks like Facebook, twitter etc.
fashion leadership update their status and they will gets like
reply and reposting of the status or message by the followers.
This two-step flow theory of communication would be helpful
for our research project to support the concept of
communication in between leadership and followers.
Barnett, G. (2011). Two-Step Flow of Communication Theory.
In Encyclopedia of social networks (1st ed., Vol. 2, pp. 888-
890). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

26. Choi, S. (2014). The Two-Step Flow of Communication in
Twitter-Based Public Forums. Social Science Computer Review.
Research Model & Hypotheses
Research Model
Hypothesis
H1- Fashion leadership spends more time on social media; the
fashion leadership will have a greater influence.
H2- Fashion leadership’s content of the post influences
shoppers.
1. Phau, I. , & Lo, C. (2004). Profiling fashion innovators.
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An
International Journal, 8(4), 399-411.
2. Richard Michon, Hong Yu Donna Smith, Jean (2007) "The
shopping experience of female fashion leaders", International
Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 35 Iss: 6,
pp.488 – 501
Methodology
· Fashion opinion leadership is determined by fashion
innovativeness, fashion involvement, perceived knowledge of
fashion, and fashion related behaviors.
· The six item domain specific innovativeness scale developed
by Goldsmith and Hofacker (1991) can be used to help us
measure innovativeness
· Mittal and Lee’s (1989) 3 item involvement scale can be used
to measure fashion involvement

27. · A 4-6 item self-report can be used to measure perceived
knowledge and questions regarding the amount of time and
money spent on clothing shopping can be used to measure
fashion-related behavior.
· The top percentile of theses participants will be determined to
be fashion leaders.
· Our team will develop a scale to measure social networking
site activity.
· We will use Malhorta’s (1981) scale of self-concept to
measure self-concept
1. Goldsmith, R., Flynn, L., & Moore, M. (1996). The Self-
Concept Of Fashion Leaders. Clothing and Textiles Research
Journal,14(4), 242-248.
2. Summers, J. (1970). The Identity of Women's Clothing
Fashion Opinion Leaders. Journal of Marketing Research,7(2),
178-185.
Time Spent
H1
H2
Content Post
Fashion Leadership

28. Time Spent
H1
H2
Content Post
Fashion Leadership