FASHION MERCHANDISING 114 EXAM QUESTIONS WELL ANSWERED LATEST UPDATE 2026

FASHION MERCHANDISING 114 EXAM QUESTIONS WELL ANSWERED LATEST UPDATE 2026 Fashion - Answers the style or styles of clothing and accessories worn at a particular time by a particular group of people. Fashion Industries - Answers are those engaged in manufacturing the materials and finished products used in the production of apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. Fashion Business - Answers includes all the industries and services connected with fashion: design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, communications, publishing, and consulting—in another words, any business concerned with fashion goods and services. Marketing - Answers includes diverse activities that identify consumer needs; develop good products; and price, distribute, and promote those products effectively so that they will sell easily. Fashion Marketing - Answers the marketing of apparel, accessories, and the other fashion-related products to the ultimate consumer Fashion Merchandising - Answers is the planning required to have the right fashion-oriented merchandise at the right time, right place, in the right quantities, at the right prices, and with the right sales promotion for a specific target customer. Style - Answers is the characteristic or distinctive appearance of a garment—the combination of features that makes it unique and different from other garments. High Fashion - Answers refers to a new style accepted by a limited number of fashion leaders who want to be the first to adopt changes and innovation of fashion. Mass/volume fashion - Answers consists of styles that are widely accepted. These fashions are usually produced and sold in large quantities at moderate to low prices and appeal to the greatest majority of fashion conscious consumers. Design - Answers is a particular or individual interpretation, version, or treatment of a style. Style number - Answers the number manufacturers and retailers assigned to a design. The number identifies the product for manufacturing, ordering, and selling. Taste - Answers Prevailing opinion of what is attractive and appropriate. Classic - Answers A style or design that satisfies a basic need and remains in general fashion acceptane for an extended period of time Fad - Answers A short-lived fashion Trend - Answers A general direction or movement Silhouette - Answers the overall outline or contour of a costume, also frequently referred to as "shape" or "form". Details - Answers the individual elements that give a silhouette its form or shape. These include trimmings; skirt and pant length and shoulder, waist, and sleeve treatment. Texture - Answers the look and feel of material, woven or unwoven Fashion cycle - Answers the rise, widespread popularity, and then decline in acceptance of a style Rise stage - Answers the acceptance of either a newly introduced design or its adaptations by an increasing number of consumers Knock offs - Answers a trade term referring to the low-price copies of an item that has had good acceptance at higher prices Adaptations - Answers designs that have all the dominant features of the style that inspired then but do not claim to be exact copies Culmination stage - Answers that period when a fashion is at the height of its popularity and use. The fashion then is in such demand that it can be mass produced, mass distributed, and sold at prices within the reach of most consumers Decline stage - Answers the decrease in consumer demand because of boredom resulting from widespread use of a fashion Obsolescence stage - Answers when disinterest occurs and a style can no longer be sold at any price Long run fashion - Answers fashion that takes more seasons to complete its cycle than what might be considered average life expectancy Short run fashion - Answers fashion that takes fewer seasons to complete its cycle than what might be considered average life expectancy Environment - Answers the conditions under which we live that affect our lives and influence our actions Target markets - Answers a specific group of potential customers that manufacturers and retailers are attempting to turn into regular customers. Market segmentation - Answers the separating of the total customer market into smaller groups known as "market segments" Demographics - Answers : population studies that focus on where people live. These studies organize data by region of the country, by county or city size, by population density, and by climate. Psychographics - Answers studies that develop fuller, more personal portraits of potential customers, including personality, attitude, interest, personal opinions, and actual product benefits desired. Behavior - Answers studies that help companies understand and predict the behavior of present and potential customers of preferences. VALS - Answers system that groups consumers based on Primary Motivation and Resources. Personal income - Answers the total or gross amount of income received from all sources by the population as a whole. It consists of wages, salaries, interest, dividends, and all other income for everyone in the country. Per capita personal income - Answers the wages, salaries, interest, dividends, and all other income received by the population as a whole, divided by the number of people in the population. Disposable personal income - Answers the amount of money a person has left to spend or save after paying taxes. It is roughly equivalent to what an employee calls "take-home pay," and provides an approximation of the purchasing power of each consumer during any given year. Discretionary income - Answers the money that an individual or family has to spend or save after buying such necessities as food, clothing, shelter, and basic transportation. Purchasing power - Answers the value of dollar as it relates to the amount of goods or services it will buy. A decline in purchasing power is caused by inflation. Inflation - Answers a substantial and continuing rise in the general price level Recession - Answers a low point in a business cycle, when money and credit become scarce and unemployment is high Baby-boom generation - Answers people born in the United States between 1946 and 1954; the largest generation group ever recorded Generation X - Answers the "baby boomlet" group, born from 1966 to 1976 Generation Y - Answers the second "baby bust" group, born from 1977 to 1887 Sumptuary law - Answers laws regulating consumer purchases, for example, dress, on religious or moral grounds. Erogenous - Answers sexually stimulating Prophetic style - Answers particularly interesting new styles that are still in the introductory phase of their fashion cycle. Downward-flow theory - Answers the theory of fashion adoption which maintains that to be identified as a true fashion, a style must first be adopted by people at the top of the social pyramid. The style then gradually wins acceptance at progressively lower social levels. Also called "tickle down theory" Horizontal-flow theory - Answers the theory of fashion adoption that holds that fashion move horizontally between groups on similar social levels rather than vertically from one level to another. Also called "mass-market theory" Fashion innovator - Answers a person first to try out a new style Fashion influential - Answers a person whose advice is sought by associates. A fashion influential's adoption of a new style gives it prestige among a group Upward-flow theory - Answers the theory of fashion adoption that holds that the young—particularly those of low-income families as well as those of higher income who adopt low-income life-styles—are quicker than any other social Primary level - Answers composed of the growers and producers of the raw materials of fashion—the fiber, fabric, leather, and fur producers who function in the raw materials market. Secondary level: - Answers composed of industries—manufacturers and contractors—that produce the semi-finished or finished fashion goods form the material supplied by the primary level. Retail level - Answers the ultimate distribution- level outlets for fashion goods directly to the consumer Auxiliary level - Answers composed of all the support services that are working with primary producers, secondary manufacturers, and retailers to keep consumers aware of the fashion merchandise produced for ultimate consumption Horizontal growth - Answers a company expands on the level on which it has been performing Vertical growth - Answers a company expands on a different level that its original one Merger - Answers a sale of one company to another with the result that only one company exists Diversification - Answers the addition of various lines, products, or services to serve different markets Franchise - Answers a contractual agreement in which a firm or individual buys the exclusive right to conduct a retail business within a specified trading area under a franchiser's registered or trademarked name. Licensing - Answers an arrangement whereby firms are given permission to produce and market merchandise in the name of the licensor, who is paid a percentage of sales for permitting his or her name to be used Royalty fee - Answers percentage of license sales paid to the licensor Bridge market - Answers this group bridges the price range between custom designs and high quality but less expensive merchandise Better market - Answers this group's price range is just below that of bridge lines Moderate-priced market - Answers this group sometimes produces originals but usually turns out adaptations of styles that have survived the introduction stage and are in the rise stage of their fashion life cycle. Budget market - Answers this group makes no attempt to offer new or unusual styling. Rather, these firms mass- produce close copies or adaptations of styles that have proved their acceptance in higher-priced market Line - Answers an assortment of new designs offered by manufacturers to their customers, usually on a seasonal basis Primary suppliers - Answers producers of fibers, textile fabrics, finished leathers, and furs Trimmings - Answers all the materials—excluding the fabric—used in the construction of a garment including braid, bows, buckles, buttons, elastic, interfacing, padding, self-belts, thread, zippers, etc. Fiber - Answers a threadlike unit of raw material from which yarn and, eventually, textile fabric is made Yarn - Answers a continuous thread formed by spinning or twisting fibers together Fabrics - Answers materials formed from knitted, woven, or bonded yarns Natural fibers - Answers fibers found in nature that is from plant or animal sources Manufactured fibers - Answers fiber invented in a laboratory; also called "man-made" or "synthetic" Cotton - Answers which absorbs and dries quickly, is the most widely used of all natural fibers, and good for warm weather clothing Wool - Answers absorbs and dries more slowly than cotton, but the natural crimping lends itself to insulating against the cold Silk - Answers with its luxurious feel and breathable quality, can be worn year round Flax - Answers comes from plant, used to make linen. Strongest of vegetable fibers Linen - Answers absorbs and dries quickly like cotton, but wrinkles and is harder to iron than cotton Ramie - Answers comes from a woody-leafed Asian plant grown mostly in china. Linen like fabric is inexpensive and well suited to warm weather apparel. Hemp - Answers formerly used for agricultural uses (rope, canvas and lamp oil) is now being used for garments and bed linens Spinnerette - Answers mechanical device through which a thick liquid base is forced to produce fibers of varying length Cellulosic fibers - Answers manufactured with same substance found in the natural fibers of plants, made with minimal chemical steps. It includes rayon, acetate triacetate, and lyocell. The cellulose used to make these fibers comes mostly from soft woods, such as spruce Noncellulosic fibers - Answers made with petroleum, coal, gas, air, and water, they are produced from various combinations of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. Polymers - Answers fiber chemists working in laboratories link the molecules into long chains. Nylon, acrylic, and polyester are in this category Generic names - Answers non-trademarked names assigned by the federal trade commission to 23 manufactured fibers Variant - Answers new fiber Brand names - Answers another name of trademark, which are registered with the U.S. Patent Office; only the manufacturer of a variant is allowed to use the registered name. Microfiber - Answers a fiber two or three times thinner than a human hair, and thinner than wool, cotton, flax, or silk fibers. It has a touch and texture similar to silk or cashmere, but is wrinkle-resistant