Young consumers’ subjective perceptions of leggings: implications for product development from Q-methodology study

Purpose This study examines the subjective perceptions of leggings as contemporary fashion items among South Korean women in their twenties. It aims to identify shared perception types and derive exploratory implications for leggings product development and consumer-oriented marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach Q-methodology was used with 20 South Korean women in their twenties who had prior experience wearing leggings and sorted 31 statements. Data were analyzed using principal component analysis with varimax rotation, and interviews supported interpretation. Three factors were extracted, with the negative pole of Factor 3 treated as an additional viewpoint. Findings Three factors were extracted, from which four perception viewpoints were interpreted. Type 4 represented the reflected negative pole of Factor 3 rather than an independently extracted factor. Type 1 emphasized modesty and situational appropriateness, reflecting concerns about body exposure and social norms in public settings. Type 2 focused on functionality and autonomy, highlighting the importance of comfort, practicality and individual freedom in clothing choices. Type 3 generally accepted leggings as outerwear but demonstrated contextual reservations, particularly regarding specific situations, social expectations and issues related to exposure. Type 4 valued convenience and the active image associated with leggings, yet remained sensitive to visual attention, body exposure and broader social perceptions. Because Types 3 and 4 were each represented by only two participants, these viewpoints should be interpreted as exploratory and tentative rather than as stable or statistically generalizable consumer segments. Originality/value Within the defined participant group, functionally similar leggings acquired contrasting meanings depending on how consumers interpreted body visibility, autonomy, functionality and situational acceptability. By mapping these subjective viewpoints onto type-specific product-development and communication considerations, the study provides an exploratory perception-to-product framework for addressing differing consumer concerns regarding functionality, body exposure, versatility and social acceptability.