Lorynn Divita, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Apparel Design and Merchandising | Baylor University
Waco, TX, UNITED STATES
Dr. Divita's areas of research are fashion forecasting and trend contagion; and textile, apparel and retailing industry topics.
Spotlight
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Biography
Dr. Lorynn Divita is an Associate Professor of Apparel Merchandising in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Baylor University, where she has taught since 2002.
Dr. Divita has taught courses on principles of art and design, merchandise planning and control, retailing trends and issues, fashion forecasting and apparel quality analysis. Her academic research focuses on fashion forecasting and the influence of contemporary culture on trend contagion.
She has presented her research at the annual conferences of the International Textile and Apparel Association, the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes and the Popular Culture Association and for private clients.
Her publications have appeared in academic journals including the Journal of the Textile Institute, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, and Clothing Cultures published in England; Clothing and Textiles Research Journal and Journal of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management, published in the US and International Journal of Costume and Fashion, published in Korea.
Dr. Divita is the U.S. editor of the Bloomsbury Fashion Business Case Studies series and the author of the textbook, Fashion Forecasting (Bloomsbury).
Areas of Expertise (5)
Retailing
Fashion Merchandising
Apparel
Textile Sciences
Fashion Forecasting
Education (3)
University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Ph.D., Textile Products Marketing
University of Missouri: M.S., Apparel Manufacturing Management
California State University, Chico: B.A. degrees, Fashion Merchandising and French
Links (3)
Media Appearances (9)
How online shops mobilized to sell products featuring images from the James Webb Space Telescope
Marketplace online
2022-07-16
Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor in apparel design and merchandising at Baylor, is quoted in this article about how images taken by NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope have sprung up quickly on light-up signs, sweatshirts, fanny packs, mugs and more. While some online sellers might use on-demand companies, it’s easier than ever for small vendors to own a high-quality printer or other equipment to produce these products quickly, Divita said.
'Coastal Grandmother' Is the Style Comforting TikTok
Paper Magazine online
2022-04-27
Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising, was interviewed about the new “Costal Grandmother” aesthetic trend.
Muslim entrepreneur brings modest fashion to her Maine community
Marketplace online
2022-03-08
AUDIO: Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor in apparel design and merchandising, was interviewed for this story about how a young entrepreneur’s fashion start-up is tapping into a Muslim customer base that has long been underserved by the mainstream fashion industry.
Makers of modest clothes find a niche in U.S. fashion
Share America
2021-10-21
Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor in apparel design and merchandising, explains that the increase in modest fashion reflects the fashion industry’s understanding that diverse fashion choices will increase profit. Share America is the U.S. Department of State’s platform for communicating American foreign policy worldwide.
Four Seasons Total Landscaping is cashing in on Trump team’s news conference
Marketplace online
2020-11-09
Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., associate professor of apparel merchandising, is quoted in this article about how a small landscaping business has capitalized on the attention after hosting a news conference for President Trump's legal team.
What does business casual even mean in 2019?
Fast Company online
2019-09-03
In this article about exactly what is meant by “business casual” in the workplace, Baylor University apparel expert Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., traces the history of business casual, which began as a no-cost perk companies offered their employees, and notes that these days, it varies by industry. “Observe what the leaders in your industry are doing, and use their dress as a springboard,” said Divita, co-author of Fashion Forecasting and associate professor of apparel merchandising at Baylor University.
Why Some Mannequins Are Turning Blue, Taking a Dive and Putting on Weight
Newswise
2017-07-06
Women have long griped about pencil-thin mannequins in clothing displays, saying they bear little resemblance to real women’s bodies and make shopping frustrating and depressing. But the criticism is beginning to make inroads, and some members of the apparel industry are introducing changes to stop idealizing thin bodies and make mannequins more inclusive — among them creating mannequins with curvier shapes, modeling the figures after disabled people and, in a very different approach, fashioning forms that are totally unrealistic, says Baylor University researcher Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., co-author of the textbook “Fashion Forecasting” and associate professor of apparel merchandising in Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences.
We Might Be On the Verge of a Mannequin Revolution
Racked
2017-06-28
It’s not exactly a secret that the advertising industry isn’t kind to women. Bad Photoshop blunders make it easier to take back — with humor — the unsettling messages sent to women about how they should look (“with chunks of their bodies missing!”). But what about the way women are depicted in stores? It’s a little less comical.
Fashion Forecasts for 2017: Less cowhide, more denim, eye-popping sleeves — and concern for the planet
Baylor University
2017-02-01
After years of wanting the cheapest prices possible for clothes, consumers are starting to consider how their clothes are made and their impact on the environment, says fashion forecaster/author Lorynn Divita, Ph.D., of Baylor University.
Articles (3)
Environmental awareness on bamboo product purchase intentions: do consumption values impact green consumption?
International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and EducationJeong-Ju Yoo , Lorynn Divita & Hye-Young Kim
2013 The objective of this study is to identify the factors influencing bamboo textile and apparel purchase intentions. The theory of consumption value is used as a theoretical background to explain the mechanism of bamboo product purchase decisions in relation to consumer environmental awareness (i.e. perceived consumer effectiveness, environmental concern and clothing environmental attitudes). A total of 122 mostly female college students participated in this study via an online Qualtrics-created survey. A hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The results revealed that promotion-effort products should clearly deliver economic, epistemic and emotional values, whereas social and functional values are not significant. In addition, environmental consumer awareness overall is a significant factor in determining bamboo textile and apparel purchase intentions. Further marketing implications are suggested.
Value and fairness in US textile industry partnerships
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International JournalLorynn Divita, Nancy Cassill, David Ludwig
2006 The purpose of this paper is to develop a demographic profile and to examine the types of value (social and economic) and fairness received from strategic partnerships between members of the US textile industry with their US suppliers and vendors.
Strategic Partnerships in the Domestic Textile Complex: Exploring Suppliers’ Perspectives
Clothing and Textiles Research JournalLorynn R. Divita, Nancy L. Cassill
2002 A strategic partnership is an alliance between two or more firms in which resources, capabilities, and core competencies are combined to pursue mutual benefits (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 1997). The purpose of this pilot study was to examine strategic partnerships within the domestic textile complex. Qualitative interviews were conducted spring 1999 with seven textile complex executives. A two-page interview instrument was developed for data collection, based on a theoretical framework that incorporated both Thibaut and Kelley’s (1959) social exchange theory and the Lorange and Roos (1992) Partners’ Supply Chain Model. Results showed that a) partnerships did exist in the domestic textile complex; b) costs were both financial (for partnership establishment) and relational (conflict of interest between partners); and c) benefits included sharing of private company information, sharing of financial risk, receiving exclusive access to select goods and services, and reduced time to market. Strategic partnerships will play a key role in the future by strengthening communication and business relationships in the domestic textile complex.
