BlogHer and Taubman Release Joint Survey Revealing Women's Perspectives on Style-related Trends and More

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- If the "Hemline Index" economic theory claiming rising hemlines mirror a rising economy is true, then a new survey released by BlogHer, Inc. and Taubman Centers has women predicting light at the end of the economic tunnel. As represented by a new infographic, The 2013 BlogHer-Taubman Style Study uncovers a variety of trends, including the predicted future of the economy, how wearable technology can make inroads with women, and where women are most likely to tend toward excess.

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Hemlines (and Hopes) Going Up?
A century-old economic theory holds that hemlines rise and fall with the economy. Based on that association, we asked women to predict where hemlines would go this fall: Ankle-dusting maxi skirts predicting "uncertain times ahead"; just below the knee indicating "cautious optimism"; above the knee implying "light at the end of the tunnel"; or micro-mini proclaiming "good news ahead!"

• 47 percent of women see light at the end of the tunnel and "above the knee" hemlines
• Millennials were four times more likely than Baby Boomers to see "Good times ahead!" predicting micro-mini skirts
• A contrarian 10 percent forecast ankle-dusting maxi skirts to be the trend this fall (but that has not been the case so far on the runways)

Women and Wearable Tech
Wearable technology is hot on the tech scene, but hasn't yet crossed over to fashion accessory. Of all the types of current wearable technology, women are most open to joining the "Quantified Self" movement, with 41 percent stating they would wear a fitness tracker.

• Millennials are more interested than any other generation of women in every kind of wearable tech, from glasses to watches to clothing
• Indicating a gateway to wearable tech, 74 percent of women now rely solely on their smartphone to tell the time

Never Too Much of a Good Thing
When it comes to what women love, there's no such thing as too much.

• One in eight women has more than 50 pairs of shoes! A whopping 43 percent own between 20-49 pairs
• One third of women carry a purse weighing in at six pounds or more, with women in the Northeast three times more likely to carry a 10+ pound purse than women in the Northwest

Undercover and Under the Covers
The survey uncovered some generational trends under our clothing and our covers:

• 38 percent of all women wear the number-one undergarment choice, bikini briefs, however thongs edge out bikini briefs as number one for Millennials
• Two-thirds of all women wear "comfy stuff" like flannel or sweats to bed, however a robust 22 percent sleep "in the buff," including just as many Boomers as Millennials

For more results from the 2013 BlogHer-Taubman Style Study, see the full infographic at the following link: http://www.blogher.com/style-study-2013

About the Study
The 2013 BlogHer-Taubman Style Study was fielded to 1,609 female respondents, aged 18 and older. Of the respondents, 821 were members of the BlogHer Visionaries Panel, a diverse panel of over 4700 women 18+ recruited from the BlogHer community and geographically dispersed throughout the U.S., and 787 were members of the general U.S. population. The margin of error at 99% confidence is 2.34%. All portions of the study were conducted in August 2013.

About Taubman
Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE: TCO) is engaged in the ownership, management and/or leasing of 28 regional, super-regional and outlet shopping centers in the U.S. and Asia.  Taubman Centers is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  For more information about Taubman, visit www.taubman.com.

Taubman-managed shopping centers:
Beverly Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Cherry Creek (Denver, Colo.)
City Creek Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Dolphin Mall (Miami, Fla.)
The Gardens on El Paseo & El Paseo Village (Palm Desert, Calif.)
Fairlane Town Center (Dearborn, Mich.)
Fair Oaks (Fairfax, Va.)
Great Lakes Crossing Outlets (Auburn Hills, Mich.)
The Mall at Green Hills (Nashville, Tenn.)
International Plaza (Tampa, Fla.)
MacArthur Center (Norfolk, Va.)
Northlake Mall (Charlotte, N.C.)
The Mall at Partridge Creek (Clinton Twp., Mich.)
The Mall at Short Hills (Short Hills, N.J.)
Stamford Town Center (Stamford, Conn.)
Stony Point Fashion Park (Richmond, Va.)
Sunvalley (Concord, Calif.)
Taubman Prestige Outlets Chesterfield (Chesterfield, Mo.)
Twelve Oaks Mall (Novi, Mich.)
The Mall at Wellington Green (Wellington, Fla.)
Westfarms (Farmington, Conn.)
The Shops at Willow Bend (Plano, Texas)

About BlogHer
BlogHer (www.blogher.com) is the leading cross-platform media network created by, for and with women in social media. BlogHer delivers quality advocacy at scale for brands seeking to engage in authentic and persuasive dialogue with moderated communities led by more than 7,000 leading influencers who reach an audience of 92 million across premium blogs, Pinterest™, Facebook®, Twitter® and social media, including 55 million blog readers alone (Source: Nielsen Site Census, May, 2013). Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, BlogHer publishes and syndicates news, information, advice, recommendations and research on women in social media across interest areas as well as on BlogHer.com. The Company also hosts the world's largest conferences for women in social media.

For ease of use, references in this press release to "Taubman Centers," "company," "Taubman" or an operating platform mean Taubman Centers, Inc. and/or one or more of a number of separate, affiliated entities. Business is actually conducted by an affiliated entity rather than Taubman Centers, Inc. itself or the named operating platform.

Pinterest is the registered trademark of Pinterest, Inc., Facebook is the registered trademark of Facebook, Inc., and Twitter is the registered trademark of Twitter, Inc. Such trademarks are used for reference purposes only; Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter have not endorsed or sponsored BlogHer, Inc.

SOURCE Taubman Centers, Inc.