How Americans Spend Their Money on Clothes

[borderline]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

1000 bucks worth of underwear and socks.

Or, more than most people spend annually on their total clothing budget? I know you are not spending this per year, but still seems high. What kind of socks are we talking about here?

-Matthew

 

[Artisan Fan]

I agree with Thurston about other items competing for our attention but would add a few observations as well:

1. Cheap clothing (J. Crew, Land's End, etc.) has gotten better in some ways (not up to our standards of course) so you don't have to spend as much for some items to get decent quality.

2. Most men simply don't consider clothing to be important in most areas of society. If they do it is brand centric.

3. Most jobs don't (sadly) require fine clothes.

I personally tend to buy fewer items but go up in quality when I can.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLaw

I don't think that most people dress poorly because they spend too little on clothes. They dress poorly because they don't care.

If spending more money on clothes automatically made you look better, then rap stars and professional athletes would be the best dressed people on the planet.

The average man doesn't buy clothes that fit properly. He also doesn't pay attention to colours or patterns or what goes well with what. I think that it's as simple as that.

Jay-Z wears Purple Label suits.

 

[HomerJ]

Originally Posted by borderline

Or, more than most people spend annually on their total clothing budget? I know you are not spending this per year, but still seems high. What kind of socks are we talking about here? -Matthew
Not really. 15 pairs of Pantherella socks and 10 pairs of sea island boxers plus tax would easily do it. These aren't top drawer either and haven't accounted for undershirts.

 

[Sartorially Challenged]

Like computers and perhaps even cars, clothes have become a commodity in much of the world rather than artisanal crafts of lasting value. I do not think that is such a bad thing.

I dress well enough I think (in part thanks to StyleForum), but I spend a miniscule fraction of my income on "dress" clothing. However, I do spend a considerable sum on firearms and dogs. I think Mr. Libourel would appreciate that.

We all have our poison. For most Americans, it just happens not to be clothing (Japanese young women, for example, are obssessed with clothing and spend an outrageous chunck of their income -- while living with their parents, no less -- on clothing, yet most of them look absolutely hideous in their branded attire).

Originally Posted by JLibourel

I would echo the opinions of others that the reason expenditures on clothes are so low is simply that a lot of people, irrespective of economic circumstances, simply don't like to spend a money on clothes. Case in point: I know one fellow who makes about $300K a year. His wife also makes very good money. Awhile back he had to go to a wedding or something and discovered that the moths had ruined his blazer, so off he hies himself that citadel of masculine elegance Men's Wearhouse. There he purchases a new blazer, some slacks, a dress shirt, a tie and a pair of dress shoes. However, he was quite indignant to find that the total tab for his new ensemble came to a whacking $400! What more can I say?

I would venture that many who would regard spending $300+ for a pair of shoes or $700 on a suit as outrageous extravagance are the proud possessors of Harley-Davidsons, RVs, wide screens and other such necessities of life.

I have often remarked in the fora that I am always amazed by how much high-quality (and frequently overpriced) menswear is offered for sale at places like South Coast Plaza. I wonder who buys all that stuff, so rarely do I see an even halfway decently turned out man.

The notion that cost precludes many men from dressing well I find flawed, given the ridiculous sums that many will spend on blue jeans, sneakers and such. The other day, my stepson cajoled me into buying him a pair of "7" jeans at a ridiculous price at the Off-5th, although every fiber of my being cried out against this stupid extravagance.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

I agree with Thurston about other items competing for our attention but would add a few observations as well:

1. Cheap clothing (J. Crew, Land's End, etc.) has gotten better in some ways (not up to our standards of course) so you don't have to spend as much for some items to get decent quality.

2. Most men simply don't consider clothing to be important in most areas of society. If they do it is brand centric.

3. Most jobs don't (sadly) require fine clothes.

I personally tend to buy fewer items but go up in quality when I can.

The spending information is good to have. So are good clothes. It's unfortunate that most men apparently don't realize their impact on social and financial success and associate them with snobbery, femininity, or other derided concepts. Workplace dress standards probably have little to do with the situation, as 100 years ago, many men were farmers whose good clothes were their "Sunday best" (and who had wives or tailors and therefore at least had everyday unattractive clothes that fit decently). A change might be underway in this new century, as guys who feel compelled to present their bodies well in this increasingly "first impressions" world sense that clothing subtleties can influence apparent body attractiveness or they follow peers who have made the connection.

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by mensimageconsultant

A change might be underway in this new century, as guys who feel compelled to present their bodies well in this increasingly "first impressions" world sense that clothing subtleties can influence apparent body attractiveness or they follow peers who have made the connection.

This raises a point I have sometimes pondered. I am old enough to remember when training with weights was considered a highly eccentric practice--if you did so, you were very likely to be regarded, if not as an outright homosexual, at least as an incorrigible narcissist. It was also regarded as sort of a low class thing to do. Today, of course, the situation is very different, and a much larger percentage of the male population, especially the younger male population, works out or at least has some sort of fitness regimen (jogging, bicyling, etc.). Yet, most of the time they drape their meticulously buffed and toned bodies in grossly oversized, ill-fitting casual attire.

I think that if more of them woul realize how flattering well tailored clothes are to the male body, we might well see a revolution in how men dressed--a marked turn for the better. Of course, part of the problem is that most RTW dress apparel is not particularly becoming on well built men, and few have the sophistication (and in many cases the means) to turn directly to bespoke or even MTM.

 

[madison avenue]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLaw

I don't think that most people dress poorly because they spend too little on clothes. They dress poorly because they don't care.

If spending more money on clothes automatically made you look better, then rap stars and professional athletes would be the best dressed people on the planet.

The average man doesn't buy clothes that fit properly. He also doesn't pay attention to colours or patterns or what goes well with what. I think that it's as simple as that.

I fully agree with you. If people bought "cheap" things and got them tailored according to their bodies and made sure that everything matches then they could look well dressed. This would obviously not be as nice as someone wearing brand named high quality things but it could still look nice. I see plenty of people wearing brand named clothing here in the city because they have money but it looks terrible on. They just buy the wrong sizes or dont get their clothing tailored to their bodies.