Clothes Shopping with the Wife?

[mensimageconsultant]

Hi,

Since there doesn't seem to be literature about it, could you please say a little about how you shop with a wife or partner? When you want to buy clothes in person, do you shop with someone? Do you ask for feedback? How have things changed if you went from ignorant about clothing to knowledgeable?

 

[mrpologuy]

I never go shopping with a female. FOr some reason, they seem to love things like Kenneth Cole shoes and things of that nature.

 

[itsstillmatt]

My wife has great taste. If she is around, I sometimes even listen to her. She was the first person I ever heard rail against Kenneth Cole. This was at least seven or eight years ago.

 

[GQgeek]

Are we talking about shopping for the man or the woman? For my own purchases, I'd never take a woman along. It's too distracting and I don't like always having to tell them that I don't like the items they picked out. Plus, they always want you to buy stuff you don't want or need.

I enjoy watching women try on dresses though and am perfectly happy to provide feedback when I go shopping with them...

 

[Renault78law]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Are we talking about shopping for the man or the woman? For my own purchases, I'd never take a woman along. It's too distracting and I don't like always having to tell them that I don't like the items they picked out. Plus, they always want you to buy stuff you don't want or need.

I enjoy watching women try on dresses though and am perfectly happy to provide feedback when I go shopping with them...
I totally agree.

 

[EL72]

My wife would rather watch paint dry than shop with me. She has no patience for bargain hunting and little intererst in the details and finer points of menswear (plus, who would watch the kids?). In fact I shop for her a lot and she rarely shops without me there to guide her.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Yes, shopping for menswear. Good idea - do you let your 'helper' point out items for you to consider?

 

[Tck13]

Originally Posted by mensimageconsultant

Hi,

Since there doesn't seem to be literature about it, could you please say a little about how you shop with a wife or partner? When you want to buy clothes in person, do you shop with someone? Do you ask for feedback? How have things changed if you went from ignorant about clothing to knowledgeable?


Statistics show that men are doing more shopping on their own than ever before. There are some references which I found when trying to start my own menswear store. Unfortunately, I don't have the ref. handy at the moment. If there is a good library nearby, they will have male purchases broken down to articles of clothing (men buy more shirts than anything else), money spent, who did the shopping, and so on.

I'm not saying this sarcastically but it's amazing what you can find at the library.

 

[edmorel]

We actually do go shopping together the few times that I go to B&M stores, for both my clothes and hers. This is usually a one store, two stop shopping experience (Bergdorfs) and we seem to have very similar tastes. Spur of the moments stuff (sales, shopping for one particular item) we do on our own.

 

[Get Smart]

my fiance has fantastic taste so we always shop together, whether for her stuff or mine. she understands where I'm coming from, sartorially, so she's a good sanity check for those rare occasions when I am enamored by a pair of orange loafers.

In general I dont think it's a good idea to take a chick shopping, despite frequent suggestions that one should, because most girls have horrid taste....for themselves and even worse for men.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by iammatt

She was the first person I ever heard rail against Kenneth Cole. This was at least seven or eight years ago.

Now that's my definition of a keeper. Good job!

 

[Joffrey]

I used to hate shopping without another (preferablly a chick) person's opinion, but lately I have gotten used to and quite prefer shopping on my own and trusting and developing my own taste. However, I wouldn't mind shopping with the women in my life as they have quite good taste

 

[kitonbrioni]

I enjoy shopping with my wife if she's in a good mood, otherwise forget about it.

 

[Thurston]

I have finally accepted that I need to shop on my own. My wife has developed a sense of style for herself but has bad taste in men's clothes. She falls victim to many of the typical female traits:
- She rarely tries to talk me out of anything - even when I'm looking for a reality check
- She defaults to the matchy-matchy /outfit method of shopping
- As a corollary to the above, she hates gray pants and thinks they match almost nothing
- She loves black pants and wants me to wear them all the time

She has probably talked me out of a few things I really should have tried and has definitely failed to talk me out of some things that I never should have tried.

On the flip side, she shops constantly so I'm with her sometimes and not others. It took years, but I ultimately steered her away from shapeless clothes to more fitted tailored clothes. She's not a high end shopper, but a 35-45 year old woman can develop a consistent, age appropriate look that avoids many fashion pitfalls at Talbots, Ann Taylor, J.Crew, etc... if she is somewhat discriminating. Then again, a bit of fashion-y, trendy clothing is okay in a woman's wardrobe.

 

[thinman]

My ex-wife consistently wanted to dress me in clothing colors appropriate for her and not for me. Once, when I was trying on a suit, she fastened the bottom button "for me" and as I was reaching to unbutton it, the salesman took care of it and told her the bottom button is never fastened, saving me the hassle. I tried to shop alone whenever possible, but those were pre-forum days, when I rarely shopped for clothing anyway.

Now, I would welcome some _informed_ advice, but I'm single and rarely shop with anyone else.