Men & Their Clothing Habits - 2001 To 2007 & Beyond?
First of all, I confess that I hoard magazines. In fact, I hoard more magazines than all my hair care, beauty, nail, skin and beauty products combined. Throw my shoes and two prized Coach handbags on the pile and the magazines win hands down. I have mountains of boxes full of hair, beauty, fashion, nail, skin, spa…etc etc…mags stacked floor to ceiling in my office, in my library at work and at home. I used to have a storage until filled with over 100 paper boxes of well…magazines and papers…until I decided that it was beyond crazy to rent space for my addiction.
When my friends and family give me a hard time about my magazines I always tell them I have to save them in case I find something I need. Well today my magazines came through in flying colors when I unearthed a Men’s Health (MHM) Magazine from back in 2001. There it was wedged between a Cosmo and Allure.
More importantly, as I flipped through the pages I found It’s Clothing Time at the back of the magazine and was amazed by the stats the kind folks at MHM had provided. Without further ado I share some of the cool statistics.
As Of October 2001
- Number of men who describe themselves as “excellent dressers” was 1 in 2.
- The average guy owns 20 ties, 7 pairs of shoes, 4 pairs of khaki-colored chinos, 3 button down shirts, 3 pairs of sneakers, 3 suits, 2 sport coats 1 blaxer and 2 pairs of dress slacks.
- Total retail the average man paid for his wardrobke $35, 565 compared to $59, 373 for women.
- Number of men who let their wives, GFs or SOs do their clothes shopping was 2 in 3.
- Number of pairs of underwear the average guy owns was 15.
- The average number of holes a guy’s underwear would have before tossing them was 7.
- Number of socks w/out mates was 3.
- Total number of times a guy will wear the same pair of jeans before washing them was 12.
- The item of clothing men are most likely to wear when in bed with their partner was socks.
- The number of men who admitted to ever wearing a piece of women’s clothing was 1 in 3.
- The item of women’s clothing they wore? A dress with panties a close second.
- The average guy’s fav type of suit was single-breasted with two button in the color blue.
- Only 1 in 10 men owned an iron and 1 and 3 of men take laundry home to mom.
The biggest fashion mistake men make is wear shirtsleeves too long. Why? According to a fashion expert quoted by MHM, men never try on shirts before buying them. They pick them up in wrapped packages. What they should do? Try on the shirt and let their hand drop to their sides. The best length for sleeves to end? 1/2″ below the wrist bone.
Also…in 2001…the three fashion trend the average guy wanted to see was:
1. Sneakers or sandals with suits.
2. Rip away business and/or cause clothing.
3. Stylish hats to cover balding heads or thinning hair.
What men wanted to see in women’s fashions
1. Half shirts with exposed tummies under business blazers
2. Garter belts and short skirts
3. Tank tops worn for formal business.
OK. Well that was then. What would it be like now? I would love to hear your thoughts.
With the popularity of men’s skin care and sophisticated hair care lines…not to mention the dizzying array of men’s underwear options (so many it is hard to track) I am sure the 2001 survey results have changed a lot.
But hey…..you need to tell me.
