NEW YORK - Steve Hale has discovered a reason to splurge on clothing again: the slim silhouette in suits to shirts that's replacing the baggier fits of past years. But his wife, Cathy, has slashed her monthly apparel spending, saying she's "bored" by what's out there.
In tough economic times, men are traditionally the first to cut back -- but the Hales represent a new phenomenon in retailing: Over the past year, men have been on a clothes-buying spree, while women have pulled back even more.
"I did feel for a long period that there wasn't anything new to buy," said Steve Hale, a 37-year-old financial consultant who had stuck with the business casual uniform of khakis and dress shirts since the late 1990s. "But I really like the slim fit. It's not so roomy, not so bulky, and it's a lot cleaner."
The lopsided fortunes -- solid sales gains in menswear and a deepening funk in the far larger women's clothing business -- is creating a rare sales disparity that hasn't been seen in years, according to David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a buying office.
Fashion observers say the main catalyst fueling menswear buying is the slimmed-down styles shown on the runways a few years ago by designer Thom Browne that have recently garnered mass appeal. The look is being popularized by AMC's award-winning series "Mad Men" about ad executives in the 1960s.
Over the past year, the fashions, from body-conscious suits to leaner khakis, have been heavily promoted by an array of stores from conservative haberdashery Brooks Brothers to department stores like Macy's and Bloomingdale's.
Executives from those stores said menswear sales began outpacing women's wear last year. They wouldn't give exact figures because of competitive reasons. But the disparity has been widening, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for research company NPD Group Inc. According to NPD's most recent data, menswear sales rose 0.8 percent in the year ended in May, while women's wear sales fell 3.5 percent. In the three months ended in May, women's wear sales dropped 3 percent, while menswear sales rose 2.3 percent.
With women's fashions accounting for 65 percent of the $155 billion adult apparel market, the rising fortunes of menswear -- accounting for just half the size of women's wear -- hasn't significantly helped lift overall sales. For the year ended May, adult clothing sales fell 2 percent.
Still, fashion pundits like Wolfe hail the trend as the biggest change in men's fashion in more than a decade, since the relaxation in business dress codes enticed men to fill up their wardrobes with everything khaki. Major menswear brands like VF Corp.'s Nautica and Levi Strauss and Co.'s Dockers have reworked their fits. Pants, for example, have less material in the seat and thigh and have no pleats; suit jackets have higher armholes with narrower and shorter sleeves.
"You can throw out all the rules," said Cohen. Even in tough economic times, "this is a trend that you have to buy, otherwise you look outdated."
"Suddenly, a pair of cargo pants and a polo shirt doesn't look good anymore," said Wolfe, who sees the change being embraced by men in their 20s to men over 50 who don't want to look past their prime.
"Women's wear has painted themselves in a corner. By offering too many options and with everything a trend, it is very easy not to buy anything," Wolfe said.
Designers of women's wear may have seen the new trend in the men's market and taken inspiration for a slim, sophisticated '60s shape for fall -- Michael Kors and Peter Som have both cited "Mad Men" as inspiration for their women's clothes.
The sluggish economy is playing a role too. Higher gas and food costs and fiscal uncertainties have clearly made both men and women cut back on in-today, out-tomorrow trends like wild printed tops. But the threat of layoffs has also forced many employees to dress more formally as a way to hold on to their jobs and look more serious, Cohen said. Women can go back to their closets to find dressier and classic alternatives, but men now have a reason to buy.
"I am dressing up a bit more," said Steve Hale. "If you are keeping up with fashion, people notice and it gives them more confidence" that the financial industry is going to turn around. He said he now spends about $500 a month on clothes, more than twice as much as he spent previously.
Jonathan Singer, 26, who works in high-tech marketing, credits his new wardrobe to helping him land a better-paying job. The Boston resident spent about $2,000 over the past six months on a slimmer-fit suit from Benetton as well as slender shirts from Diesel and French Connection. In the past, he had spent about $300 every six months.
"It always pays to look good," he said. "I had looked in the mirror and never was impressed. I looked like a little kid who was waiting to grow into his clothes."
Now, he says, "I feel extremely confident in the way I look. Everyone has noticed."
Men's interest in updating their wardrobes is forcing merchants to rethink how to market to them. They're seeing a growing number of men shopping for themselves, instead of relying on their wives and girlfriends to buy for them.
Bloomingdale's is rolling out separate areas in the men's department that incorporate tailored clothing with other accessories like ice buckets and gadgets like GPS systems and high-end shaving tools. Meanwhile, Macy's has adding more exclusive lines like tight-fitting Emporio Armani underwear.
Alex Guerrero, vice president of men's merchandising at Dockers, said the company is heavily featuring the new fits -- a slim-cut khaki pant, tested last summer, as well as a newly unveiled straight cut, which was introduced in May and has broader appeal, at department stores this fall alongside its usual fits -- relaxed and classic. About 70 percent of the business is still in the classic and relaxed fits, which is its most generous cut.
The slim and straight styles fit like jeans, while the relaxed and classic fits are more like trousers. For fall, Dockers has also trimmed down its classic shirts and suit separates.
And what about those men who aren't, well, slim? Retail executives insist the new silhouettes aren't just for the skinny.
"It still fits guys who eat meatballs," said Stuart Goldblatt, Macy's senior vice president of merchandising for men's and children's clothes.
