Men have a huge advantage over women

[nicholascrawford]

...in the wardrobe department overall. The crux of a quality men's wardrobe is the versatility of items. We stress classic, quality pieces that will last for years and can be worn in many different combinations.


Look at women (don't stare): It's all about a splash. Having a dress or outfit for an occasion. Shoes with enormous heels that they'd never wear for more than a few hours, etc. I don't have to describe it - you know how it works.


Then I saw this article yesterday about 99dresses. It seems like a good concept...for a problem that should not even exist.





You swap dresses, paying for shipping.


What do you think happened? Did men sell women a bill of goods about fashion? Did we not realize that we're also splitting these clothing bills? In the last 150+ years of men's fashion, the same philosophy has prevailed (spare Liberace from the sample size). For women, it seems to be accelerating with cheap dresses at Forever 21.

[Cannon]

I don't know, there's some pretty badly dressed populations of men. For example, 99% of the people at my university. They just don't get that those super-graphics-shirts with the crosses and gold and wings and stuff like Ed Hardy and Nike shirts are just hideous. And goodness, people really know how to spoil nice clothes by adding new Nike sneakers to make it "fresh". Top it off in some cases with wearing hats indoors.


I think our advantage is lost on many men. I do feel for the ladies, but I think the results surely make it worthwhile. Pay them compliments when they pull off a nice look and keep them going. Most men just look trashy or immature where I am, which in a way makes it hard for me to dress how I want because I don't want to be called stylish just for wearing chinos instead of jeans, but that's what happens when everyone wears only jeans and t shirts.


Call me old fashioned, but I am a 19 year old who wishes everyone would dress like they were James Bond. Or at least Mikael Blomkvist.

[nicholascrawford]

Just leverage that for your benefit, Cannon! You've got it going on!

[dreadpiratehurley]

Yeah, no joke. Those schlubs only make us look that much better. Can you honestly say that standing out in that way has a downside? The questions might be a little annoying, but they should simply serve as a reminder that others are a bit intimidated by you for dressing better. If anything, that should translate to more confidence, not less.


Besides, less well-dressed guys means less guys buying good menswear, meaning more clearance deals. They're doing us a favor, Cannon.


Back on topic, I'm constantly thankful for my Y chromosome. Sometimes I get jealous that women get 3/4 of the floorspace in any co-gender clothing stores, but then I remember that the 1/4 we get are all we really need anyway. Our wardrobes are extremely efficient, with comparatively few pieces being easily combined for many outfits that look good. I don't need three pairs of shoes for every shirt I own just to make it "versatile".


Sure, girls can look good in just about any style (the sleep-tousled/pajamas look can actually stand up to the slinky black dress; guys just can't do that), but they can't really get away with rotating 5 or 10 "looks". Guys wouldn't notice, but the other girls would. Which brings up another point; I think girls bring it on themselves. It's well-established that girls dress for other girls; the pressure they feel that compels them to have so many clothes is self-induced (by the gender, not the individual). I don't claim to understand it, but I felt that it warranted noting.

[VespaMatt]

Meh, I think we are in the same boat. A girl can buy classics and be just as set as us. Vanity Fair had an interesting article recently about how popular culture has stalled - product design, music, and fashion are hardly moving foreword. Whereas the previous century was made up of very identifiable decades - look at a photo and you can spot the time period merely by how they're dressed, whether its the 20s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc... everything since the 90s has been pretty consistent and stagnant. Now we just recycle everything.


Women have more options and a wider range but I think if you look at the nicer end of the spectrum you will see a more consistent, timeless style. I knew a girl who loved Brooks Brothers, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc... all of those brands are grounded in very basic, classic styles. Its when you get into cheapo fashion that you get the majority of off the wall variety.


I think girls do tend to want more variety than men, and buy cheaper clothes in greater quantity, but I think guys can do that as well. Guys can also be generally apathetic towards clothing and will buy cheap and settle on just a few pieces. To say girls are at a disadvantage, I think, is unfair because they can shop just as we do.

[thmage]

I think in terms of regular clothing that may be the case, but women have more variety as well. A well-dressed man doesn't have a lot of options. For formal attire, you basically have 3 choices of suit color, and then a shirt/tie combo. A women can wear any color she wants, and her dresses come in a variety of styles. Not to mention shoes, scarves, and jewelery to compliment it. In terms of casual attire, men basically have to wear pants and closed shoes. Women can wear pants, skirts, dresses, heels, sneakers, sandals, etc. So while men have more combinations between items in their wardrobe, women have a larger set of items to work from.

And to what other people said, I agree, men (included myself) have taken this "advantage" too far and have a wardrobe of versatile yet unattractive clothing all for the sake of convenience.

[LosRockets]

I think you're missing the point on women buying cheaper clothing. Women's style comes and goes, and women adhere to style/trends moreso than men. We tend to stick with classics because, frankly, most of men's "style" is unwearable in everyday (read: non NYC/SF/style hub) US. I agree with Vespa and dread that women want to buy cheaper clothing for versatility. Not only do women's styles change rapidly, but also, women have to adhere to "fashion" more than men do. Most men (thank goodness) won't call other guys out on their clothes or act catty/cruel. Women? Most do it all the time. Women notice everything. If you want to survive, you've got to dress well and keep up with the trends.


Also I think women have a lot of fun trying on the latest trends, and since they know that these things are going to be out of fashion in a few months, they will go the Forever21 route if they're not made of money. Women can get away with more color and patterns, and I think that also accounts for an expanded wardrobe. For the trendy things, so what if it falls apart after 10 wears? That's about what they are expecting out of it, and nothing more. As you said, men buy AE's and expect 10 years. And we pay for it.


I don't think that women are wrong for the way they dress or their buying habits because it works for them and the demands of their gender and the women's fashion cycle. I'm fine with a closet of blue dress shirts and gray pants/dark jeans. At the same time, I'm glad my SO doesn't wear the same types of things every day! There are women's "classics" but they're often so formal that most women can't wear them on a regular basis. I enjoy seeing her wear different outfits and take inspiration from all sorts of things, being trendy one day and more classic the next. Shoot, I'm just grateful she doesn't kick me to the curb for caring about men's clothes as much as I do and for the fact she keeps me around. I think all of us in this forum should be

[nicholascrawford]

You guys really think that the fact that women have to keep spending to keep up with the fashion trends is an advantage?


You don't find the narrow definition of formal menswear to be a great advantage for men on a budget? I love the fact that I can look good as a guy with a few staple items instead of being in the rat race of women's fashion.

[jason_carreira]

Apropos: http://anaffordablewardrobe.blogspot...or-ladies.html

[MaxMan]

Well, we really are comparing apples to oranges here. While i agree with with Nicholas, i do not think we (men) have much of an advantage. Its really an economics thing, if you look at it fgrom a financial POV, we spend much more for our clothing even if its not quality, ie 200 for a cheap poly blend suit from JCP. Men do that mainly because they arenet aware of the benefits of fabrics. In this instance there is not much demand becasue generally speaking men (outside of our small population) abhor shopping, therefore, company will not put much supply out there but they know if a guy really needs a suit they will pay whatever and wont shop around (like we do). Now to the apple of our eyes, women; they are well aware that thier fashion is trend driven becasue they have to look as good as the chick walking down the street. for the most part iwould say 85% of the women i know are well kept, my wife being a certified "DIVA", all her friends follow the fashion chronicles or something. Anyways, with their clothing, since its in and out of style they materials are made from CRAP, polyester is in everything you find in womens clothing, so its cheaper to produce and with the demand for womens clotihng so high with a supply even higher, companys have to sell thier clothes for peanuts. I went with the wife and she obught this pink blazer from f21 and the thing costed 20 bucks, i was astonished and pissed at the same time.


Women have it far easier than we do becasue its costing them far less to stay sexy. Also, keep in mind no matter how dapper you may look if a BANGING woman walks in with you, you become no more than her accessory. Trust me I live this every day...I can be in my best suit dressed to the nines and the wife will be in a cheap little get up but looking godess like and she will get all the compliments and i mean all of them. LOL. but its cool cuz its only right for your lady to look better than you...

[LosRockets]

"Also, keep in mind no matter how dapper you may look if a BANGING woman walks in with you, you become no more than her accessory. Trust me I live this every day...I can be in my best suit dressed to the nines and the wife will be in a cheap little get up but looking godess like and she will get all the compliments and i mean all of them. LOL. but its cool cuz its only right for your lady to look better than you... "


Truth. I'm outta here now. Something about talking about women's vs. men's clothes in terms of advantages just makes me feel weird.

[hornsup84]

I was thinking of switching over to women's clothing, but you guys convinced me to stick with men's due to the advantages. Whew!

[nicholascrawford]

The eyeballs will go to the woman, yes.


MaxMan, others... I disagree that it costs less for women to dress well. So I spent $300 on my suits. Even if I wore it just 25 times, it would be $12/wear. It would still look brand new.


A woman may find a $12 dress here and there, but it's also very easy for a woman to spend $200 on a bridesmaids dress, prom dress, formal dance dress, etc. that she never wears again...because it's some sheer fabric that just can't possibly be dressed down.


I think we have it very good as men.

[nicholascrawford]

hornsup84 - lol - I bet I could make a case going the other direction!

[nicholascrawford]

JC's link is definitely worth reading. It's a much better description of what I'm trying to say.