European here, pullover from the thrift store for €5,50 five-pocket pants from the sale for €29,99 same for the extra-long sleeves shirt, the socks were 30% off but at €7 still pricey, my sailing shoes (I'll just pretend it didn't just start snowing outside) are the most expensive thing I wear.
Americans are spending less on clothing
31–40 of 344 posts
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#32European here: when visiting my company HQ I was surprised how casual Americans dress for work. I am not saying devs should wear suit and tie, nothing like that, but even my bosses boss* was wearing what looked like a rumpled sweater with worn out jeans. And I don't mean like fashion statement rumpled and worn out, more like the "great depression" crumpled and worn out. Jules and Vincent in their new t-shirts would f…
This sounds like the typical dress in most tech companies in the UK too.
At least the ones I've worked for. Out of my friends and I, none of us care in the least what clothes we wear.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#33One thing the article missed but for me personally is an important point: the rise of minimalism I'm not the type of minimalism you write about, but clothes last for ages now & I just don't want lots of stuff. Especially here in Japan we do laundry every day, so I just don't need very many items. Just some comfortable layers, enough to have a little variety, I'm all set. (I'm leaving in the morning for 2 weeks in Flo…
Oh, I'm feeling just opposite on your phrase "clothes last for ages" if you speaking about its quality. 10 yr old jeans looks ugly but their endurance is much better than modern ones has.
And if you wash your clothes so often, it should last few months before became completely garbage.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#34European here: when visiting my company HQ I was surprised how casual Americans dress for work. I am not saying devs should wear suit and tie, nothing like that, but even my bosses boss* was wearing what looked like a rumpled sweater with worn out jeans. And I don't mean like fashion statement rumpled and worn out, more like the "great depression" crumpled and worn out. Jules and Vincent in their new t-shirts would f…
It's the paradox of fashion. We want to look different, but other people want us to look the same (that's why people in uniform are considered more attractive).
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Higher end clothes last longer. However, what is availably priced for most people are poorly made clothes that will last a year if they don't fall apart in the wash before then. Take a look at what's available at Kohl's, Walmart, Old Navy etc and you will see what I mean.
It's all in what you buy, though. I have clothes from Walmart I've been wearing daily for nearly a decade - they're Carhart and Dickies jeans and sweatshirts however. That's better runs than I've gotten out of higher-end pants that cost 5x more. But I'll admit, I've no idea how women's clothing compares; men's clothing is blessedly simple and robust and fashions change at glacial paces.
Women's clothing is generally terrible - fragile, thin fabrics that snag way too easily and pill up after a few machine washings. Oh, and random shiny things and frills sewn on.
On top of that, we get to pay extra for the privilege.
I want simple, unornamented women's size and proportioned tops and trousers made out of the fabrics men's clothes are.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#36Besides whatever the data is, starting the graph "Share of personal consumer expenditures" for "technology" from 1977 seems to me a lot like graphing railways starting on 600 BC:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_railway_history
If you zoom in on the last ten years, I see substantially constant expenditure for both "technology" and "apparel", with only a slightly increase of technology and a slight decrease of apparel.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#37European here: when visiting my company HQ I was surprised how casual Americans dress for work. I am not saying devs should wear suit and tie, nothing like that, but even my bosses boss* was wearing what looked like a rumpled sweater with worn out jeans. And I don't mean like fashion statement rumpled and worn out, more like the "great depression" crumpled and worn out. Jules and Vincent in their new t-shirts would f…
It's the paradox of fashion. We want to look different, but other people want us to look the same (that's why people in uniform are considered more attractive).
A janitor's uniform is not as attractive as a Sergeant. I reckon sameness is not the attractive quality.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#38Article neglects to mention that healthcare spending per person doubled between 2003 and 2010 (before decelerating after the ACA). Soon all of our money will go to healthcare and housing.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#39European here: when visiting my company HQ I was surprised how casual Americans dress for work. I am not saying devs should wear suit and tie, nothing like that, but even my bosses boss* was wearing what looked like a rumpled sweater with worn out jeans. And I don't mean like fashion statement rumpled and worn out, more like the "great depression" crumpled and worn out. Jules and Vincent in their new t-shirts would f…
The neon ski jacket colors seem to have some amount of popularity with tech types. I do think that there's some deeper truth to your "great depression" comment. As an older millennial, the last major recession left some scars. Most of the outfits I wear cost well under 0.10% of my annual income and I rarely replace anything unless it literally has holes in it.
> The neon ski jacket colors seem to have some amount of popularity with tech types.
The only one that was -40% on sale, sorry.
Re: Americans are spending less on clothing
#40European here: when visiting my company HQ I was surprised how casual Americans dress for work. I am not saying devs should wear suit and tie, nothing like that, but even my bosses boss* was wearing what looked like a rumpled sweater with worn out jeans. And I don't mean like fashion statement rumpled and worn out, more like the "great depression" crumpled and worn out. Jules and Vincent in their new t-shirts would f…
Everyone wears black in New York and London. That black winter wool coat is a UK thing.