Americans are spending less on clothing • Hacker News Board

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#131

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:54 PM UTC

usukatstats wrote: post #123

randcraw wrote: post #88

IMHO there are three clear causes for this trend: 1) US business fashion is increasingly casual. Ties, skirts, suits, coordinated outfits, scarves, leather soled shoes -- all are passe, even in button down East Coast Fortune 100 companies (other than for aspiring managers or those in banking/finance). 2) Color is passe. Shades of black and grey dominate wardrobes, especially in large cities. Thus fewer accessories ar…

> More people are working from home... Your office is not representative of the entire US workforce, dear.

[deleted]

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#132

Post by Retric » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:54 PM UTC

usukatstats wrote: post #130

bdcravens wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"More people" implies increasing amount, not entire workforce.

Fine, I’ll be that guy: CITATION NEEDED. “More people” in your office says nothing except that more people in YOUR OFFICE are remote. I don’t understand how people who bill themselves as so smart can continue to fall for these basic errors in reasoning. > More people are working from home several days a week, so nobody cares how you're dressed. Says who? Where is this data? Is it from a survey? A study? Or something…

It's still true for the overall US workforce.

{CITATION} http://globalworkplaceanalytics.com/telecommuting-statistics (2005-2015 American Community Survey) Regular work-at-home, among the non-self-employed population, has grown by 115% since 2005, nearly 10x faster than the rest of the workforce. 3.7 million employees (2.8% of the workforce) now work from home at least half the time. The employee population as a whole grew by 1.9% from 2013 to 2014, while employees who telecommuter population grew 5.6%.

PS: Culture is shared, so personal experiences generalizes more than you might think.

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#133

Post by rsynnott » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:55 PM UTC

I wonder if changes in washing machines are an issue, actually. America was really keen on top-loaders for a long time, and those damage clothes far more than front-loaders. As the US finally adopts front-loaders (and high-efficiency top-loaders, which use a different mechanism to the old ones), clothes will last longer.

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#134

Post by gruez » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

jimmies wrote: post #54

>Apparel is being displaced by travel, eating out and activities—what’s routinely lumped together as “experiences”—which have grown to 18 percent of purchases. [..] That now tops all clothing and footwear expenditures. I have a completely blunt theory on that. People learn that pictures of them smiling in their bathing suit in the Maldives or with that exotic plate of food attract more 'likes' than the pictures of th…

>/r/fi: mutual funds

*low cost ETFs

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#135

Post by gruez » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

>Apparel is being displaced by travel, eating out and activities—what’s routinely lumped together as “experiences”

Am I the only one who's coming to a different conclusion from looking at the graph? It looks like the decline in apparel is directly correlated with the rise in tech.

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#136

Post by thirdsun » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

dawnerd wrote: post #3

Hextinium wrote: post #2

I think a major contributor that isn't pointed out in the article is that clothes can last forever. I haven't needed to step into a department store in over two years not because I don't want to but because I don't need to. I wear the same clothes year-round and they have worked for the last 3-4 years before they even start to show wear. The only thing I need are new shoes and socks. Heck now with microfiber underwea…

Flip side I’ve been trying to buy new clothes but everything out there seems to be poorly cut or nothing but slim/althletic fit. If I go big and tall they’re also disproportionate. These games shirts I have from a couple years ago are perfect. The ones they sell now are horrible.

I love the clothing by Rapha - while they are known for their high quality athletic cycle wear, they also have a city range, that looks exceptional off the bike. I'd categorize it as fucntional fashion and due to their athletic roots it will fit very well for slim bodies. [1]

Another alternative is Outlier - a small brand that focuses on high quality, durable fashion. [2]

For more afforadable basics I like Uniqlo - say what you want, but I think it's very worthwhile clothing for the price. [3]

-

[1] https://www.rapha.cc/us/en_US/

[2] https://outlier.nyc/

[3] https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/home/

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#137

Post by baxtr » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

Americans are increasingly buying experiences instead of things. That’s great

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#138

Post by breakbread » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

dandare wrote: post #8

European 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…

Somewhat related, but I went to Europe (I'm American)for the first time in December (Prague, Zurich, Munich, Florence, Rome) and kept noticing how much more well dressed people were on average compared to Americans. Not to suggest everyone was balling out of control in designer wear, just more "put together", so to speak.

I considered the fact that I was visiting major cosmopolitan cities, but it was true even in the airports and train stations, where you tend to see a more general slice of the population.

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#139

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

johnpowell wrote: post #18

B-Con wrote: post #11

tl;dr: They buy less in quantity and value expensive brands less. This is in line with the "spend money on experiences not stuff" trend we're watching rise in popularity, particularly in the younger generation. People aren't flocking as quickly to flaunt their status via possessions, particularly in clothing. The right $20 shirt can look great and last you forever. I found a $8 t-shirt and $20 pair of pants that I li…

About five years ago my mom offered to do my laundry. I lived in a little studio apartment and I had to walk about 10 blocks to the laundromat. She did my laundry all the time since she has a washer and dryer in her house. So I had six bags of laundry I carried down to her car. I put them on the passengers side but the doors are locked. So I go around to her in the drivers seat and we chat of a bit. And then she come…

[deleted]

Re: Americans are spending less on clothing

#140

Post by dx034 » Wed, Feb 07, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

randcraw wrote: post #88

IMHO there are three clear causes for this trend: 1) US business fashion is increasingly casual. Ties, skirts, suits, coordinated outfits, scarves, leather soled shoes -- all are passe, even in button down East Coast Fortune 100 companies (other than for aspiring managers or those in banking/finance). 2) Color is passe. Shades of black and grey dominate wardrobes, especially in large cities. Thus fewer accessories ar…

Even Banking/Finance has become more casual over the past years. Nothing compared to other industries but the demand for suits is dropping there as well.