Friday 4/4 Edition: Men Are Dressing Better. And It’s About Time.

HSBC recently published a report about the new man called a YUMMY, or young urban male with disposable income which he chooses to spend on premium items such as clothes and accessories. While we refrain from pegging demographics with catchy nicknames, the point is true.  Men are in fact taking pride in the way they look. The climate has changed from tennis shoes, boot fit jeans and a flannel button down to pocket squares, fitted blazers and cufflinks. And we say, it’s about time.

The demand for menswear products continues to outpace womenswear with men currently accounting for 40% of the total luxury market. Men are beginning to approach fashion with the same excitement as women do.  And the internet is the reason.

It’s no secret that most men hate spending hours browsing mall stores looking for one or two items, trying to find the right size, and god forbid, trying it on. With a few swipes of their tablet, men can now check out curated selections from websites like Informant Daily’s shop, and get the latest in menswear from buyers who stay ahead of fashion trends and find great designers for you.  Shopping online takes the experience of shopping that men hate, and makes it simple, delivering what they want, with little effort.

Lets take a quick look at The Menswear Movement:
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1985 only 25% of all mens apparel was bought by men. 75% was bought by women for men. (NPD)

1998 men were buying 52% of apparel for themselves (NPD) but in….

2004 …it was 69% with no sign of slowing. (NPD)

2005 “The result is a full-blown category of menswear that draws equally from skateboard and surf culture, the preppy canon and the runways of Prada & Marc Jacobs.” (NYTimes, June 19, 2005)

2011 Does the Menswear Industry Matter? Um, yes. (Forbes)

2011 Study shows that men are more active social shoppers than women (E Marketing and Commerce)

2012 “Men don’t shop; they buy. Men spend 30 percent less time browsing online than women, viewing fewer pages before purchasing,” Frederico Marchetti, CEO of Yoox

2012 “Men are the New Women……The luxury menswear market is growing at almost 14 percent per year, outpacing growth in womenswear by almost double.” (Business of Fashion, Bain)

2013 “Men, look how far you have come….the arrival of a generation of young men who are taking more risks with their style.” (NY Times February 13, 2013)

2014…….$50 Billion. At least.

For far too long men have been relegated to the back wall of the department store. The internet was able to understand that men don’t shop, they purchase. They see what they like, and they buy it. The simplicity of this fact, coupled with curated selections from stylists and educational content from bloggers at your fingertips, has made taking pride in ones style accessible, or perhaps more important, acceptable for men.


Informant Daily was launched because we wanted to present informative content to men while creating a one stop shop for stylist curated accessories, shoes and outerwear that went beyond the same 20 brands you find in every department store.  We are strong believers that shoes and accessories make or break a stylish man. A well played pocket square with crisp brown loafers goes a long way. Visit the store for over 500 stylist curated items.

Nick Ralph for InforMANt Daily