Sales of men’s clothing has gone down because more women have jobs. That theory sounded counter-intuitive to me at first. But then I realized that women who do not work have more time to shop. They also have more time to think about what their husbands should wear, how they can accessorize, and have time to do laundry and iron (if they enjoy that kind of thing, of course). But the revolution, as it were, came much more recently that I would have thought. According to polls by the NPD Group, three years ago women shopped for 76 percent of men. Now women shop for less than half of men. And the typical male doesn’t treat clothes shopping as entertainment, but more as a chore necessary only when he needs a particular item. It’s a difficult time for retailers and some have scaled back their men’s departments. No one knows if there will be a rebound; perhaps a fashion trend or an improved economy will get more men buying more clothes. It’s unlikely, however, that droves of women will be back to the men’s store. (source: NY Times article)