Clothing: Wooing the Cautious Male

If the men’s clothing industry could legislate, Everyman’s closet would permanently hold eight suits, one tuxedo, five sports coats, seven pairs of slacks’ two topcoats, four hats and 18 shirts—the wardrobe that the industry prescribes as ideal. The average American man has always been much more cautious: he has bought only when he needed to, spent only a modest $133 annually. Result: the industry has long been stationary and profit-starved. In fact, 40 years ago, 1,000,000 more men’s suits were turned out than last year, when production was 21.7 million.

At last the men’s clothing industry seems to be acquiring a sharper look. It expects sales (excluding shoes) to climb from $10.2 billion to $11.7 billion this year. Buyers ordered 15% more than the year before when they looked at new spring suits last month; they are expected to top that gain when they return to Manhattan in two weeks for a show of 1966 sportswear. Last week the industry’s leader, Hart Schaffner & Marx, reported that its orders are up 20%, predicted that its 1965 sales will rise 14% to a record $165 million.

Too Important. The turnaround is largely the result of prolonged prosperity, which not only gives men more money to spend but makes them more conscious of their appearance. “The middle to higher income groups now need a larger wardrobe,” says Nicholas Parker, Genesco Inc.’s president for men’s wear (Fenn-Feinstein, Roger Kent, Whitehouse & Hardy). This means a more expensive wardrobe: more men now buy suits in the $90 to $150 range, pay $6 or $8 for slacks when they used to pay $4. Leisure time and suburban sociability have caused a sportswear explosion; 125 million pairs of slacks were sold last year, 70 million more in the first half of 1965.

The clothing industry has fought hard to encourage this trend. In an epochal move, manufacturers jointly undertook a campaign to stress that clothes are too important to be bought only when a replacement is needed. They have to be careful, though, not to push new styling too far too fast; men are more conservative than women, and their styles change slowly. Through subtle changes made over long periods, the industry has shortened coats and sleeves, narrowed lapels and tapered trousers. Two of this year’s heralded innovations are the shaped suit and the return of the double-breasted—but they have yet to prove their drawing power. Says John D. Gray, president of Hart Schaffner & Marx: “Acceptance of the shaped look has been very limited. The double-breasted suit is as dead as the dodo.”

Most of the manufacturers are busy buying up established chains to get the outlets they need to raise sales. Hart Schaffner & Marx now has 120, Cluett, Peabody 48. Second-place Botany Industries (1964 sales: $134 million) operates 78 stores, will soon take over more. Botany President Michael Daroff is particularly interested in the 18-to 28-year-olds, who not only have money but can set styles. Botany is equipping each of its stores with a Mustang Shop, where salesmen are young, Cokes are served, and youthful customers are urged to chat, browse and buy the go-go clothes aimed at them.

Rare Skill. If basic styles have changed little, a great deal has happened otherwise to the clothes men wear. Ten-month suits of medium weight (many men actually wear them for twelve months) are the most popular clothing for today’s customer, who usually works in an air-conditioned office and may have to jet between blustery Chicago and balmy Miami on the same day. Stretch fabrics ease wear-out at the elbows, knees and seat. Synthetics are treated with chemicals, shaped and oven-baked; as a result, some sports slacks are now designed to be permanently pressed and wrinkle-free.

With sales finally turning up, men’s wear makers are building new plants with greater capacity and as much automated equipment as possible. This will force out still more small operators from the apparel industry, which has shrunk from 60,000 to 29,000 companies since World War II. Hardly any hand-tailoring is used any more except for shoulders and armholes and to make coat collars lie properly. To pay the increased wages commanded by this hard-to-find skill—Botany alone had to import 115 Italian tailors last year—the industry this year will present the customer with at least one innovation on his suits: a price tag that is $5 to $10 higher than last year.