A fashion emergency: Slashed budgets have menswear industry in turmoil

Anne D'Innocenzio

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001 | 10:51 a.m.

After being on a spending frenzy for the past several years, buying up casual clothes for the relaxed business dress code, male shoppers like Robert Volmer and Steve Rosa are pulling back -- way back.

Volmer, a 30-year-old Washington, D.C., lobbyist, used to spend $6,000 a year on clothing, but this year it will be no more than $1,000. Rosa, a 37-year-old advertising executive from Rumford, R.I., estimates he'll cut his spending by half this year. But, he adds, image is still important in his business so he'll spend about $15,000 on his wardrobe.

Upscale male shoppers like Volmer and Rosa aren't the only ones cutting back on buying apparel. Others who have less money to spend are also retrenching, wreaking havoc on the menswear retailing sector, from high-end stores like Saks Fifth Avenue to moderate-priced chains like Gap Inc. The new climate represents a reversal of fortunes for the menswear business, which enjoyed robust growth over the past few years, fueled by the trend toward casual dress and the robust economy.

Now, men say they have enough sweaters and khakis. And even with this fall's return to a more formal dress policy at many corporations, many men don't feel compelled to buy new suits. They can resurrect their old ones.

"Dressed down has reached a saturation point, and now men don't know how to dress up in a modern way," said David Wolfe, creative director of the Doneger Group.

Volmer built up his casual wardrobe for four years and "now I look around and there's nothing new to buy."

Rosa, too, has a full closet and is reluctant to change it all. "I just don't want to get swept up in everything," he said.

Overall apparel sales have been in a funk, but the $52 billion menswear industry, which is about half the size of the women's market, has been the weakest. Since January, sales of women's apparel in department stores have been up, albeit no more than 1 percent, while menswear has declined 4 percent to 6 percent, analysts say.

Men are not exactly depriving themselves of all luxuries, according to Carl Steidtmann, director of Deloitte Research. They're still splurging on things other than clothes.

"Apparel is the easiest area to pull back. Men's styles just don't change that much," said Volmer, who recently purchased a new $3,800 Sony Laptop and a Range Rover.

Retailers are focusing a lot of energy on reviving their menswear business, from adding bolder colors to calling clients and throwing cocktail parties.