For example, the Marks & Spencer (M&S) store stopped selling men’s business suits in about half of its branches in Britain, because demand for them fell sharply amid the pandemic. According to the Times newspaper, men are increasingly buying clothes in the style of “for every day” or, if it is really necessary, individual components of a suit: for example, shirts and trousers. According to the research company Kantar, from last July to this, Britons bought only two million men’s suits – 2.3 million less than in the same period five years ago. Spending on “twos” and “threes” also fell: from 469 million pounds from July to July five years ago to 159 million pounds in the same period this year.
Of course, clothing preferences have changed among both men and women. “We are also seeing an increase in demand for knitted clothing, which reflects the growing demand for comfortable, but more elegant home-style clothing. Since January, we have seen an increase in searches for knitted dresses (+72 percent), knitted sets (+33 percent) and knitted vests (+61 percent), which is expected to continue in the coming months, ” the Independent newspaper quotes Morgan Le Caer, content manager of the Lyst trading platform.
“After a year and a half of working from home, returning to the office will probably be associated with a new, more relaxed dress code,” the specialist is sure. According to her, Lyst expects that people will increasingly prefer things like over-size, everyday accessories and bright colors in office clothes. As the world gets used to new hybrid formats of work, comfort and practicality will increasingly “take over” our wardrobes, Le Caer believes.
Comfortable shoes also began to rapidly gain popularity, as evidenced by the data of the research firm NPD Group. In the second quarter of 2020, sales of dress shoes – in particular, high-heeled shoes-fell by as much as 71 percent. This also affected well-known brands like Louboutin and Jimmy Choo, who “had to adapt to the market and develop sneakers and low-heeled shoes,” Stephanie Clair, sales manager of fashion accessories and shoes at the Paris department store Printemps, quotes Bloomberg. Shopping centers also began to adapt to new trends. For example, the flagship branch of the Parisian shopping center “Galerie Lafayette” on Boulevard Haussmann this year decided to redo its shoe department and allocate more space for sneakers, said Hortense Demet, director of accessories purchasing at the store.
According to Wes Taylor, the director of men’s clothing at M& S, the trend for convenience existed even before the pandemic, but it was thanks to it that it gained such popularity.
