Shoes, Shades, Watch and Wallet.
While it shouldn’t surprise anyone, the above list is a
man’s checklist of things to have when accessorizing. In a world where fashion
makes the man, men have literally taken this to heed and are investing more
time and resources to shop for apparels and clothes. No more stating that men
don’t shop. They do shop and passionately so.
The idea of shopping for clothes has always been associated
with feminine traits. The traditional male-image holds that men don’t usually
shop and instead depend on their partners and significant others who would do
their shopping for them. Recent surveys prove otherwise though. More and
more men look forward to sales, shop impulsively and spend a significant
amount of time to decide what they want and are not afraid to ask for it.
Goodbye gender roles, say hello to the 21st century shopper!
But it does beg the question, how?
How did the winds of change come to be? And, is this a
temporary response to a rising metrosexual sensibility or a trend that’s here
to stay? It is clearly not an overnight pattern. To track the history of this
change would require one to start in 1970’s youth culture and how they
challenged gender and sexuality norms. But the lack of time here prevents us
from going that far so let’s fast forwards to the last 10 years. The rise of
internet popularity as a retail space and targeted advertisement played a
pivotal role in establishing this trend. The biggest factor that played a role here
was establishing the advantage of shopping online: you won’t have to leave the
premises of your house in order to get something, a situation ideal for the
modern overworked millennial male. Just a bunch of clicks and the product is
enroute. Pure bliss!
So can we pitch the trend entirely to advertisement and
tapping into the male psyche or is there more? Men have also taken more
unprecedented initiative towards looking better. In a world where appearance
plays a very important role, men have taken this advice to heart and looking to
expand their looks and styles in order to form better impressions as well as to
look better. Sivaram Kowta, Vice President of Men’s Apparel Myntra, recently
said that there is an increasing fashion demand from men especially in tier 2
and 3 cities. The unavailability of brands in such cities drives the traffic
online and Myntra lets such men explore more varied options. Sivaram also
pointed out that there were more men shoppers on Myntra than women with a ratio
of 60:40, on an average.
This new generation of men do not buy into the idea of a
selected wardrobe of few clothes as per requirements. Instead, today’s Indian
man wants a wardrobe that showcases his individuality and expression in
whatever he chooses to wear. From office to gyms to even a movie, men want to
look different everywhere to make a lasting impression. This brings a whole new
dynamic to the retail industry as well, which has to shift focus from being
usually more women-centric to being more gender neutral in order to appease to
all genders and ages.
It’s not just clothes they want to experiment with. The
modern man wants to try newer bags, electornic accessories stylized and
customized watches and glasses and more colors. The market has become wider to
accommodate this requirement and men have geared up to take full advantage of
this newly found freedom of expression. To twist a more popularly known saying,
why should women have all the fun?
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