As time passes by, men’s sections have gotten smaller in flagship clothing stores on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.
- GAP on Michigan Ave: used to have the entire first floor to men, now a section on the 1st floor is devoted to childrens. I’m still quite baffled how the mens got on the prime first floor position.
- Old Navy on State St: when first opened, entire 2nd floor for men, now a section given to womens discounts, and another section given to baby clothes. Old Navy is owned by the Gap, so there wasn’t much surprise when this changed occurred at both stores at the same time in February 2004.
- Marshall Fields on State St: Part of 2nd floor for men got even smaller as the women’s section on the 2nd floor took over more space.
- Guess on Michigan Ave: The men’s section is hidden on the 2nd floor. Can you find it? It does exist. But only the bravest man will ask for directions to it.
- H&M on Michigan Ave: half the floor has to be shared with children’s clothes, while women get two full floors. Don’t even get me started on the men’s section on the H&M on State Street. It’s embarrassing, upsetting, and just plain wrong.
- Banana Republic on Michigan Ave: The men’s floor is like on the 15th floor, quite the hike up the glass stairs. But at least once you get up there, it’s still all men’s clothing.
- Express for Men in Water Tower: Used to be called Structure. Now it’s given the name of a woman’s clothing store. It’s only due time until the women’s clothing moves in.
Have I forgotten any?
Yes, women buy more clothes. Yes, it’s more profitable for clothing stores to minimize the men’s sections. But please, when it comes to major flagship stores, give men something to be proud of.
wow, the second floor of Old Navy has women’s discount clothes??? i’ll have to check that out. that’s rad! Gap Inc also owns Banana Republic. i think it’s only a matter of time until men and women start wearing the same clothes. soon there will be no delineation between “men’s” and “women’s” styles – we will all be wearing interchangeable fashions. or else, clothes may become more uniform-like, with no variation at all. there was this science-fiction-type story i read as a kid, where people were living underground in the future and wearing black jumpsuits and shaved heads, and then some crazy kids wondered what was on the surface, and snuck up one day, and found a whole bunch of “surface people” who were wearing all different clothes, and had full heads of hair. clothes can be very defining.
Men will not wear women’s clothes. I do not know of any male who has ever shopped in the women’s section for himself. Please please please do not take away any more options that the modern man has to choose from.
The men’s department at Field’s is on the 2nd floor yes, but it’s spread out all over the place. You really have to look for it, but I had some luck the other week. But it was in the designer areas. But I definitely agree that menswear is becoming harder and harder to find, which is ironic since men, in general, have started caring more and more abou fashion. The worse thing about all of this is the lack of choice! It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find slim fit, flat front pants. Every store I go to has pleated pants. WHO WEARS PLEATED PANTS!? Well, they shouldn’t. I suppose it will come down to the entirety of mens closets being full of bespoke clothes. Imagine the cost! I don’t think we will ever all dress alike. There is as much of a chance of that as there is that everyone will be driving hover cars.
hey, i checked out that clearance women’s section on the men’s floor of Old Navy. it’s not just women’s clearance up there – there’s just as much men’s clearance. i got 2 shirts.
Laura, but fact remains that woman’s clearance clothes are taking up what should be just men’s area on the 2nd floor. Tom, yeah, yer right the men’s stuff is scattered all over the place in fields in those boutiques. But yeah, what’s up with pleated pants? Every “fashionable” place still carries them. It’s quite surprising. Damn, i’m such a clothing snob.
If in the future, everyone will be wearing the same style clothes that are more uniform in nature, wouldn’t it make sense that men’s departments would be growing, not shrinking? If people were to buy more and more uniform style clothes, there would be more people shopping in the mens department, thus increasing the demand, so increasing the area for mens clothes. I feel ill.
The funny thing is that I have even talked to some of the salespeople about pleated pants and they are as confused as I am! If fashion tells us we aren’t supposed to wear pleated pants, and we don’t want to wear pleated pants, and employees of clothing stores don’t understand pleated pants, then why the heck do they exist at all!?? I feel ill too … move over
maybe the pleated pants are abundant because people are more overweight, so demand is high. ironically, those pants don’t help to hide the bulge – they just emphasize it.
you men get favored in so many other areas of life. let us have our clothes!
Therein lies even more irony – Heavyset people are the last people who should be wearing pleats! The only people who MIGHT consider pleats are very thin men, and even then they should be a reverse pleat. I’m competing with Matt for biggest clothes snob 😉 Laura, I think clothes are a primary need, We’re not trying to take away your clothes, you can have them, but we should have them too!