Mens Clothing; Boring and Dull, Nothing to Bring Home to Mom.
Calling all Designers; Make More Quality Affordable clothes For Men.
Throughout the dawn of man; males have always been expected to look good because of their position, and attractive to the females they desired. From the time of the Romans to the time of the Pharoahs, and even among the Incas, Mayans and the empires of Europe and Africa, men always enjoyed great outfits and attires crafted from the best fabrics.
Men in all these times were highly empowered, and beeming with confidence and authority. Women loved the men and were proud of them, and encouraged their adornments because it reflected power, wealth and stature. Men being master of their domains were bread winners; they had to project a certain image in order to fit in, and maintain the positions and offices that created their families wealth.
With the dawn of modern civilization, the gap has thankfully closed betwenn women and men, and both now share the mastery of their domain, and provide jointly for their families. With the females emergence to prominenece at the workplace however, women's clothing became much bigger business, and this distracted from the equitable manufacture of quality men's clothing.
Women enjoy the most beautiful designs and fabric at more affordable rates than men do. Do not get me wrong, I love the fact that women have these clothes. Like any other man out there, I am happy to see a woman looking good in a business suit, a gown or dress; I am happy that women today look great with all their accessories, and smell like the fragrance of a flower field. This is all great stuff and makes us men proud of all women.
The problem is not that women have more clothes available to them, they should; the problem is that I can walk into 3 stores in a day and find no affordable 34x34 size pants and 2xxl shirts of good quality. The only quality clothes out there for men are sold at the high end mall stores, and you literarily have to pay an arm and a leg to get them.
I know that a lot of the users on this site are single people with no kids, and maybe they can afford $500.00 suits, $75.00 shirts and $80.00 pants, but this is hard for a single dad or any dad. I hear you saying why don't you shop at department stores? so I ask this of you, have you ever bought clothes there? You will do well in those stores if you are of a certain size, but if you arms are long like mine, forget it. I buy a shirt in some stores and I can no longer wear it after the first wash. What fabric are these designers using anyway? What happened to all the cool fabrics my father used to hang in his closet that I hoped that i would get to experience one day.
When I came to America in 1986, I bought some clothes that still adorn my closet today. I am reluctant to throw out any of the denim, shirts and pants because I cannot find the same quality anywhere today. What happened? Are designers now making clothes from recycled paper?
I remember growing up in Africa and seeing my dad (who was teacher) wearing the most beautiful suits and riding his bicycle to work. I remember thinking that I would one day like to dress like him. I remember also getting my first job in Benin-City working at the library; I would leave work after payday on Fridays and purchase Italian silk shirts, Italian pants or African leather or Snake skin shoes on Mission Rd. I looked good and I felt good, and it did not cost that much (sorry PETA).
Forward to today when I am now a professional who wants to dress and act the part, and cannot do so to my satisfaction. I cannot do so because I refuse to waste money on poor quality clothes. I buy an outfit of good quality every 2 or 3 months because of the cost, and I am sure I am not alone. I have also discovered consignment stores where one man's previously new Gucci, is another man's treasure (they have some good stuff at Savers). I figure that by going consignment, I am getting designer wear for cheap and saving the planet of clutter.
Many stores and dress designers are already aware of this gap and are doig something about it. Young enterpreneurs in Boston (Dorchester and Dudley especially) and New York realize this need, and are capitalizing on it as good business.
Men have a lot to look good for. We have to look good for our spouses and girlfriends, kids, employers and society. In this competitive climate with all it's stressors, the way we look can literarily make or break us. Times are tough, families are struggling and the well is dry. It will help men greatly if clothing designers can put renewed focus on creating unique designs and fabrics, that will enhance our look and contribute to our confidence. Designers should make all mens clothes more afordable; Men will buy them, and so will our spouses and girlfriends, and you will make huge profits.