Your Questions Answered

American Demographics, Nov 1, 2002

Byline: JOHN FETTO

HE'S IN FASHION

To the Editors of American Demographics:

I've been trying to find statistics regarding the percentage of men who shop for their own clothes. I've heard that women do most of men's shopping. By one estimate, women make 80 percent of men's apparel purchases. Is this true today? Carrie Williams WCM Seattle, Wash.

Dear Carrie:

It appears that men are taking more of a vested interest in their wardrobe now than in years past. According to Cambridge, Mass.-based apparel research firm STS Market Research, 69 percent of men's casual sportswear (jeans, slacks, shorts, shirts, sweaters, etc.) is purchased by men these days and only 31 percent is purchased by women. A report released by Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm The NPD Group reveals similar - albeit not identical - findings. According to NPD, men today purchase a majority (53 percent) of men's casual sportswear themselves and women buy the remaining 47 percent.

That's not to say that women are taking a back seat when it comes to dressing their man. According to NPD, 37 percent of women say they accompany their guy when he goes shopping for clothes, regardless of who's buying. The latest data available from New York City-based market research firm Mediamark Research, Inc. (MRI) reveals that 34 percent of all adult women have made at least one purchase from the men's department in the past year. Of course, having a man to shop for significantly increases a gal's chance of buying an item of men's apparel. In fact, 45 percent of married women and 36 percent of women who are engaged say they bought men's clothes last year, compared with just 25 percent of single women.

Which items are the ladies most likely to pick up for their guy? According to MRI, underwear and socks top the list of men's apparel items that women buy. At least 1 in 6 women (17 percent) claims to have bought men's underwear in the past year, and 16 percent say they have bought men's socks. Other commonly purchased items include jeans (15 percent), dress shirts (11 percent), casual slacks (11 percent) and belts (7 percent).

Of course, many men are capable of returning the favor. MRI reports that 16 percent of men have purchased some sort of women's apparel in the past year. As with the ladies, married and engaged men are the most likely to pick up a little something for the missus: 20 percent of engaged men and 19 percent of married men say they have bought an item of women's clothing in the past year.

Give those Victoria's Secret models a raise: Bras and underpants are among the most common women's apparel items purchased by men - 6 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Of course, buying a woman a fancy dress is also a nice gesture. In the past year, 6 percent of men say they have bought a woman's dress. However, the exact percentage of those dresses that were subsequently returned to the store is a mystery.

SEX AND THE CITY

To the Editors of American Demographics:

Recently, a few single girlfriends and I had a conversation about the demo-graphics of New York City. We were guessing how many men versus women there were in New York, single versus married, homosexuals versus heterosexuals. To me, it appears there are twice as many women in this city than men. But rather than guessing, I thought I'd take this to a higher authority: American Demographics . How does New York City's population break down? When it comes to gender and unattached singles, is there a level playing field? Kate Moses Hoboken, N.J.

Dear Kate:

Don't put away your dance card just yet, because it turns out that there are plenty of single men in New York City to go around.

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are an estimated 1.5 million unmarried (single, widowed, divorced or separated) men in New York City and 2 million unmarried women. Granted, there are more women than men (1.4 single females for every single male), but it's a far cry from your estimated 2-to-1.

A person's age (and/or the ages of the men and women to whom he or she is typically attracted) may improve the odds of landing a mate - or make them worse. In the 20-to-34 age range, only 32 percent of the men and 36 percent of the women in New York City are married. That means there are about 728,000 males and 724,000 females who are single. The odds are much less favorable for singles looking to partner with someone between 35 and 54 years of age: Fully 64 percent of the men and 56 percent of the women in this age group are married.

But don't despair! There are still 465,000 New York men and 612,000 New York women between the ages of 35 and 54 who are not legally wed. In the 55 and over cohort, it behooves you to be a single male: There are almost three single women to every single man in this age group. New York City is home to an estimated 679,000 unmarried women ages 55 and older and only 264,000 unmarried men.

Of course, we all know that just because a man or a woman isn't wearing a wedding band doesn't mean he or she is not spoken for. The Census Bureau reports that there are 134,818 heterosexual couples in New York City who are living together but not legally married. And there are 18,131 male gay couples living together and 12,730 cohabiting lesbians.