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Shirts go traditional, safe in tough times
By Brenner Thomas |
April 12, 2009, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DESPERATE times call for desperate measures - and conservative shirts.
The recession has prompted men to err on the side of caution when buying dress shirts, leading to a boost in sales of solid white, blue and simple striped styles.
Just as the Great Depression scuttled the dandyism of the 1920s, the economic decline has put the skids on demand for fancy patterns, contrast collars, plaids and bold stripes, according to shirt manufacturers and fashion observers.
"Basics as a percent of total have picked up everywhere," said Mitch Lechner, president of the designer shirt group at Phillips-Van Heusen, the world's largest dress shirt manufacturer. "Over the last six months, these styles have completely outperformed French cuff models, textured cloths and fancies."
In an era where conspicuous consumption has become outre, America's white-collar workforce is eschewing styles that appear excessive, opting instead for the puritanical and basic, according to Alan Flusser, a men's wear author and custom tailor.
"Everybody is talking about cutting back," he said, noting his custom clients are also gravitating to conservative suits and shirts.
"On Wall Street, there is a sensitivity to not looking too wealthy. If you're a person that has had to lay off 10 employees, you can't walk into the office looking like some sort of Brahmin."
The solid white shirt is particularly of the moment. Iconic, functional and symbolically associated with purity and power, it is the ultimate expression of corporate seriousness.
And its recent success - PVH reported white shirt sales rose 10 percent in February - suggests to some that businessmen are looking to project confidence and gravitas at a time when companies and jobs are increasingly vulnerable.
"They are dressing like this because they need to hold onto a job or are interviewing for a job," said Evangelia Souris, an image consultant, who noted conservative dressers have a visible role model in President Obama, whose navy suits, crisp white shirts and solid red or blue ties are the epitome of professional raiment.
"We're going through an economic correction, but this a fashion correction, too," said Flusser.
The recession has prompted men to err on the side of caution when buying dress shirts, leading to a boost in sales of solid white, blue and simple striped styles.
Just as the Great Depression scuttled the dandyism of the 1920s, the economic decline has put the skids on demand for fancy patterns, contrast collars, plaids and bold stripes, according to shirt manufacturers and fashion observers.
"Basics as a percent of total have picked up everywhere," said Mitch Lechner, president of the designer shirt group at Phillips-Van Heusen, the world's largest dress shirt manufacturer. "Over the last six months, these styles have completely outperformed French cuff models, textured cloths and fancies."
In an era where conspicuous consumption has become outre, America's white-collar workforce is eschewing styles that appear excessive, opting instead for the puritanical and basic, according to Alan Flusser, a men's wear author and custom tailor.
"Everybody is talking about cutting back," he said, noting his custom clients are also gravitating to conservative suits and shirts.
"On Wall Street, there is a sensitivity to not looking too wealthy. If you're a person that has had to lay off 10 employees, you can't walk into the office looking like some sort of Brahmin."
The solid white shirt is particularly of the moment. Iconic, functional and symbolically associated with purity and power, it is the ultimate expression of corporate seriousness.
And its recent success - PVH reported white shirt sales rose 10 percent in February - suggests to some that businessmen are looking to project confidence and gravitas at a time when companies and jobs are increasingly vulnerable.
"They are dressing like this because they need to hold onto a job or are interviewing for a job," said Evangelia Souris, an image consultant, who noted conservative dressers have a visible role model in President Obama, whose navy suits, crisp white shirts and solid red or blue ties are the epitome of professional raiment.
"We're going through an economic correction, but this a fashion correction, too," said Flusser.
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