Contacting the retailers

[Sinned]

Whilst in my local ASDA store recently I observed the latest range of jeans for women in the bright greens, purples and other colours and then looked at the men's isles of trousers and jeans in boring, boring blue and black and it really depressed me. I am not afraid to wear bright colours and have brightly coloured trousers, shirts and so on. So I sent the following via their "Contact us" page on their website:

"Whilst in your Monks Cross, York store I have noticed a great disparity between the men's and women's clothes. The women's trousers are produced in bright colours - red, purple, green and so on, yet the men's trousers are all boring blue or black. Looking down the isles of jeans and trousers was a depressing sight! Maybe I am an unusual man as I like to wear bright colours. Buying women's jeans and trousers mean that they don't. fit right as they are cut for the wider hips. Please when are you going to take the lead and reciprocate with men's fashions. Levis and Paul Smith did such about 10 years ago but have gone back to the boring stuff. Consequently maybe you are losing out on a lot of sales from men such as I.

Also a related issue, I am most definitley male but I do like to wear skirts and it is extremely difficult to buy skirts just for men, cut for their body shape. I know that some fashion labels have flirted with skirts for men but these have been high value items out of the price range of most men. When will a mainstream fashion label such as George cater for those of us that wish to wear a skirt with our shirts and jumpers? Don't say that it can't be done or that the market will be too small. How can you know what the market would be unless you tested it?

Regards

Dennis"

I got the response that feedback was important to them and I would receive a reply within 2 to 3 days so I will post their reply when received. Maybe nothing will change but if we don't try then nothing definitely will not happen, I have other ideas that I will post as and when they come to fruition such as how thry can test the market. I also intend to contact other retailers in a similar manner. Perhaps we could all take a more proactive stance with retailers as if they don't know the strength of feelings towards say, providing skirts for men then they won't have the incentive to change.

Sinned

PS I am a bit of an insomniac hence the post at such an odd time.

[skirtyscot]

Good for you. Can't do any harm.

[Kilted_John]

Keep us posted. Sounds like the usual form letter that was sent out, but, who knows.

-J

[Since1982]

THEY want us to stay in DULL, BORING, COLORLESS clothing so THEY can be the only colorful humans on the block! You can all figure out for yourself who THEY are!

[skirted_in_SF]

I'm a pretty small guy, so I wear a lot of women's outerwear. Like you, I saw the more colorful pants that are available for women and I bought a pair in red. I've worn them everywhere except work without comment. But I wouldn't wear them with my new garnet overcoat. Don't think the two reds would work together. I have gotten a lot of favorable comments on the overcoat.

[Sinned]

Not having received a reply to my communication with ASDA today I sent the following message through their "Contact us" page on their website:

"On 20th November I contacted you regarding the availability of clothes which are more equivalent in colour to those sold to women plus the possibility of the fashion-leading idea of promoting skirts for men. On 20th November I received a standard reply indicating an aim to respond within 2 - 3 days which hasn't been met. I realise that this is perhaps a communication that requires a bit more thought and research and may take a bit more time to formulate a reply so I can be patient provided that the request is being taken seriously.

I also thought that your website could be used to promote mini-surveys ( surveys with a short limited time span, say 2 weeks, with just a single theme and few points ) on subjects such as these to test the water prior to making any substantial investments.

Regards"

Don't want to let this drop with them and am now interested as to what tack they will now take. I am hoping that I won't just get a stock dismissal. So I will post as soon as I get a reply. I'll admit that I was tempted to buy a purple and red pair of the jeans but something stopped me.

Sinned

[jamie001]

I think it is great that you pointed out the disparity between men's and women's clothing to the manufacturer. I believe that the real problem of men's clothing being limited to boring/dull colors is that men police other men to ensure that they don't step out-of-line regarding wearing clothing that may be considered to be "feminine". If the clothing manufacturers were to increase the color offerings to include bright colors, the sales would most likely be poor because only folks like you and I and men that are more liberated in fashion would purchase the bright colors. Most normal men that follow the herd mentality religiously won't buy any clothing that this not some shade of black, brown, blue, or gray. That is the real problem in a nutshell. Unlike women, men are herd-based pack-animals and follow the collective herd mindset. You can have any color that you like. What shade of black, brown, blue, or gray would you like? It is likely that this will never change.

[couyalair]

You can have any color that you like. What shade of black, brown, blue, or gray would you like? It is likely that this will never change.

Don't be so pessimistic!
It changed a (for a while) in the 70s. For a year or two, men really became stylish -- varied colours, fitted suits and shirts (don't remember seeing many skirts, I admit!) long TIDY hair ...
Unfortunately, the effort required to look good must have been too much, and things soon became drab and shapeless -- probably even worse than in the 50s.
But who knows? perhaps one day the clothing industry will make another attempt to brighten us up. In the mean time, it's up to us to show the world what we want to wear.

Martin

[crfriend]

[Things] changed a (for a while) in the 70s. For a year or two, men really became stylish -- varied colours, fitted suits and shirts (don't remember seeing many skirts, I admit!) long TIDY hair ...
Unfortunately, the effort required to look good must have been too much, and things soon became drab and shapeless -- probably even worse than in the 50s.

Ah, yes, the "Peacock Revolution"; I recall it well as well as the precipitous decline into the 1980s. For a few brief years it was permitted for guys to have colours, fabrics, and cuts of garments that not only looked good, but felt good on as well. It was a time when it was possible to walk into a room and not have every male looking like every other male.

I don't think it was so much a matter of being too much effort but rather that society underwent a radical retrograde change during the late '70s that destroyed the will to be creative by making it dangerous to be creative. That's what's sad about the whole thing.

But who knows? perhaps one day the clothing industry will make another attempt to brighten us up. In the mean time, it's up to us to show the world what we want to wear.

Amen. If we don't show the world, nobody will show the world for us; to remain silent is to acquiesce. As is usually attributed to Ghandi: "Be the change you want to see in the world."

[couyalair]

Ghandi : "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Well I've been doing that for some years now, but have not noticed much change around me yet.
Where have I gone wrong?
At least I have not irked anyone enough to become an assassin's target.

Martin

[Sinned]

Latest uopdate and a bit depressing really but expected.
Reply received from ASDA:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the availability of clothing in our George department in the York Store. My colleague did respond to your original message on 22 November, she left a voice mail. I'm sorry if you didn't receive this. Customer feedback is paramount to our business so thanks for making me aware of your concerns about there being no bright colours in menswear. I understand there needs to be a choice and realise you feel the men's range is lacking in colour. In connection with skirts for men, I've made your suggestions to our George Team so it to be taken into consideration. Thanks again for contacting Asda and if there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know.

To which I have replied today:
Thank you for your reply and I have taken a few days to consider it. Regarding trousers I have taken this to be just a general response with no actual committment to do anything about it. Considering that all the other mainstream clothing outlets, even the higher end outlets such as Calvin Klein, Paul Smith and Levi, display the same drab colours I was hoping that ASDA would at least take the lead in this and it would make a great marketing campaign. I appreciate that in the competitive clothing environment that future plans could be considered sensitive could you at least give some indication that this is being considered?
As regards skirts for men all that is being asked for at the moment are plain styles in plain colours at affordable prices displayed in the men's section. There may be issues such as any front zip and pocket differences ( in women's skirts the pockets are more decorative than useful ) to resolve but these are doable.

Because I have hearing issues I am not very good on a phone so I don't respond to voicemail messages. Watch this space.

Sinned

[henri]

Good try with ASDA. I actually found a number of skirts in George at ASDA, and the reason why is they go up to 22 or 24, or occasionally I needed a 26. These are of course the women's size, but they looked fine. Varies by the season.
The thing I have hassled the retailers about is stockings. The big supermarkets had reduced available products to a minimal range, but I got the stock answer; not a popular line, limited shelf space, and so on. Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons may have a couple of Hold-up styles, which I cannot abide, but sensible classic stockings, er no! The only benefit was if the line was being cleared, 3 pairs for £1 to £2. I bought as many as I could!
John Lewis sells 3-packs @ £4.50, but not at Waitrose!
I shall take this up with with the companies in question and paste up their replies.
I want to be able to buy low cost stockings; I now feel comfortable in them and wear them most days, but not in the incredible cold!, and do not see why supermarket should deprive women or men (several of my women partners were committed stocking wearers) so I will hassle and let you know!
As for bright colours, I have found general acceptance of my skirts and stockings in North London, but I have stuck to black, dark brown and fawn (yes dreary beige). My flash of colour is fancy braces with buttons, even on my skirts!
Season's Greeting to all, Xmas 2012

[rick401r]

I noticed an Old Navy commercial the other day that touted it's variety of colors available in their jeans line. The women in the scene had a rainbow of colors, the man had 3 options. Black, blue, and brown.

[knickerless]

By the way welcome Henri - I lived in North London for a while - whereabouts are you.

Nick

formerly of East London then Tottenham then Elm Park now Swindon

[henri]

Hi 'Knickerless'! Does your tag assume you go commando much of the time! Risky?
How do your locals react to your skirts in Downtown Thamesdown! Attitudes have changed a lot here in sunny Crouch End, other side of Haringey from Tottenham.
When in the mood I like wearing knickers over my suspenders, just a pleasant feeling, 'nuff said. But I rarely go 'in the raw'.
But I now enjoy shopping in skirts and looking through what is on offer on the women's lines.

Cheers H