In the February 2021 edition of Fashion Mannuscript, my article, “More Effects of the Pandemic on Menswear,” discussed some of the effects I believed were generated by the COVID-19 pandemic on the apparel category. Having received no adverse comments from our readers, I felt it was necessary and appropriate to further explore changes we are seeing.
For one thing, men’s handbags are on the rise. The February 17 edition of Mr stated that men’s handbags have always been viewed as something of a joke. The article cited season 9, episode 4 of “Seinfeld,” when Jerry briefly held a European carry-all described as a small leather satchel with silver hardware. He used the bag as a means of carrying his girlfriend’s belongings. When the bag was stolen, he shouted that someone had stolen his purse.
The article referred to InsideHook, which described accessory powerhouses, such as Dior and Hermès, that featured their versions of the bag accessory. It noted that the evolution of the men’s bag has been from something to be scoffed at to something sought after. This evolution has been quietly underway for some time, beginning with Hypebeast.
A few years ago, seemingly every streetwear enthusiast had a compact, utilitarian crossbody bag or a waist pack slung across their chest. Designers were quick to capitalize on the trend — most notably, Virgil Abloh and his collaboration with Supreme during his time as Louis Vuitton’s creative director.
Other examples provided were The Dunhill Black Lock Bag, Marni Tribeca Tote, Bottega Veneta Large Arco, RRL Hand-Tooled Leather Tote (by Ralph Lauren) and the Acne Studios Small Leather Messenger Bag.
A recent article in Women’s Wear Daily highlighted Prabal Gurung ready-to-wear Fall 2021 collection. The line includes menswear items, a major departure from the designer’s normal women’s collections. Another Mr article in February, entitled “This is Acne Studios, But Not As You Know It,” described Acne Studios as epitomizing Swedish simplicity, noting that the Fall/Winter collection includes creative director Jonny Johansson’s desire to explore something new and refreshing. The result was smart-casual, loose tailoring, indoor-outdoor, transitional, multifunctional and much more, resulting in a collection for dressing up for yourself or hanging out with others.
One menswear collection includes a longer-than-usual sport jacket with longer-than-usual sleeves draped over shorts or longer-than-usual trousers. Johansson describes the collection as including garments with a sense of playfulness.
A visit to the multi-storied men’s store of Saks in Beverly Hills, California, demonstrates the extended emphasis on sportswear that can be worn for casual as well as business occasions. An example is the line of Brunello Cucinelli shirts — long-sleeve button-downs with collars, which retail for $500 and up. The shirts can be worn open-neck or with a tie for business occasions.
However, dress shirts can be purchased at $50. Men might not be wearing a dress shirt as often as they were in the pre-pandemic days, but that does not mean there are not any opportunities to get dressed up. Since our social calendars are not too full, anytime we have a gathering, call for attendees to step up their style. You can find dress shirts that are comfortable and breathable without dishing out hundreds, which is really all that anyone wants when it comes to putting on a fitted shirt.
Whether you are throwing a dress shirt on with boxer briefs for a last-minute Zoom meeting or you have your first date in what seems like years, there are dress shirts that will instantly make you look polished. Remember that time you tried hanging your dress shirt in the bathroom to get the wrinkles out, but it just got wet? No need to worry with available shirts today; there are non-iron fabrics that resist wrinkles so you will look crisp all day long.
Other examples of changes in menswear can be found in mass merchandisers, such as Walmart and Costco. The counters that had been monopolized by womenswear are now shared equally by menswear. One can now get completely outfitted for pleasure or work by this new method of one-stop shopping.
However, as Felix Richter explained in his February 19 article in Statista, “While the January surge in consumer spending puts overall retail sales safely back on its pre-pandemic growth trajectory, not all retailers are created equal in face of this unprecedented crisis. While some types of retailers have quickly rebounded from the shock of the first lockdown in spring 2020 or even profited from the unique situation throughout the year, others are still far-off pre-pandemic levels in terms of sales.”
As he notes, clothing and accessories stores have been badly impacted by the pandemic, with January sales still trailing around 11% behind last year’s total, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Benjamin S. Seigel, Esq. is of Counsel to the firm of G&B Law, LLP. He can be reached at bseigel@gblawllp.com.
