Fishnets are out; playsuits are in. Spiralisers are en vogue; crystal stem glasses passé. Men spend more on clothes; women buy garden sheds.
A review of our evolving shopping habits has revealed the winners and losers in the retail world and some surprising differences between the sexes.
While it had already been revealed that men are keen to buy formalwear in the early hours of the morning — perhaps a bacchanalian night has ruined the dinner jacket — and women will rise at 5am to buy a handbag, who knew that 49 per cent of garden sheds were now sold to females?
What is not revealed is whether they bought the sheds for themselves or to keep men out of the way.
The latest John Lewis report, How We Shop, Live & Look, found that, on average, men spent 6 per cent more than women on clothes during the year. They spend most in May while women splash out in September.
Advertisement
The store attributes many of the nation’s style changes to the influences of Hollywood and Fifty Shades of Grey.
Eddie Redmayne’s shunning of a black suit in favour of blue at the Oscars in February was the cue for a 75 per cent increase in blue suit sales during the year. This autumn, John Lewis predicts that green — from the “lightest shades of fresh yellow green to rich evergreen hues” — will dominate men’s formalwear.
The lingerie department has the February premiere of Fifty Shades to thank for almost doubling sales of the Idalia black playsuit. Thongs and fishnets, however, have been consigned to the back of the drawer. The report said that the “big pant was now beautiful”.
The retailer said that social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest have become more influential than the catwalk in shaping what women wear.
Andy Street, the managing director, said that homeware sales were dominated by prints and patterns inspired by the 1970s, and that there had been a huge boost in wellbeing products such as Fitbits, NutriBullets, anti-ageing creams and running machines. In May its Oxford Street store was selling spiralisers — which cut vegetables very thinly— at a rate of 100 a day.
Advertisement
And the losers? Breadmakers. The Great British Bake Off meant that people started doing their own kneading. Loom bands also proved to be a flash in the pan. Formal silver tableware and crystal stemware lost their lustre and bookcases fell foul of the rise of the e-reader.