How Much American Men REALLY Spend on Clothes “I’m not really into clothes. Basics. Nothing too crazy.” I’ve heard some variation on this statement from roughly seven out of every ten American men I’ve interviewed over the last decade-plus writing about menswear.
Why do guys feel the need to say this when discussing their wardrobes and appearances with me (or more likely your friend who seems to know something about “dress shirts”)? Do they assume you’ll peg them as some sort of trendy hipster dude if they admit to liking how they look? Do they honestly believe that saying it loudly enough will trick you into believing they literally don’t care about fashion?
Regardless of why they say it, this proclamation is inevitably followed by the guy in question promptly pulling up his phone to Instagram to show me photographic proof of something he just bought that completely disproves his stated anti-fashion ethos: a pair of rare_colorways trainers, that vintage band tee they’ve been searching for years to find, or some designer jacket they “scored on sale.”* *Insert your own ’90s GIF of Leonardo DiCaprio here. If you’ve ever wondered how men feel about clothing expenditures or where our wallets truly lie when it comes to shopping, you’re in luck.
We have a ton of issues when it comes to being honest about how much we spend on our appearances (to others and even ourselves).
Allow me to explain. Last year I decided to pitch (and was incredibly fortunate to get assigned) a feature on men’s clothing budgeting. Like most interviews I conduct with various sources on topics financial or closet-related, I knew I’d have trouble getting dudes to be completely candid about how much they spent on clothes.
What I didn’t expect was how wide of a gap I’d consistently find between what men told me versus what they actually spent. After speaking to upwards of 80 men of varying geography, incomes, and professions, combing through retailer data, and consulting budgeting experts, the trend was clear: the average American man underestimates his yearly clothing budget by upwards of 60-70%. “I’d say $1,000 a year max,” said James, a 42-year-old software engineer in Seattle when I first asked him about his budget. Fast forward a few minutes of discussing what he remembered purchasing over the last year and you had a completely different estimate: two expensive technical jackets ($380 and $425), four pairs of high-end denim ($185-240/each), three pairs of trainers ($90-160/each) and let’s not forget all of the shirts, basics, accessories, etc.
We’re looking at roughly $3,800 spent a year on clothes – not $1,000. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen this pattern play out when reporting on menswear. Get a guy to estimate his budget and chances are he’ll lowball you by at least half of what he actually spends.
But through some gentle prodding about items purchased in the last 12 months – and some adamant cross-checking with his bank statements – he usually caves and confesses, “Wait, yeah, I guess I buy more than I thought.” It turns out men across all income brackets and regions of the country tell me they spend significantly less on clothes than they do. How much less? As reported above, the average American man underestimates his annual clothing budget by approximately one-third.
And why? Well…. Insert your favourite late-Nineties Shia LaBeouf interrogation scene here.
After conducting these interviews over several months, talking to budgeting and style experts, and collecting additional data on men’s shopping habits from retailers across the price spectrum, I think we can pinpoint a few reasons why most American men have a strange disconnect with how much they spend on clothes each year. Let’s start with the numbers. Based on my conversations and research, here are the actual averages I found for how much American men spend yearly on clothes broken down by income level.
Lower income (Less than $50k household): $800-$1,200 Middle income ($50-$100k household): $1,500-$2,500 Upper middle ($100-$200k household): $2,500-$5,000 Affluent ($200k+ household): $5,000-$15,000+ Keep in mind that these totals include EVERYTHING we spend yearly on clothes: shoes, accessories, outerwear, activewear, you name it. The wide ranges within each income bracket also accounts for age, profession, geography, and how much an individual guy may personally prioritise dressing well. Still with me?
Let’s dig into why men consistently under-report their annual clothing budgets by up to (or way past) 50% when initially asked. The first trend I noticed was regardless of income level, most men when asked about their yearly clothing budgets gave estimates that were 30-50% lower than what they actually spend annually. This discrepancy was even more pronounced with men who make upper-middle and higher incomes as many of them mentally filtered out entire categories of clothing when I asked them about their “clothing budget.” Footwear was most common followed by coats/jackets and then what I’ll generously call “investment pieces.” “I really don’t spend that much on clothes,” said Michael, a 38-year-old financial advisor living in Chicago with a household income in the upper-middle bracket when I first asked him about his budget. “Maybe $2,000 a year if that.
Work shirts and stuff.” Once I dug in about everything he purchased over the past year he spent over $6,000 on (a winter coat $1,200, 3 dress shoes averaging $350/each, two suits totaling $2,100, AND all of the button-ups, polos, jeans, jackets, and accessories). “Oh yeah, those things too, haha!” was his response when I reminded him of these purchases. Notice a theme here? “When I think about my clothing budget, I don’t include coats,” Michael said when I pressed him on how he could spend so much more than his original estimate. “That was a necessary purchase. Same with the suits.
Work clothes are different.” lump gross salaries of things he felt he “needed” versus what we in the apparel industry like to call… “clothing.” But this still doesn’t answer why so many different types of shoppers (whether impulse or meticulous planners) consistently lowball their estimates. Which brings me to my next point: Culture. Men’s clothing and fashion in general has changed exponentially over the past few decades.
However, some lingering ideals of what it means to be masculine in America still doesn’t mesh well with appearing too interested in your clothing or appearance. Too many American men who invest significant time, energy, and money into their wardrobes feel like they have to downplay the actual dollar amounts spent as part of their…. identity management? “It’s still taboo in a lot of ways for men to talk about how much money they spend on their clothes or how much they enjoy picking out a new jacket,” said Dr. James Harrison, a sociology professor at Northwestern University that specializes in consumer behaviour and gender. “There’s still this perceived idea that if you care ‘too much’ about how you look or what you wear that you’re not a ‘real man’ or being superficial.” Um, excuse me while I get ice cubes thrown at a copy of Fight Club.
Yeah, so that mindset creates wildly illogical situations where the same dude asking you thoughtful questions about your favourite Earnest Sewn boots that cost him $400 will also say things like “I don’t really care about that stuff. I just buy stuff that’s practical.” (Um… what??!) Digging even deeper into the disconnect between perceived and actual spending yielded even more surprises. Here’s how annual men’s clothing budgets break down by region: Northeast (NYC, Boston, Philly, etc. ): $3,000-$7,000 West Coast (LA, SF, Seattle): $2,500-$6,000 Midwest (Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. ): $2,000-$4,500 South (Atlanta, Dallas, Miami etc. ): $2,500-$5,500 Suburban: $1,500-$3,500 Rural: $800-$2,000 Yup.
Location matters. Climate differences, local style preferences, and yes, how comfortable men are discussing what they spend on clothes all play a factor in these regionsally deviating numbers. I found guys on both coasts were much more apt to talk about clothes and spending with me than Midwestern and rural men who would often give me significantly lower estimates than what they later admitted to spending. (We’ll discuss age demographics in a minute.) “I could talk your ear off about beer or whiskey.
Hell, I probably already have,” said Thomas, a 36-year-old creative director living in Minneapolis. “But I feel weird talking about how much my clothes cost.” On further discussion with him, Thomas initially told me he spent “about $1,000 bucks a year on clothes.” Thanks to his credit card statements, I know he spent over $3,200 with the majority of that on…. denim. High-end denim. “The stuff I really like tends to be more expensive.” Wait… what? Highest annual clothing expenditures occur when men are least concerned with adhering to mainstream style trends?
Say what?!? ! Except….. that isn’t entirely true. Age plays a major factor in how much we spend on clothes.
The age group that spends the least on apparel annually? Early- to mid-20s. Think about it: when you’re in your early career and lack established taste you’re either pounding cheaper clothes because you’re actively wearing them out or stocking up on basics with as many stylish details as you can find for the lowest prices.
As men get older, gain confidence in their style, and make more money, they tend to spend more on clothes. Not every age group, however, spends the most on clothing. Ready for this?
Straight out of college and into their first professional jobs, men in their late 20s increase their spending slightly but it’s not until their 30s and 40s that the average American guy drops the biggest bucks on clothes. Closer inspection at certain age groups also revealed the largest gaps between estimated budgets vs. actual spending. “I spend about $2k a year on clothes – mostly business attire,” said Robert, a 44-year-old attorney living in Philadelphia. He spent…. wait for it….
OVER $7,500 on clothes last year. And before you chalk that sum up to expensive suits and dress shirts, Mr. Exceeds-Annual-Budget by nearly 4X spent a good chunk on “weekend clothes” that he didn’t mentally count as part of his budget.
Once again we have a dude who strongly separates his “necessary” work spending from his casual clothes. Occupation also matters when discussing how much American men spend on clothes. Depending on your line of work, you can easily spend more or less than men with other professions.
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Based on interviews and retailer data, here are the average annual expenditures for men who autumn within middle to upper-middle income tiers broken down by category of profession. Business Formal (finance, law, etc. ): $3,000-$8,000 Business Casual (tech, education, etc. ): $1,800-$4,000 Creative (design, media, etc. ): $2,500-$6,000 Skilled Trade: $1,200-$2,500 Service Industry: $800-$2,000+ The gap between highest and lowest spending professions isn’t surprising. If you have to wear a suit everyday for work you’re going to spend at least twice as much yearly on clothes than the guy stocking shelves at Target.
That said, men who work in creative fields aren’t far behind their grey suit-wearing counterparts. Just because you’re not expected to wear a jacket and tie daily doesn’t mean some folks in the art, design, music, and media worlds don’t drop similar if not grander amounts on clothing. “People should know I work in the creative field just by looking at my wardrobe,” said Jason, a 34-year-old creative director at an ad agency. “It’s not about wearing a suit everyday, but I want people to know atabthatitheived I pay attention to design – my clothing reflects that.” Jason’s estimated annual clothing budget? $3,000. Actual amount spent last year? $5,800.
Dudes justify purchases whether they be worth the price or not. Denim. Trainers.
Wooden watches. We all have our vices and when speaking with men about how they view their clothing budgets and subsequent spending habits, I realised they autumn into similar justificatory categories as well: The Pragmatic Justification (“It’ll last longer/serves multiple purposes”): I heartily believe this is the number one clothing shopping justification made by men. After all, how can you justify shelling out hundreds of dollars for a jacket or pair of jeans?
By telling yourself it’s not about fashion, it’s about pragmatism. The Professional Buy: Men love to talk about how they need to dress to a certain standard for work (“I’ve got to look credible when I’m meeting with clients”). Bonus points if you can work your job title into the conversation.
The Sale Hunter: “Yeah, but I got it on sale.” “50% off!? !” “Oh it was way more than that, but the store was about to go out of business.” Trust me, I’ve heard every variation of this excuse to spend more than one probably should. The Occasion Exception: Weddings. Funerals.
The biggest interview of your life. All of these moments and more are when guys tend to spend the most on clothes they don’t “really need” and then exclude that budget from their normal monthly shopping. The Hybrid Defence: Buying clothes that can “do it all.” Serve as pyjamas.
Dress clothes. Camping attire. Protection from the elements.
You get the idea. We as men love to justify purchases by how they can serve our every need. Which leads me back to Lucas.
He fell into three of the previously mentioned categories: “I travel a lot for work so I have to buy clothes that I know will hold up. I’m not going to spend money on some fancy shirt that’s gonna get ruined in my suitcase,” he told me when I asked him why he spends the most on work clothes. “Also, I wait for the sales. I bought that blazer while it was 40% off.” ….Which still retailed for $650.
Asking men about this disconnect between their perceived spending and what they’re actually spending can lead to some interesting answers. A few felt almost embarrassed when I’d confront them with their yearly totals. Others outright lied to me.
But most fell into the “Ryan” category. “I mean, I know how much I spend when I buy something. So I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised when I add it all up,” said Ryan, a 37-year-old marketing executive who spent over DOUBLE what he thought he did on clothes last year. “But… yeah. Add it all up for me and I don’t really want to know.” He’s not alone.
Most men I spoke with claim they have no problem discussing shopping habits and expenditures. But few really do. And that lack of dialogue around men’s spending creates a void of understanding about how much we spend and why many of us are afraid to face that number. “There’s been such an analytical and at times negative lens through which we view women’s relationship with shopping,” said consumer psychologist Dr.
Lisa Martinez. “Men have not been subjected to the same scrutiny. There’s less conversation around how men shop and less of a cultural vocabulary for discussing our habits which allows us to continue making excuses.” If you think men shopping doesn’t have innate stereotypes and double-standards, think again. Ask any man how they like to shop and you’ll likely hear something along the lines of efficient and get-in/get-out.
Truth is men actually spend more time browsing online retailers than women before making a purchase (by about 30 minutes on average) and are more likely to visit the same retailer multiple times before buying than their female counterparts. Yup. They justify what they believe is their quick shopping trips by browsing way more than they lead on. “I spend less money than most guys my age.” FALSE. “I don’t care about clothes.” LOL OK. “I recycle old clothes instead of buying new.” *eye roll* If I had a nickel for every guy that said some variation of the above to me before admitting they actually spend way too much time browsing holes.com I’d be able to fund this entire article myself.
But what does all this mean for you and I as men who shop? Is there something wrong with spending more on clothes than we’re willing to admit? Or care about?
Not necessarily. What’s problematic is lying about it to others and more importantly yourself. “When you’re lying about how much you spend on clothes (or anything) to the people in your life you’re probably closest to, that’s when it becomes an issue,” said men’s finance expert Eric Richards. “But even more troubling is when you’re lying to yourself about a clothing budget that doesn’t exist. At the end of the month when you’re wondering where all your money went, an undocumented shirt and trouser purchase here and there adds up quick.” Richards told me about clients who wouldn’t admit to spending more than $500 a year on clothes when bank statements proved they spent double that.
Not only did that put tremendous stress on other areas of these men’s budgets (hi, credit card debt! ), but it left little room for these clients to save or invest. I spoke to one guy who made $9,000 a year. He told me his clothing budget was $250.
Bank statement review proved he spent $2,000 on clothes last year. “Some of my clients have gone as far as cutting up their credit cards because they felt they were spending too much based on the budgets they told me. The reality is those guys weren’t spending too much. Their budgets were too low.” Simply tracking your purchases for three months can help alleviate that problem.
Said Jason, whose newfound awareness of his annual spending doubled his original estimate: “I don’t think I’m buying more clothes now. But I think I appreciate what I’m buying more.
Since keeping track I’ve noticed myself buying less when I don’t really need something.” Awareness.
Not judgment. I think that’s the key takeaway from this months-long deep-dive. Clothing is one of many budgeting categories we as men vastly underestimate when reviewing our finances.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with spending several grand a year on clothes… if you can actually afford that. But when you think you’re spending a fraction of that amount and have no idea where your money’s going, now that’s a problem. Which is why the best exercise any guy reading this can do is download an app like Honey or Track My Spending and simply record every single thing you buy for the next three months.
Want to know what your actual clothing budget is? Force yourself to find out. You might surprise yourself with the results.
And next time your husband, boyfriend, fiancee, wife, heck – even mum tries telling you how little he spends on clothes. Just remember: He’s probably lying. – Rob Bush Photo by Dillon Peter on Unsplash Come Follow Me On… Instagram!
