Reading Ray Smith’s article about the demise of the Men’s Dress Furnishings Association in the Wall Street Journal this morning, I was appalled at the following comments from the executives of two tie producing menswear companies: “We make ties for other people so we don’t have to wear them,” says [Vineyard Vines] co-CEO Ian Murray, [...]

It seemed like the Macy’s machine was unraveling as it held on to its nationwide uniformity and then fired thousands of local executives and buyers while boasting that it had a new plan to bring more targeted buying to the hinterlands. And then they stopped reporting monthly sales figures. So it was no surprise when [...]

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a News Reel column – partly because I’ve been so busy with other work here and partly because most of the news out there hasn’t been so positive. Without a constant stream of notable menswear news out there, I’m reluctant to resurrect it as a regular feature. [...]

This week’s “Keeping and Gaining Market Share in Difficult Times” seminar sponsored by Emanuel Weintraub Associates at the Princeton Club had an excellent panel of speakers. The apparel and retail executives addressing a crowded wood-paneled banquet room spent the morning in remarkably good cheer: Hartmarx’s Homi Patel was confident that with slow (not drastic) change, [...]

Sears Holdings is telling the public that it will add a 10 percent bonus gift card to anyone who would exchange their full federal stimulus check into a Sears or Kmart gift card. But will taxpayers actually use the money for retail? And with an estimated 13 million taxpayers filing for extensions, when will retailers [...]

Amid all the scrambling to finish our April issue, I’ve had occasion to visit two very different menswear firms during events held specifically for the press. I love these events, if only because they get me out of the office and away from the never-ending deluge of quarterly reports and retail sales figures. Neither Brooks [...]

We always hear that the menswear business needs newness. That retailers and consumers alike are crying out for something different. But what happens when we actually get it? Gentlemen, may I present three of the newest ideas the menswear industry has: Zubaz, MC Hammer pants and Jumpsuits. What’s the matter? Not new, you say? Or [...]

“He might be apologizing with his words, but his tie says ‘no’,” image consultant Karen Brunger told me when I referred her to a photo of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. It was one day after he appeared in front of the press to apologize for his prostitution scandal. What’s the appropriate attire for a [...]

I found more evidence that men not only shop very differently than women, but also actually enjoy shopping (see my blog last week) from our friend Ray Smith at the Wall Street Journal. In his article today, “Fashion Online: Retailers Tackle the Gender Gap,” he found that men spend a lot online, they spend it [...]

“First rule of recession is you do not talk about recession.” wrote Nick Paumgarten in the New Yorker recently. Shhhh. If no one says it out loud, the people won’t stop spending. Paumgarten continues: “The debate over whether we’re in (or slipping into) a recession is not purely semantic—a recession, capital “R,” is a term [...]