Apparel

Sayonara, sweatpants: sales of dressy clothing are surging

For consumers, it seems it’s time to play dress-up.
article cover

Cinderella/Disney via Giphy

· less than 3 min read

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

During much of the pandemic, we dressed like childhood versions of ourselves going to gym class. We shrugged on sweatpants, leggings, and hoodies that mercifully didn’t seem to register how much freshly baked sourdough bread slathered in butter we were shoving into our gaping maws.

But now, it seems, it’s time to play dress-up.

Make it strappy: According to the NPD Group, sales are way up for more formal clothing, the kind of garments that, after a few wearings, could even lead to teary reunions with dry cleaners.

  • Dress sales were up 42% YoY from January through May 2022, and are even 14% higher than for those same five months in pre-pandemic 2019, according to NPD.
  • Nearly one-third of consumers purchasing dresses were doing so for evening plans (hubba-hubba!) or special occasions.

Blazer of glory: Wait, is that aftershave we smell? Why, yes, it is, because the men’s department is sprucing up, too.

  • Sales of sport coats were up 32% YoY from January through May 2022. (Tip: Unless you’re Timothée Chalamet, you’ll probably want to pair that blazer with a shirt.)

Reversible: The thing with trends is…they’re trends. And one reason there were so many furrowed brows during Q2 earnings calls for retailers like Gap, Old Navy, and Target is that stores were stuck with excess inventory of athleisure, which, not long ago, consumers couldn’t seem to get enough of.

Until they did.—AAN

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.