My year is already off to a sorrowful start, with yet another of my - ever decreasing - men's clothing outlet stores, having ceased trading this month. It is now, no longer a simple case of paranoia, my life as a fashion conscious consumer, really IS being made redundant.
I can't help but feel, that I am slowly and systematically, facing imminent exile from those glitzy, modern studio style stores, with their trendy, urban ranges at competitive prices, adorning my much beloved high streets. Soon, my only refuge will be the small, independent, old school, men's tailoring establishments, with their collection of ageless - see: haven't changed in the last 30 years - tweed suits and heavy corduroy trousers at exorbitant prices, that haunt the narrow back passages of male couture.
I'm not sure who - exactly -is to blame for this sad state of wears, is it simply the calculated machinations of clothing manufactures/fashion houses to "weed out" the slightly less frequent male buyer from their stores. Or, is it the rise of the dreaded European sizes, which transforms a normal, everyday, medium type fellow, into a gargantuan, misshapen lost soul, that walks amongst us, as a regenerated XXL statistic -to para-phrase, "One small step for a medium, one giant leap for euro-conversions." Either way, I have now, finally. reached the end of my tether, not to mention size options.
I have a secret fear, that one day, I will trigger off some sort of special security alarm, as I actually ENTER one of these modern man's temple of fashion. Upon which, a store detective will approach me, taking my arm, he discreetly asks that most embarrassing of questions, " Excuse me sir, but can you provide any form of identity, to prove that you are not over thirty years old. Also, I have reason to believe that you may be in possession of a waistline exceeding 34 inches ?" With this, he escorts us both - myself and the Marks & Spencer's man I'm destined to become - out of the building.
" LOOK HERE MALE CLOTHING MANUFACTURERS ! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !" I am drawing a line in the sand, I am drawing in my waistline. It's about time that you took the real measure of a man, along with his hopes and desires to be regarded as a sharp dresses individual, regardless of age and stature. Just, see what is left in all of your sales, NOT the XXL sizes, NO it is the XXS - what sort of ridiculous size is that anyway, exactly ? So, maybe you should re-evaluate who your customers are and more importantly, what are their actual body shapes/sizes ? A size 40 inch chest is NOT - until now - an XXL, if it is, then I fear for the future of, not only the more discerning, mature male consumer, but for the way the fashion industry as a whole, sees the shape of things to come in men's clothing..
