The Death of Clothing and what will we do with all those boxes for rags???

[CK_John]

The apparel industry has a big problem. At a time when the economy is growing, unemployment is low, wages are rebounding and consumers are eager to buy, Americans are spending less and less on clothing.

The woes of retailers are often blamed on Amazon.com Inc. and its vise grip on e-commerce shoppers. Consumers glued to their phones would rather browse online instead of venturing out to their local malls, and that’s crushed sales and hastened the bankruptcies of brick-and-mortar stalwarts from American Apparel to Wet Seal.

But that’s not the whole story. The apparel industry seems to have no solution to the dwindling dollars Americans devote to their closets. Many upstarts promising to revolutionize the industry drift away with barely a whimper. Who needs fashion these days when you can express yourself through social media? Why buy that pricey new dress when you could fund a weekend getaway instead?

Apparel has simply lost its appeal. And there doesn’t seem to be a savior in sight. As a result, more and more apparel companies—from big-name department stores to trendy online startups—are folding.

Read More:

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-death-of-clothing/


China also doesn't need rags from us any more.

[FarCenter]

1. Baby boomers retiring generally never need to buy any more clothes.

Their overstuffed closets will last them until they wear that formal suit or dress one last time.

[CTyankee]

4. Yep. That's me. I've been giviing huge bags of clothing I no longer need to Goodwill for ages.

Underwear and socks are pretty much all I need.

I have another load of stuff for Goodwill but will wait out winter and go when it's better weather.

My wedding dress is still in my closet. I find it hard to part with, tho...

[Greybnk48]

9. All I seem to have for winter clothes

are jeans, sweatshirts, fleece, t-shirts and cardies now that I've retired. I also have LOTs of flannel sleep pants and t-shirts to go with them, lol.

Summer is different since I buy nice clothes for winter get-aways to warm climates, but in the winter I schlep around like a hobo.

[Hortensis]

12. Come'on. : ) A couple decades or more in the same clothes?

Of course, I replaced the expensive suits I didn't need (or fit into) with my chosen new "barefoot life" wardrobe a long time ago now. Like CTYankee and others.

But even so. People need to understand that lives really are averaging longer, and healthier, and that instead of getting ready to die people embark on the next stage of their lives. Different ages and experiences create different attitudes and needs. I no longer even own any 3" heels and instead have 2 pair of muck boots, mid and tall. And inexpensive t-shirts and no-wrinkle layerable travel clothes are far more valuable to me than the work suits I sent to Good Will.

And for boomers, it's not that we're going to spend 20 years in old blouses until our granddaughters throw them out and help us into new , but rather that we've been there and done that. A number of times. Been there, done that, deja vu all over again. Both the need for and power of conformity to current fashions is at very least tremendously weakened, and for many basically over.

Nice.

A whole new freedom.

Purple is the color of the year for 2018?

[mainer]

2. Lots of millennials are trending toward minimalism

They get by with only a few key outfits and they certainly don't want any of their parents' furniture.

[JI7]

5. That is partly related to housing and space also

But more people would rather spend on things like travel, eating out instead of house of they could not afford both.

[HipChick]

8. yeah...that's me...hardly home and rather eat out than cook...

Went through a massive de-cluttering, and mostly do not need that stuff..

[Vinca]

3. While at the Toyota garage this week I was observing people going in and out (after you've read

all the People magazines, what are you supposed to do - LOL) and it seems about 90% of the population - male, female, young, old - wears jeans. Jeans last forever . . . I love them. Around Christmas time I splurged on a couple of hundred bucks in tops. That's pretty much it for the year.

[JI7]

6. Leggings are also hurting sales of jeans

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. One of the most ubiquitous items of clothing made.

sometime after 1968, jeans began to be popular for both sexes, and now can be seen all over the world.
Before then, they were a symbol of class, only worn by cowboys and Marlon Brando imitators

I think I was one of very small number of teens who did not like to wear them, to me they were bulky and heavy.
Over time, some brands made softer ones.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Isn't part of the problem that we no longer have a variety of dress? I mean no one

dresses up to go to a restaurant, travel by air, or go to church or a play. In the "old days" (to quote the Orange Thing), a woman would wear a skirt and blouse to work, a long dress for a dinner date, a dress and matching coat for church, and a pair of pedal pushers and shirt at play. Jeans were for cleaning the barn and showing cattle.

[JI7]

11. If you look at pics of old days most people look well dressed

Even if they are out just for a walk or running errands.

Those who aren't are usually because they are working a job which gets them messy so they wear casual stuff.

We see this changes as you look through the decades. Causal wear becomes more common.

[FarCenter]

14. I remember great uncles dressed in dark wool suits at the Fourth of July picnics in the '50s.

Not going back to that!

[HeartachesNhangovers]

15. Well that's their own fault. Everybody knows you

wear a seersucker suit to a summer picnic. And a straw hat. And white shoes.

[crazycatlady]

13. Have you seen what the TSA puts you through?

Having to take off belts, shoes, etc? Not to mention you're crammed in like cattle. And you wonder why people don't dress up to fly?