This question is going to sound sexist at first but hear me out. Should men take their wives or girlfriends with them when they go clothes shopping?
When I was in high school and college, I worked at Nautica and several other trendy shops in Manhattan. Several of them sold men’s clothing exclusively and I will tell you, it is much easier to sell to men than it is to women. First, they are much more susceptible to flattery. Second, the majority of men do not enjoy the process of buying clothes so they want to get in and out of the store quickly whereas most women LOVE to shop. They actually account for 85% of all consumer purchases and not just clothing. I became curious as to why men and women seem to have such a different relationship to shopping and as it turns out, there might actually be a biological reason for these differences based on the days when men were hunters and women were gatherers.
While both jobs required efficiency, timing was more at a premium for hunters since it was easier to spot prey during the day. Even in broad daylight, animals are on the move and are often faster than humans. Gathering was less about timing and more about sorting and sifting through a non-itinerant location. If you compare this to shopping, the hunters – men – are going out to get what they need, want to do it quickly, and be done with it while the gatherers – women – take their time, compare and then after careful deliberation make a decision.
This seems to make perfect sense so then if there is a biological reason for men and women’s different approaches to shopping, should men be accompanied by a woman when they are buying new clothes? Would having a woman there who pays closer attention to color, cuts and trends be beneficial? I would say yes. Given my experience as a sales person, a man is more likely to come home with a better fitting wardrobe and the amount he actually needs (as opposed to being oversold by a cute sales girl), if his wife, girlfriend or even just a female friend has accompanied him on this outing.
