“I don’t really shop for clothes. I keep it simple, basics nothing too fancy.”
This sentence, or some variation of it, has been uttered to me by roughly 70 percent of American men I’ve interviewed over my 11+ years writing about menswear. It’s nearly always immediately preceded by said man pulling up his phone to show me a picture of a newly purchased item that completely contradicts his statement: limited-release sneakers, vintage finds, or designer clothes they “scored on sale.”
There’s something uniquely human about this contradiction—the desire to verbally downplay your clothing expenditures while simultaneously boasting about certain purchases—yet American men have a remarkably difficult time reconciling our personal styles with our spending habits, with ourselves and with others.
Getting men to discuss what they spend on clothes is always challenging as a journalist—I’ve started and scrapped dozens of articles trying to nail down exactly what men spend on clothes every year. However, this exercise last year taught me more than any previous attempt. In interviewing over 80 men of various locations, incomes, and professions as well as retailers and personal finance experts on the subject, I discovered something startling: American men severely underestimate what we spend on clothing by anywhere from 60-70% on average.
Meet “James”. James is a 42-year-old software engineer who lives in Seattle and told me he spends “around $1,000 a year max” on clothes. When I asked him to walk me through everything he purchased over the last year he listed off: two $380-$425 high-end technical jackets, four pairs of $185-$240 jeans, three pairs of sneakers ranging from $90-$160 each, among various shirts, basics, and accessories. His real annual clothing budget was closer to $3,800.
Why did James underestimate his yearly clothing budget by nearly $3,000? He’s far from alone. From high school teachers in the Midwest to sales executives in NYC, I heard a very similar story from dozens of men I interviewed: low ball an initial estimate, then slowly reveal dozens of previously-unconsidered items they spent money on throughout the year (“but I have a wedding to attend every summer so…”), “exceptions” to their budgets, or clothing categories they mentally classify as something other than “clothes.” Heck, I fell victim to this during interviews, with multiple men pointing out after the fact that I left certain categories like “shoes” or “outerwear” out of our initial discussion.
But let’s back up. Why are men so bad at estimating what we spend on clothing? And what does the real spending number look like?
Without further ado, I present the definitive guide to how much the average American man spends on clothes, including countless anecdotes from thousands of men just like you. As always, I’ll let the data tell the story.
Men’s Clothing Budgets By Income Bracket In 2024
* Lower income ( <$50k household income): $800-$1,200
* Middle income ($50-$100k household): $1,500-$2,500
* Upper-middle ($100-$200k household): $2,500-$5,000
* Wealthy ($200k+ household): $5,000-$15,000+
These ranges include an average man’s yearly spending on clothing, shoes, and accessories. Each range also accounts for different age groups, professions, locations, and priorities when it comes to style and buying clothes. You can read all about how I arrived at these numbers below.
Now let’s address the elephant in the room. When I first asked these men about their yearly clothing budgets, they all underestimated their actual spending by 30-50%. Why are American men so terrible at mentally accounting for what we spend on clothes? Some of that has to do with how respondents broke down their spending. Upper-middle and high earners were much more likely to leave certain categories out of their “clothing budget”: shoes, coats/jackets, and investment clothing/items were the most common mental exclusions.
“I really don’t spend that much on clothes,” said “Michael”, a 38-year-old investment banker in Chicago making six figures. “Just commuting costs and work stuff. Easily under $2k a year.” Dig a little deeper and you discover Michael bought a $1,200 down jacket, $350 dress boots (x3), $2,100 worth of suits, along with countless shirts, jeans, and accessories over the past 12 months. His yearly clothing budget was actually closer to $6,000. I call bullshit. You?
“I don’t count the coat as ‘clothing’, it was a necessary purchase” Michael balked when confronted with his yearly total. “And I spend way more on suits than you do.”
How American men mentally account for what we spend on “clothes” versus what we consider “necessary”, “investments”, or “discounted enough to justify” reveals a lot about the disparity between estimated and actual spending. But that still doesn’t explain how low some research respondents lowballed their yearly budget.
It turns out several aspects of American culture have conditioned men to feel embarrassed or apathetic about spending money on clothes. While menswear has changed drastically over the last century, many of the outdated stereotypes about masculinity and appearing “trying too hard” remain deeply ingrained in American culture.
“I still think some guys question themselves subconsciously if they spend ‘too much’ on their appearance,” says Dr. James Harrison, a sociology professor at Northwestern University who specializes in consumer behavior. “So you get these weird instances where someone is spending thousands of dollars on clothing and jackets but will deny that they ‘care about clothes.’”
“I don’t spend much on clothes,” reasons Jeff, a 29-year-old contractor from Albuquerque. Jeff told me he only spends “250 bucks a year on jeans.” He later admitted to purchasing seven pairs of jeans last year. All of them were over $75.
There are also some stark regional differences between how men in various parts of the country discuss clothing spending.
Men’s Clothing Budget By Region 2024 (middle/income upper-middle)
* Northeast cities (NYC, Boston, etc. ): $3,000-$7,000
* West Coast cities (LA, SF, Seattle): $2,500-$6,000
* Midwest cities (Chicago, Minneapolis): $2,000-$4,500
* Southern cities (Atlanta, Dallas, Miami): $2,500-$5,500
* Suburban: $1,500-$3,500
* Rural: $800-$2,000
This divide stems partially from weather/climate differences and partially from how willing men are to openly discuss their clothing purchases. Men in larger metropolitan areas on both coasts were generally the most candid about how much they spend on clothes. Midwestern and rural men I interviewed were the most hesitant to discuss how much they spent and showed the largest gap between estimated and actual spending.
“I’d rather talk about my whiskey collection than my wardrobe,” says Benjamin, a 30-year-old mechanic living in Toledo, OH. He told me he spends “about $500 bucks a year” on clothes. He spent closer to $2,700.
Believe it or not, age also plays a factor in how much you spend on clothing. And it’s not what you think. While you may expect Millennial and Gen-Z guys to have the largest annual clothing budgets, spend peaks in the 30-40 year old age range. Spend gradually declines as men age past 50.
Annual Clothing Budget By Age (Middle/Upper-middle income)
* Early 20’s: $1,000-$2,500
* Late 20’s: $1,500-$3,000
* 30’s: $2,000-$5,000
* 40’s: $2,500-$6,000
* 50’s: $2,000-$5,000
* 60+: $1,000-$3,000
Professional requirements and higher salary peaks also explain why the 30-40 age group spends the most on clothes. These are also the ages where many men are solidly into their careers and have the highest disposable incomes. Interestingly enough, many of the men I interviewed in this age group were most divorced from what they actually spent annually.
“I spend about $2k a year on work clothes—I wear a suit almost everyday,” says Samuel, a 35-year-old lawyer living in Philadelphia. Samuel’s actual annual clothing budget was nearly double his estimate at $4,750.
Of all the findings in my research, I was most surprised by how different professional categories spent on clothing, even when accounting for income. Here are the average annual clothing budgets of American men by profession.
Annual Clothing Budget By Profession (Middle/Upper-middle income)
* Business professional (Wall Street, corporate law, etc. ): $3,000-$8,000
* Business casual (startup tech, school teachers, etc. ): $1,800-$4,000
* Creative careers (graphic design, media, advertising): $2,500-$6,000
* Skilled laborers: $1,200-$2,500
* Service industry: $800-$2,000
Business formals and lawyers clearly spend the most on clothing, with suits, dress shoes, and casual/work attire making up the bulk of their yearly totals. Creative professionals were right behind, showing that yes, graphic designers really do spend a lot on clothes.
“As someone who works in advertising I have to keep up with trends, even if I’m not selling clothes,” says Jonathan, a 33-year-old Creative Director at an advertising firm. Jonathan’s yearly clothing budget falls on the higher end at $5,800. “But you have to look a certain way to convince clients.”
Lastly, where and how you shop also plays a major role in how you think about your clothing budget.
Average Annual Spending By Shopping Channel (Middle/Upper-middle income)
* Department Stores: 15-25%
* Specialty Retailers: 25-35%
* Online Direct-to-consumer: 20-30%
* Mass Market Retail: 10-20%
* Secondhand/Vintage Shopping: 5-15%
Men were exponentially more likely to factor in cheap clothes purchases from Target or Nike while mentally categorizing or omitting purchases from online shopping or specialty stores.
“I shop at Target and Old Navy mostly,” says Marcus, a 27-year-old elementary school teacher from Tempe, AZ. Marcus told me he spends “under $1k a year” on clothes. After doing the math he spent over $2,200.
Think of how you personally shop for clothes: do you make frequent weekly trips to buy clothing or do you browse online and make less-frequent, larger purchases? I’ve found that the former greatly impact how well you remember your spending while shopping. While I can rattle off the cost of every shirt I bought last week, I’ll forget about that expensive blazer I bought 3 months ago… until I see my credit card statement.
How Men Rationalize Spending Money On Clothes
Let’s say you spent way more on clothes than you thought you would last year. How do you justify that expense to yourself?
Based on my interviews with hundreds of men, here are the most common ways men justify spending money on clothes.
“I prioritize quality over quantity.” What starts as a $100 belt here and there turns into a $2,000 closet pretty fast when you subscribe to the “buy less, buy better” mentality.
“I’m buying these clothes for work.” Guilt-free shopping suddenly becomes a lot easier when you frame every clothing purchase as a career investment. “I gotta look professional in front of my clients,” is another popular excuse.
“I bought it on sale.” All menswear enthusiasts love a good sale. But I’ve found that marking an item “on sale” makes you far more likely to buy it, even if it’s not something you need. You’ll buy that $150 jeans because it’s “50% off” even though you have 3 other pair at home you love.
“It was for a special occasion.” Weddings, birthdays, job interviews, and holidays are all things we spend a lot of money on clothes. But men often convince themselves that “everyone does” or that since it doesn’t happen weekly, it doesn’t count towards their normal shopping habits.
“It’s technically motivated.” Coatfans rejoice. Puffy jackets, boots, and expedition-worthy jeans allow men to overspend on clothes under the guise of practicality or durability. “It’ll last me years,” we’ll say about a $500 jacket that only gets worn on weekends.
Take Lucas. Lucas is a 41-year-old management consultant living in Seattle who estimated he spends $3-4k a year on clothes. He actually spent $9,660. Here is how Lucas justified his spending habits to me:
“I travel for work so I have to buy clothes that I know will last. I wear suits all the time so I need them to hold up. But I wait for the sales.” Lucas is talking about a Bluffworks MicroLite Jacket that cost him $645 after a 40% discount.
There were several revelations I had when interviewing men about their clothing budgets. But nothing surprised me more than how men reacted when I showed them their actual spending versus their estimated budgets.
Some men were genuinely upset with themselves. Others were completely indifferent. But most fell into what I can only describe as willful ignorance.
“I don’t want to know.” When I told Ryan, a 37-year-old financial analyst who lives in Atlanta that he actually spends twice as much on clothes as he thought ($4,200 versus $2,000) he shrugged and said, “I mean, I don’t really pay attention to what I spend.”
Fascinating. Why do you think you, and so many other men, are in denial about how much you spend on clothes?
Dr. Martinez replied, “Men have been sold this idea that they can ‘just go shopping’ and walk out with what they need without having to think about it. That shopping is some goal-oriented errand you punch in and out of. Until we change that mentality, guys will continue to throw themselves into
Disassociated mental buckets.”
Meaning? If you spend $300 on sneakers, a $150 shirt, and $100 on jeans in one shopping trip your brain will more likely file it away as “one shopping trip.” But if you buy that same shirt over the course of a month you’ll likely forget you were planning to buy it until you actually do.
Hopefully after reading this article you’ll have a better idea of your clothing spending habits and where you can improve. But if you’re still in denial or like Ryan think “what’s the point?” I challenge you do this exercise:
For the next 3 months, record every single piece of clothing you buy. I mean everything. Don’t throw yourself into mental categories.
Scroll through your purchases from last month right now. What do you notice? Still thinking about giving it a shot?
Send me your findings. I’m curious to see if anything changes. And if you’re still ballin’ on Menswear Style, maybe hit me up. I love shopping and giving shopping advice.
And the next time someone tries to tell you that they’re “not really into clothes” or “just buy what’s practical”, just remember: They’re probably lying. Probably.
