Back in March, I was part of a survey conducted by Fashion Beans on the buying habits of men and women in the UK and the results have just been published with some interesting figures.

I think this may come down to quality over quantity. Arguably, £300 won't get you much more than a good coat and a decent pair of jeans these days but depending where you shop, £300 could be an entire wardrobe's worth of throw-away fashion/

I think there is a big underlying aversion to disposable fashion in men's spending patterns. While girls may be more impulsive and buy cheaper, trend-led pieces that can be retired after a season (or a single occasion in some cases) there is a mentality in  men of buy cheap, buy twice. 

Tie this to the ingrained dislike of clothes shopping, and it shows that although men may spend more when they go shopping, this probably is to ensure they don't have to do it again any time soon!

I think the term "style" is a little ambiguous, does this mean a trend or general appearance? Admittedly, most men are reluctant to try something new when it comes to their wardrobe (How long did it take you to buy your first pair of skinny jeans?) but this is much wider gap than I thought.

While this is not surprising, 83% of those men surveyed said they would not pay for a personal shopper and 75% wouldn't have a partner or family member do their shopping either. I think the man doth protest too much. You say you hate it but don't trust anyone else to do it for you? Just admit you love it and I'll see you down the town.

As Bob Dylan said many many years ago, the times they are a-changing but is it really that astonishing that men are aspiring to look good? There has always been a big menswear movement, but perhaps it wasn't seen to be masculine to have an interest in clothing. Well, get over it.