????是的，各位滿腹狐疑的女士們，隔壁工作間那位男同事或雜貨店那位男士的衣柜確實比你們的更加琳瑯滿目。

????這沒什么可奇怪的。在過去幾年里，男性消費者一直在彰顯無比強大的時裝購買力。根據歐睿國際(Euromonitor)本周發布的一份報告，2013年，全球男裝的銷售增長率稍稍低于5%，略微超過女裝。這種趨勢是一些全球最大市場的真實寫照——在美國，英國和德國，男裝的銷售增長率都超過了女裝。

????“從歷史來看，男裝的銷量變化并沒有這么大，就是這么回事。經濟衰退時期，由于男性消費者的品牌忠誠更高，男裝銷量往往更具彈性，”布里恩資本公司(Brean Capital)董事總經理埃里克?貝澤說。它意味著，無論經濟衰退與否，對拉夫?勞倫(Ralph Lauren)情有獨鐘的男性顧客總會買一件polo衫。

????但正在起作用的不僅僅是市場變量。這種趨勢實際上已經持續有一段時間了——自1998年以來，全球男裝的銷售額已經飆漲了70%；美國市場的男裝銷售額在同一時期激增了16%。

????這種趨勢的起源不容易確定，但紐約利姆時裝管理學院(LIM College)教務長、《男裝：從商務到時尚》(Menswear: Business to Style)一書的作者邁克爾?隆德里根認為，這個趨勢源自高科技職場紛紛擁抱休閑裝的互聯網泡沫時代。隆德里根說這個時代促使男士衣櫥的規則逐漸松動，隨后也打開了他們的錢包。“很長時間以來，你總是穿西裝，打領帶。所有的家伙突然說，‘我不必總穿成這樣。’但接下來，他們打開自己的衣櫥一看，才意識到自己其實并沒有多少可穿的衣服。”于是，他們就不約而同地去購買休閑的職場服飾。

????根據歐睿國際提供的數據，從1999年到2000年，美國的西裝銷售增幅縮減了4.1%，2000年至2001年又下跌了21.1%，超過了全球市場的衰退速度。與此同時，男士高檔粗斜紋棉布服裝的銷售額在上述年份分別上漲了0.4%和6.8%，從1999年到2008年則上漲了近200%。

????經濟衰退時期，男裝的銷售額全面萎縮——2008年至2009年，美國的男裝銷售額下降了6.2%，全球市場下降了4.2%。但經濟衰退的烏云中也有一線光明：它幾乎消除了剛剛放松下來的職場衣櫥的缺點——正如隆德里根所描述的那樣，一些銀行家嘗試著穿卡其褲和polo衫去洽談生意。

????休閑仍然為王，但現在多了一絲優雅的氣質。隆德里根說：“目前出現了一股返回盛裝打扮的潮流，但潮頭所向并非三件套西裝。”

????“男人們現在穿得既休閑，又考究，”NPD集團(The NPD Group)首席行業分析師馬歇爾?科恩說。設想一件西服外套搭配一件領尖帶扣襯衫和一條牛仔褲的樣子。“他們想，‘我每天都要穿一身新衣服，”他說。“西裝要比他們以前買的休閑運動裝更貴一些，從而帶動平均價格上漲。”

????2009年至2013年，美國的西裝銷售額增長了近10%，去年的銷售總額達23億美元。

????總體而言，“男性比以往更加在意自己的儀容和外觀，”歐睿國際全球服裝和鞋類市場分析師阿詩瑪?孔德說。

????To all the ladies out there wondering, yes, that man in the cubicle next door or the guy at the grocery store does indeed have a better wardrobe than you.

????And that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. For the past few years, the gentleman shopper has been flexing his fashion purchasing power. In 2013, menswear sales grew by just under 5% worldwide, slightly outpacing womenswear, according to a report released this week by Euromonitor. That trend held true in some of the world's biggest markets -- in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, sales-growth of men's apparel topped women's.

????"Men's -- historically -- doesn't move as much, period. It's more resilient in a down time since they're more brand loyal," says Eric Beder, managing director at Brean Capital. That means a man devoted to Ralph Lauren (RL) will buy a polo shirt, recession or not.

????But there is more than just market variables at play. The trend has actually been going on for some time -- global menswear sales have skyrocketed 70% since 1998; U.S. menswear sales have spiked 16% since then.

????The trend's origins are hard to identify, but Michael Londrigan, dean of academic affairs at LIM College and author of Menswear: Business to Style, points to the dot-com boom era, when techie workplaces embraced an unbuttoned vibe. The era inspired a loosening of men's wardrobe rules and subsequently opened up their wallets, Londrigan says. "For so long, you wore a suit and tie, and all of the sudden guys are saying, 'I don't have to do that.' But then they look in their wardrobe and realize they don't have anything to wear." So, they went shopping for laid-back workplace attire.

????Suit sales' growth shrank by 4.1% between 1999 and 2000, and then dipped 21.1% from 2000 to 2001 in the U.S., outpacing the global decline in sales, according to Euromonitor. Meanwhile, men's super-premium denim sales shot up 0.4% and 6.8% over those same years and increased nearly 200% from 1999 to 2008.

????Sales overall slumped during the recession -- menswear shrank 6.2% in the U.S. and 4.2% globally from 2008 to 2009. But the downturn had a silver lining: It all but eliminated the downsides of the newly relaxed workplace wardrobe -- what Londrigan describes as investment bankers trying to negotiate deals while wearing khakis and a polo.

????Casual is still king, but it now has a more refined air. "There's a movement back towards dress-up, but not to a three-piece suit," Londrigan says.

????"Men are wearing dressy as casual," says Marshal Cohen, a chief industry analyst at The NPD Group. Picture a suit jacket paired with a button-down and jeans. "They think, 'I'm going to wear a new suit by day and by night,'" he says. "The suit is more expensive than the casual sportswear that they were buying before, so that drives the average price up."

????Suit sales grew nearly 10% in the U.S. from 2009 to 2013, totaling $2.3 billion last year.

????In general, "men are taking greater care in their grooming and appearance," says Ashma Kunde, global apparel and footwear analyst for Euromonitor.