Look, Ma, No Stains

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But are these developments enough to rescue the menswear industry? Some are skeptical. "These things are nice, but they only add a couple dollars to the cost of a garment," says Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group, which forecasts consumer-spending patterns. "They don't accomplish the one thing men's retailers are dreaming about, and that's a switch back to formal dressing, and that ain't happening." Barnard, like many other analysts, says that in the current economic environment, most companies are not likely to force their employees to start spending the kind of money it would take to make the transition back to a stricter suit-and-tie code of dress.

Instead, according to analyst Cohen, men are searching for value, and the brands that are doing best are those sold at discount retailers like Costco, where men can shop for motor oil and not worry if it leaks onto their new stain-resistant pants on the way to the parking lot.