Newspaper agony query..Some guy named Rob

Women are interested in fashion, they read style magazines and the industry gives them what they want.

But for men the opposite is the case, and it creates a vicious circle.

Now a bit from me Davina.. Today I've been in with Esme shopping.. New Look 100% women, Asda George 80% women 15% kids and 5% men this is a noticeable reduction and the clothing bland, peacocks around the same split and bland and poor quality, Primark a whole floor for women, primary Cardiff 3 floors for women and one for men but again bland cheap crap and today noticeable the thinning out of menswear less racks of clothing.. I won't go on naming shops the point is men's wear is getting more and more limited in the space given in shops and very very dull and bland.

So onto the reply from the "expert" in the article..

Womenswear does get more coverage than menswear, in this paper and everywhere else.

I wish I could tell you about the secret cabal of fashion gurus who conspire to make this happen, and the annual Bilderberg-style meetings that take place in a chic salon in Paris, where GQ’s Dylan Jones is ritually humiliated by Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Alexandra Shulman as he begs to be given more attention and they laugh in his face and spray his made-to-order Armani suit with Diet Coke (NO SUGAR!!!!!).

But I’m afraid that, if I did, I’d be found strangled tomorrow with a Fendi cashmere scarf. So instead, I’ll give you the more prosaic answer.

You want to know why womenswear gets more attention than menswear?

Because womenswear can be fabulous, gorgeous, weird, ridiculous, breathtaking, game-changing, enviable, exciting, desirable, wonderful.

Davina - Hmmm Forum readers no wonder we cross dress with those descriptions...

Menswear, on the other hand, can only be two things: weird or boring.

Davina - im reduced to as a man shorts during the summer and some surfy tyoe t shirt, football jersey or rugby or NFL.. Jeans and a shirt plain or chequred..

And there’s only so much mileage you get from those two qualities.

It’s an impossible situation, really. Because men, by and large, are much more conservative about their dress than women and they have fewer garment options to boot;

Davina - Are we more conservative in how we dress? What choices do we have?

this means there is only so much menswear designers can do.

Davina - Then they lack imagination..

Two options lie before them: don’t bother appealing to the mainstream and instead make three-legged trousers and boiler suits,

Davina - totally ridiculous.

or make boring but nice jumpers and suits.

Davina - The writer has little idea here what we actually would like to wear as men if he / she can't see the blandness or the outright cheapness and colours on option unless we pay over the odds the options are BLAND!

Womenswear can be like this, too – heaven knows there is weird womenswear and boring womenswear.

Davina - Women have the choice tho to wear bland womens wear or men's wear or put on a skirt and blouse or strappy top or a dress, the accessories with heels and makeup etc..

But there is also beautiful, lovely womenswear, and men very rarely get that sweet spot of a middle ground.

Davina - So some of us cross dress to make up for this??

When they do, they practically implode with excitement, as happened when Hedi Slimane, then at Dior Menswear, managed to make the suit look so cool at the beginning of this century that the menswear magazines all collectively wet themselves (and their new skinny suits.)

Davina - Ah the skinny suits and the skinny look which makes me cringe when I'm not feeling as in shape as I should be .. Wow I've found a nice shirt oh its skinny fit never mind.. Start the evening OK but a few Guiness and its bulging..

Since then, somewhat proving my point, Slimane found making even his suits boring and he has ditched menswear for womenswear and is now at Saint Laurent, making some of the coolest dresses and shoes around.

Davina - what planet is the writer on I can afford Doir and all the big deaigner things me thinks he's missing Robs point here the general query why Womens clothing takes up 90% of the space even in a supermarket.

Men can have style – Jarvis Cocker and Charlie Watts have style – Not my style they dont.. Never heard of Watts.. but it seems they can’t have fashion.

What I mean is that men don’t have the fun of reading about changing trends,

Davina - we dont want to? We just want more space and more options?

as women do, and playing dress-up, being a severe monochrome one day and then a fun 50s flirt the next.

Davina - I'm reading and commenting and thought he'd hit on something here playing dress up but he didn't mean us dressing up.. See women have the option to dress down drabby and maybe comfortable then their dressing up has a million options .. Our dressing up means a short tie trousers and tux maybe a 3 piece suit and we feel all James Bond but that's it.

Changeability, I think, is seen as girlish, or something, which is ridiculous.

Davina - No we don't.. We simply have no option as men!!

And while it means men do save a lot of money by not trying out trends, it also means they miss out on a lot of fun.

Davina - No it means to buy something we like is very expensive and it also force a yes to look on line for clothing without the option to try on.. This person is paid to write this article missing the query altogether!!!

But this isn’t just about the limitations of the industry, it is also about the limitations of the customers.

We can’t blame menswear for being boring because boring, to be honest, is what most men want.

Davina - NO WE DONT!!

Some menswear designers attempt to do more fun-but-not-weird clothes, such as Jonathan Saunders and Marc Jacobs.

Davina - Who? Fashion designers? ££££

But the fact is, men don’t buy those clothes in the same way women do.

Too many men, in my experience, have a grave fear of breaking out of their navy-T-shirt-with-jeans or button-down-shirt-with-dark-trousers rut, fear that they will look stupid. Laughable. Attention-seeking. Camp.

Davina - Nope we have little choice in shops even in supermarkets that's the point. Smart affordable non bland non garish clothing.. I spend 90% of my time in sports clothing..

Far better to stick with the uniform that renders one invisible than to risk something that makes you visible and might – might – result in you being mocked.

Davina - Mocked? What does this person think wed wear or want to wear?

Sometimes I marvel at what it must be like to be a man, so riddled with terror that swerving from the tested and oh-so-tired path will result in instant disaster.

Davina- ah its a woman writing this ergo she doesn't understand at all what's she's writing about and has no clue what it feels like to go into a shop in reverse 90% dominated by men's clothing and 5-10% womens clothing.. But let's read on

It is, really, the sartorial equivalent of obsessive dieting, when a person assumes that even a crumb of bread will lead to spontaneous fatness and therefore subsists purely on carrot sticks.

Davina - No idea where this fits with the article.

Anyway, the point of this is that men generally read fashion coverage less than women do, as you can see by comparing the circulation figures of men’s and women’s fashion magazines, which is why newspapers such as this one cover women’s fashion more.

Men aren't interested in fashion but we would like some equality in clothing shops and more options!! That's what the writer is stating so this answer is off the mark!!

But the real problem is that we are all caught in a vicious circle when it comes to menswear: men tend to be conservative in their clothes – therefore menswear designers make conservative or, as rebellion, crazy clothes – therefore men don’t like to read about men’s fashion – therefore they stick with their conservative clothes.

Davina - No we have conservative clothing shoved in the 5-10% of the shop or have to pay more or have to shop on line.. I've no go to place for men's clothes any more.

Davina - Top man, Burtons somewhere I used to shop now the clothing is laughable.

There is only one solution here, Rob. You’re going to have to be the trailblazer that breaks this tired mould. Embrace changing trends! Wear fun menswear such as Jonathan Saunders!

Davina - Rob like me wants equality in shops who the hell is Johnathan Saunders? Matalan used to do some nice deaigner shirts I have a few but they've stopped.. And to be honest they crease just looking at them and ones washed out..

Encourage your male friends to talk about fashion!

Davina- will this solve the 90% women's clothing problem NO!

Overthrow the status quo! What I’m saying is, BE MENSWEAR’S GANDHI. Make the change! It’s a lot to put on one man’s shoulders, but I feel sure you can handle it. And, yes, you might think that buying a brightly coloured jumper might not make a difference, but remember: the journey to a million fashion-clued-up men begins with a tiny step. Or jumper

Davina - What a waste of ink this reply was.. A part of my pie chart is I dress because I love the look and feel of women's clothing and wear things I wish Esme would wear more often such as lingerie, stocking/tights high heels..

Male me is stuck in jeans and t shirt, trouser and shirt, occassional suit and leisure wear.. And very limited choice when I go shopping... Is there no wonder it feels like more men are cross dressing??