Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
Metrosexual is the term Apparel Search uses for the new breed of man who has taken a deliberate interest in his image. Coined in the 1990s by author Mark Simpson in The Independent (London) — “Here Come the Mirror Men” — it described a heterosexual man with a strong concern for his appearance. The metrosexual consumer usually lives or works near a major city such as New York or London, with access to better shops carrying expensive apparel, accessories and grooming products; he may read fashion magazines for the latest trends or use spas catering specifically to men, such as Nickel. The market logic is demographic: men marrying later, remaining single longer and holding higher disposable incomes became a key target for consumer products and services.
Metrosexual Fashion by Apparel Search - Terms of Interest to the Fashion Industry
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Apparently, the term was first coined during the '90s when author Mark Simpson published an article, �Here come the mirror men� in The Independent (London). In the article, Simpson referred to the �metrosexual� as a heterosexual man with a strong concern for his appearance. Simpson also noted that the metrosexual's lifestyle displays attributes that are stereotypically seen among gay men.
Of course, fashion is one of the key areas of interest for today's heterosexual metrosexual man. He usually lives or works in close proximity to a major city such as New York or London and has access to better shops, which carry expensive apparel, accessories, and grooming products. This metrosexual consumer may be found flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine in search of the latest trends or even lounging at a spa such as Nickel, which caters specifically to men.
Speaking of spas, several years ago, male-oriented spas, which were already quite common in London and other parts of Europe, started to open their doors to the new metrosexual American consumer. As stereotypes started to vanish, American men were soon finding themselves at the spa pampering themselves with pedicures, waxing, tweezing, laser treatments, and even electrolysis. Expensive grooming products such as The Art of Shaving's collection also lures the metrosexual consumer. Apparel Search believes this metrosexual fashion consumer is here to stay.
By Regina Cooper - 92308
You may also want to learn about manscaping.
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The contrast drawn on this page is with an older masculine ideal — the Marlboro Man, whose image required no visible effort at all. The metrosexual consumer inverts that: effort is visible, informed and unembarrassed, from reading fashion magazines to booking spa appointments. As stereotypes faded, services that were already common for men in London and other parts of Europe opened for the American consumer, and male-only spas moved from novelty to a recognized retail category. Apparel Search's conclusion, written when the term was current, was that this consumer is here to stay — and the men's grooming and fashion market that grew afterward is the evidence.
“Metrosexual” is a 1990s and 2000s word, and it is kept in the directory because the market it named did not disappear when the label faded: the men's fashion page collects the shopping side, men's apparel and brands directories serve the trade side, and the grooming practices the term bundled together are now ordinary parts of men's retail. Read historically, the page is a snapshot of the moment mainstream menswear accepted appearance as a male consumer category in its own right.
A heterosexual man with a strong concern for his appearance — the definition Mark Simpson introduced in the 1990s. In fashion terms it names the consumer who buys apparel, accessories and grooming deliberately, as a matter of personal style rather than necessity.
Expensive apparel and accessories from better shops, grooming products such as The Art of Shaving's collection, and services that were once marketed mainly to women: spa treatments, pedicures, waxing, tweezing, laser treatments and electrolysis, increasingly in male-oriented spas.
Metrosexual names the consumer and his overall style; manscaping names one practice within it — men's grooming and hair removal upkeep. The manscaping term in this directory, linked on this page, covers the grooming side in detail.