National Survey Confirms That Guys Need to Get Some 'Structure' in Their Closets

When it comes to deciding what to wear each day, most men put as much time into the decision as they spend brushing their teeth, according to a recent national survey conducted by Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S). In fact, more than half of all men (53 percent) spend 2 minutes or less picking out their daily attire -- which suggests that guys just pick the first thing they see!

In conjunction with its launch of its highly-anticipated, exclusive new clothing line for young male professionals -- Structure -- Sears commissioned Harris Interactive to poll men about their feelings on fashion. The new Structure collection was designed to appeal to young male professionals seeking affordably priced, versatile, fashion-forward clothing and is debuting in five key markets for fall: Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York. In addition, a large assortment of Structure apparel can also be found on sears.com, which began selling men's and women's fashions earlier this month.

Sears acquired the Structure brand from Limited Brands Inc. in September 2003 to complement its private apparel collections for men including Covington, Lands' End and Canyon River Blues. Sears plans to roll out Structure to additional cities in spring 2005. Sears.com also will begin carrying Structure footwear and accessories early next year to expand the site's apparel selection.

The "Structure at Sears" national survey also checked in with women about how they think their husband, boyfriend or "significant other" is doing in the style department. Some key findings include:

Dressing at the Speed of Light

Men didn't hide the fact that they just don't put a lot of time into deciding what to wear each day, with 12 percent saying that they spend literally "no time," and one out of four men take a mere 60 seconds to make their wardrobe selection. Another 16 percent of respondents pick out what they are going to wear in just two minutes.

Not Tickled About Pink

The majority of men (93 percent) still steers clear of wearing pink but may find themselves out of style this season. Trend experts, stylists and key fashion magazines are urging men to get comfortable with their feminine side since pink is one of the "hot" accent colors of the season. Men can look to hip dressers like Donald Trump and Ashton Kutcher to see that it's perfectly OK (and still masculine!) to incorporate a pink item or two into their fall and holiday wardrobes.

No Extreme Makeovers Necessary

The resounding majority of men polled (87 percent) say they are just fine, thank you, with their sense of style and don't think they need a style makeover. However, some of their significant others don't necessarily agree -- with nearly one out of four women (24 percent) wishing their man would get a visit from the fashion police.

Not Too Shabby

More than half of all men polled (55 percent) think that they dress fashionably, with 62 percent of women stating that their significant others have style, according to the survey conducted for the new Structure collection at Sears. However, 42 percent of male respondents felt they were lacking in the dapper department and nearly a third of all women (31 percent) felt their men weren't style savvy.

A Casual Nation

Both men (58 percent) and women (57 percent) agree that "casual" best describes the personal sense of style of today's male. One in five of all respondents described men's fashion sense as "conservative" and only 4 percent rated their (or significant other's) style personality as "trendy."

Chic on a Shoestring

Men tend not to allocate a huge amount of cash toward fashion each year, with men on average spending just $713 per year on new clothes. According to the Structure at Sears survey, nearly one out of every five men (19 percent) spends under $200 per year on new clothes, and half of men (50 percent) spend under $500.

"Top Gun" of Fashion

When it comes to selecting the most stylish male celebrity (from a given list), Tom Cruise still comes out as "top gun" among men (37 percent) and women (31 percent) polled. Will Smith, Ben Affleck, Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt also were selected as popular celebrities that men (and their women) want to emulate in the fashion department. However, among young Americans ages 18-24, Will Smith (26 percent), Johnny Depp (23 percent) beat out Tom Cruise (17 percent) as the top male celebrity with "style."

About Sears

Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. With revenues in 2003 of $41.1 billion, the company offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the U.S. and Canada, which includes approximately 870 full-line and 1,300 specialty stores in the U.S. Sears also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears is the only retailer where consumers can find each of the Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands' End brands together -- among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. The company is the largest provider of product repair services with more than 14 million service calls made annually.

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

CONTACT: Media Contacts, Victoria Christensen, +1-773-248-5024, and Lee
Antonio, +1-847-286-5569, both of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Web site: http://www.sears.com/