Courtesy of Marsu Homme
Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
When it comes to shopping, the tendency is to think of women as the ones working the malls and running up credit card bills buying up everything in sight.
But companies have men in their sights too, with more stores targeting men, and more men's fashion and lifestyle magazines jostling for space on the shelves.
Surprisingly or not - and gender wars aside - men do need to be well-groomed in the metrosexual era, and, perhaps thanks to some clever marketing, feel they deserve to enjoy luxuries like women do.
So what is it that men are keen to open their wallets for? Those things that make them look and feel stylish and prestigious: Clothing, shoes, gadgets, cars.
Upscale department store Harvey Nichols Jakarta, for example, reveals what gets men handing over their gold credit cards at the store. According to Susanne Laible, the store's buying general manager, men go for brand-name clothing, shoes and accessories, with popular labels being Paul Smith, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Emporio Armani, Mulberry and True Religion - a penchant for fashion that shows how clothes shopping is no longer just a female activity.
When it comes to shopping, the tendency is to think of women as the ones working the malls and running up credit card bills buying up everything in sight.
But companies have men in their sights too, with more stores targeting men, and more men's fashion and lifestyle magazines jostling for space on the shelves.
Surprisingly or not - and gender wars aside - men do need to be well-groomed in the metrosexual era, and, perhaps thanks to some clever marketing, feel they deserve to enjoy luxuries like women do.
So what is it that men are keen to open their wallets for? Those things that make them look and feel stylish and prestigious: Clothing, shoes, gadgets, cars.
Upscale department store Harvey Nichols Jakarta, for example, reveals what gets men handing over their gold credit cards at the store. According to Susanne Laible, the store's buying general manager, men go for brand-name clothing, shoes and accessories, with popular labels being Paul Smith, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Emporio Armani, Mulberry and True Religion - a penchant for fashion that shows how clothes shopping is no longer just a female activity.
Consider MTV VJ Daniel Mananta, who admits most of his spending goes on clothes. "I'm someone who's quite into the latest fashion trend," he says. "If (those clothes) can make me look good, then I'd go for them."
Just like women who enjoy a detour through the sales section, Daniel says he does the same. When the sales are on, he says, he gets a complete "shop till you drop" experience.
"Just in the past two months, for example, I had the chance to travel back and forth from Jakarta to Singapore," he says. "There, I shop like crazy - Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, you name it."
And when asked how much he spent on all that retail, Daniel laughs.
"Don't dare to ask that. It'd embarrass me," he says. "I kept telling myself: ‘Gosh Daniel, you shop like a woman'."
Daniel need not be embarrassed, for he is not alone. A study by Dr. Lorrin Koran, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, reveals findings that run quite counter to the conventional view of compulsive buying as a "woman's disease".
According to the largest study of its kind, published in American Journal of Psychiatry in October 2006, men are just as likely as women to suffer from "compulsive buying".
Koran and his team discovered that 5.8 percent of 2,500 respondents interviewed did, in fact, meet the criteria they set for compulsive buying. Of the percentage, rates differed only a little between women (at 6 percent) and men (5.5 percent).
"That's the biggest surprise - that men engage in this behavior almost as commonly as women," Koran said of his study.
So if the tendency to spend money is evenly spread, we can drop arguments about which sex does it better or worse. But of course, women and men are not buying the same things. Which raises the question: "What are men spending all their dough on?"
According to Koran, while women tend to buy clothes, jewelry, makeup, home wares and craft goods, "Men tend to buy tech items, cameras, CDs, books, tools and gadgets."
As an insider in the retail business, Laible has formed a similar view, saying that "in general, men update their gadgets more frequently than women".
Daniel, for example, puts gadget-shopping third after clothing and entertainment, such as books and movies. He says he spends money on gadgets like laptops, iPods and cell phones. And tech toys like a sound system and mini-television are just what he needs for his car.
"I love a sound system that can bring me ‘sophisticated sounds'," he says. "Just put that sound system along with a television in my car, and I could make my car my second home."
Gadget fever has also infected actor Edric Tjandra, who spends a sizeable proportion of his income on tech toys. Edric admits he takes a bundle of gadgets with him wherever he goes.
"My friends even label me the ‘hand phone man'," says the Extravaganza star. "Once in every six months I replace my cell phones with the latest ones," he adds.
He confesses that he always carries at least three cell phones - a GSM-type one, a CDMA and a Blackberry. He also admits to carrying portable video game players with him.
"’Those video game players’ are effective ‘killers' for my boredom during shooting hours," he says.
And while gadgets easily add up to blow-your-budget proportions, men still have plenty of money for bigger toys: Cars and motorcycles. Just look at how crazy comedian Indrodjoja Kusumonegoro, known as Indro "Warkop", is for his Harley Davidson collection.
Indro reveals that he even slipped off to shop for some Harley Davidson accessories in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after going on an umrah, or minor pilgrimage, to Mecca in 2004.
"Shopping for Harley Davidson accessories is just like an annual ritual for me and my family," says Indro, who has nicknamed his children Harley, Hada and Hade, out of his admiration of Harley Davidson motorbikes.
Or consider prominent lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who happily indulges his love of luxury cars. If you happen to meet this flamboyant lawyer, he will probably be with his Mercedes-Benz, Hummer, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar . Just how many cars does he have? More than 20.
"I started to collect cars after I became a successful lawyer. That would be in 1991," he told The Jakarta Post recently. For Hotman, his longtime adoration of best-of-the-best cars is due to the way they flaunt the idea of luxury.
"The cars can really reflect my pride and how successful I am in life," he reveals. "Owning such cars grants me satisfaction in life."
Unlike most people who zip their mouths shut about how much they spend on luxury items, Hotman kindly shares some numbers.
"I enjoy riding my Hummer, which cost Rp 2.4 billion," he says. That is nothing compared to his cherry red Ferrari Spider, which, he says, cost a cool Rp 6 billion.
But Hotman also has to shop for his clothing and jewelry. Yes, it might be hard to separate Hotman's image from his iconic Brioni striped-blazers, Stefano Ricci ties, gold and diamond rings and Rolex watches.
"I love a modish and eye-catching style," he says. "I want to look different from other people. But really, it doesn't mean that I'm arrogant or anything; I just want to be myself."
And it turns out that for many men, "being myself" means spending countless hours and plenty of cash on life's little luxuries.
Sidebox
A flair for fashion
Whether designed for work or play, the world of menswear has blossomed into something much more interesting than just dark and gray suits and plain polo shirts. With more and more boutiques and stores specializing in men's fashion nowadays, it appears men are on the hunt for a perfect look, too.
Susanne Laible, buying general manager for high-end department store Harvey Nichols Jakarta gives a rundown on trends in men's fashions.
"The trend for men usually applies more strongly in terms of colors than in terms of shapes or silhouettes," Liable says. For this year's Spring/Summer 2009 collection, she adds, "we are seeing a lot of brighter colors, such as orange and lime mixed with more subtle tones, sky-blue and peach."
The latest collection by Viktor & Rolf is one example. Its thin, long-sleeved cardigan in peach shows how bright this season could be for men. The brightly colored John Galliano printed T-shirt is another example. Its light, fitted design shows how men could make this season fun and comfortable. Do any of these sound like they fit your style? Just prepare Rp 3.995 million for the cardigan and Rp 6.195 million for the tee.
According to Laible, Harvey Nichols attends all the important fashion shows and trade shows in Milan, Paris, London and New York in order to catch up with the latest trends in menswear, which comprises four cycles a year. This means that there more options for fashion-aware Indonesian men. From shoes to clothing, wallets to belts, designers are making sure men are no longer being left behind in the fashion world.
"Most men (customers) tend to spend on high-end denim from True Religion, Rock & Republic, 7 For All Mankind," Laible says.
As for more tailored items, she adds, "they love the Paul Smith and Armani Collezioni collections." Alexander McQueen and Givenchy are also among the store's customers' much-loved designers.
And just as they are for women, shoes and accessories are hot stuff for men. According to Laible, men hunt for shoes from Emporio Armani, Oliver Sweeney and Carshoe, and accessories from Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen and Givenchy.
Stylish men are after "anything in Paul Smith stripes such as socks, scarfs, cufflinks, bracelets, ties and belts," Laible reveals. This, she adds, is "followed by Alexander McQueen's signature skull on (items such as) scarves and pashminas, and Givenchy ties and wallets."
And going fancy just doesn't stop here. Men do love leather goods like Mulberry wallets, credit card holders and coin purses, Tumi messenger bags and trolleys and NDC travel documents and passport holders, Laible points out. So who says it's only women who spend up big to look good?
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/30/life039s-little-luxuries-lads.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/30/a-flair-fashion.html
Just like women who enjoy a detour through the sales section, Daniel says he does the same. When the sales are on, he says, he gets a complete "shop till you drop" experience.
"Just in the past two months, for example, I had the chance to travel back and forth from Jakarta to Singapore," he says. "There, I shop like crazy - Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, you name it."
And when asked how much he spent on all that retail, Daniel laughs.
"Don't dare to ask that. It'd embarrass me," he says. "I kept telling myself: ‘Gosh Daniel, you shop like a woman'."
Daniel need not be embarrassed, for he is not alone. A study by Dr. Lorrin Koran, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, reveals findings that run quite counter to the conventional view of compulsive buying as a "woman's disease".
According to the largest study of its kind, published in American Journal of Psychiatry in October 2006, men are just as likely as women to suffer from "compulsive buying".
Koran and his team discovered that 5.8 percent of 2,500 respondents interviewed did, in fact, meet the criteria they set for compulsive buying. Of the percentage, rates differed only a little between women (at 6 percent) and men (5.5 percent).
"That's the biggest surprise - that men engage in this behavior almost as commonly as women," Koran said of his study.
So if the tendency to spend money is evenly spread, we can drop arguments about which sex does it better or worse. But of course, women and men are not buying the same things. Which raises the question: "What are men spending all their dough on?"
According to Koran, while women tend to buy clothes, jewelry, makeup, home wares and craft goods, "Men tend to buy tech items, cameras, CDs, books, tools and gadgets."
As an insider in the retail business, Laible has formed a similar view, saying that "in general, men update their gadgets more frequently than women".
Daniel, for example, puts gadget-shopping third after clothing and entertainment, such as books and movies. He says he spends money on gadgets like laptops, iPods and cell phones. And tech toys like a sound system and mini-television are just what he needs for his car.
"I love a sound system that can bring me ‘sophisticated sounds'," he says. "Just put that sound system along with a television in my car, and I could make my car my second home."
Gadget fever has also infected actor Edric Tjandra, who spends a sizeable proportion of his income on tech toys. Edric admits he takes a bundle of gadgets with him wherever he goes.
"My friends even label me the ‘hand phone man'," says the Extravaganza star. "Once in every six months I replace my cell phones with the latest ones," he adds.
He confesses that he always carries at least three cell phones - a GSM-type one, a CDMA and a Blackberry. He also admits to carrying portable video game players with him.
"’Those video game players’ are effective ‘killers' for my boredom during shooting hours," he says.
And while gadgets easily add up to blow-your-budget proportions, men still have plenty of money for bigger toys: Cars and motorcycles. Just look at how crazy comedian Indrodjoja Kusumonegoro, known as Indro "Warkop", is for his Harley Davidson collection.
Indro reveals that he even slipped off to shop for some Harley Davidson accessories in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after going on an umrah, or minor pilgrimage, to Mecca in 2004.
"Shopping for Harley Davidson accessories is just like an annual ritual for me and my family," says Indro, who has nicknamed his children Harley, Hada and Hade, out of his admiration of Harley Davidson motorbikes.
Or consider prominent lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who happily indulges his love of luxury cars. If you happen to meet this flamboyant lawyer, he will probably be with his Mercedes-Benz, Hummer, Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar . Just how many cars does he have? More than 20.
"I started to collect cars after I became a successful lawyer. That would be in 1991," he told The Jakarta Post recently. For Hotman, his longtime adoration of best-of-the-best cars is due to the way they flaunt the idea of luxury.
"The cars can really reflect my pride and how successful I am in life," he reveals. "Owning such cars grants me satisfaction in life."
Unlike most people who zip their mouths shut about how much they spend on luxury items, Hotman kindly shares some numbers.
"I enjoy riding my Hummer, which cost Rp 2.4 billion," he says. That is nothing compared to his cherry red Ferrari Spider, which, he says, cost a cool Rp 6 billion.
But Hotman also has to shop for his clothing and jewelry. Yes, it might be hard to separate Hotman's image from his iconic Brioni striped-blazers, Stefano Ricci ties, gold and diamond rings and Rolex watches.
"I love a modish and eye-catching style," he says. "I want to look different from other people. But really, it doesn't mean that I'm arrogant or anything; I just want to be myself."
And it turns out that for many men, "being myself" means spending countless hours and plenty of cash on life's little luxuries.
Sidebox
A flair for fashion
Whether designed for work or play, the world of menswear has blossomed into something much more interesting than just dark and gray suits and plain polo shirts. With more and more boutiques and stores specializing in men's fashion nowadays, it appears men are on the hunt for a perfect look, too.
Susanne Laible, buying general manager for high-end department store Harvey Nichols Jakarta gives a rundown on trends in men's fashions.
"The trend for men usually applies more strongly in terms of colors than in terms of shapes or silhouettes," Liable says. For this year's Spring/Summer 2009 collection, she adds, "we are seeing a lot of brighter colors, such as orange and lime mixed with more subtle tones, sky-blue and peach."
The latest collection by Viktor & Rolf is one example. Its thin, long-sleeved cardigan in peach shows how bright this season could be for men. The brightly colored John Galliano printed T-shirt is another example. Its light, fitted design shows how men could make this season fun and comfortable. Do any of these sound like they fit your style? Just prepare Rp 3.995 million for the cardigan and Rp 6.195 million for the tee.
According to Laible, Harvey Nichols attends all the important fashion shows and trade shows in Milan, Paris, London and New York in order to catch up with the latest trends in menswear, which comprises four cycles a year. This means that there more options for fashion-aware Indonesian men. From shoes to clothing, wallets to belts, designers are making sure men are no longer being left behind in the fashion world.
"Most men (customers) tend to spend on high-end denim from True Religion, Rock & Republic, 7 For All Mankind," Laible says.
As for more tailored items, she adds, "they love the Paul Smith and Armani Collezioni collections." Alexander McQueen and Givenchy are also among the store's customers' much-loved designers.
And just as they are for women, shoes and accessories are hot stuff for men. According to Laible, men hunt for shoes from Emporio Armani, Oliver Sweeney and Carshoe, and accessories from Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen and Givenchy.
Stylish men are after "anything in Paul Smith stripes such as socks, scarfs, cufflinks, bracelets, ties and belts," Laible reveals. This, she adds, is "followed by Alexander McQueen's signature skull on (items such as) scarves and pashminas, and Givenchy ties and wallets."
And going fancy just doesn't stop here. Men do love leather goods like Mulberry wallets, credit card holders and coin purses, Tumi messenger bags and trolleys and NDC travel documents and passport holders, Laible points out. So who says it's only women who spend up big to look good?
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/30/life039s-little-luxuries-lads.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/30/a-flair-fashion.html