Since it’s been slow around here, it’s poll time.
A friend mentioned his wife buys almost all of his clothes. (Not as gifts for birthdays or holidays.) This includes things he mentions he wants or needs and things she thinks he might like. Another friend thought this is bizarre. What says the GoA?
In our society today, men have a lot fewer choices than women in how they dress, so, it makes sense for a woman to buy a man clothing if she knows his general preferences. I don’t see it going the other way.
The abundance of choices is not something that seems especially beneficial to women, by the way. It’s not as if a woman can keep buying the same thing each year. For one thing, clothing companies don’t keep selling the same things for women, with a few exceptions. For another, women’s styles change a lot faster.
It might seem unusual to some though, especially if it doesn’t include just re-ordering the same stuff once a year or so.
The only reason I’m involved in clothes shopping is to try it on. I would rarely shop for clothes without my spouse, I’m clueless and uninterested.
@jfg, if you think that’s over the top, when I was in university I lived with a woman who would iron and lay out my clothes for the day on the bed, every day when I was in the shower. I’d come into the bedroom, and there’s everything from shirt to socks laid out on the bed.
To a point: once you know what the other person likes, it gets easier. Also to a point: there’s your tastes vs. their tastes, and it’s easy to buy something and the purchaser thinks they’ll like this and the recipient takes a look and is um … I wouldn’t wear that, but thanks, I guess.
There’s also the question of sizes. Not all clothing size is the same, it’s easy to buy something that’s too big / too small.
That said, I know there’s some people who just let the spouse pick everything because it’s easier. [Read: they’re too lazy to go buy stuff themselves.]
A lot of guys don’t give any shits about clothes. For them it makes perfect sense.
It works for me, but my wife consults my tailor who knows my measurements and preferences and will then make something for me. She doesn’t just go into a random store buying random stuff.
My wife sometimes buys me shit at random, and it’s like 4 sizes too big.
She’ll return anything that doesn’t fit or he doesn’t like without any drama. He can go buy his own clothes if he wants but he thinks it’s great having clothes show up.
If I’m out and see a shirt I think my husband will like, I’ll grab it for him. But I won’t buy him pants or jackets or sweaters or anything. And in turn, my husband sometimes buys lovely night shirts for me (not the skanky kind, but sometimes those too) because he wants me to feel good when I’m lounging around the house on the weekends. It’s very nice of him.
Without knowing this couple, I don’t know if it’s weird or not. It could be anything from weaponized incompetence/the wife carrying a very large mental load, it could be that the wife is a control freak about how her husband dresses, or it could be a nice gesture that they both enjoy and are fully on board with.
I’d vote for the combo of “yes, it’s weird, but whatever works” if it was a choice.
My mom probably bought 95%+ of my dad’s wardrobe.
I’d say I buy most of my clothing. But my wife will buy me clothing for gifts. I got four pairs of Darn Tough socks and a Patagonia shirt for Christmas this year. I’m at a point where I buy nicer things but fewer of them so nobody is buying many items for me.
Eh, when STBX and I were a couple I bought a lot (but not all) of his clothes. If I saw stuff that seemed like his style at Costco I’d pick it up. And sort of like his own private Stitch Fix… if he liked it he’d keep it and if he didn’t like it I’d take it back to Costco. I’m at Costco minimum of every other week, so no biggie.
He probably kept 60-70% of what I picked for him and there were no hard feelings on what he didn’t keep.
I am partially color-blind, so I always ask Hip_tiger_wife for advice when buying my own clothes. (I learned of my disability as a teen when my younger sister complained about me wearing green socks with my blue jeans.) 
Almost-an-extroverted-actuary-in-training?