Formality is back on lifestyle reboot, but boyfriend jeans are strong - John Lewis

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 5, 2022

The pandemic may have seen shoppers choosing comfort over style as loungewear reigned supreme, but the process has gone into reverse as consumers return to social events and office working. Comfort is no longer necessarily the key criteria when buying clothes, shoes and accessories.

That's all according to the latest report from John Lewis looking at how we've been shopping in 2022.

This has resulted in the non-wired bras that soared in popularity in the last few years seeing their sales falling. They’re down by a third in the last year.

Instead, wired bras are up 45% and shareware sales have tripled, led by Kim Kardashian’s Skims line. Some 4,900 people asked John Lewis for a lingerie fitting since January.

Occasion hat sales have also risen 168% as consumers “celebrated the big days”. One in five attended a wedding and searches for “wedding” on johnlewis.com were up an extraordinary 21,000%. 

Meanwhile, sales of velour tracksuits halved as consumers are “no longer lounging”. John Lewis said: “Dressing up and getting out, we put a little more thought into our outfits this year. Always dipping in and out of fashion, this was a down year for velour”.

It added that with Bridgerton back on screens, its influence continues and corset sales were up 20% while searches for silk dresses were six-times higher. Demand for mini bags was up 50% with pearl necklaces up 15%.

Not that 2022 fashion has been all about extreme formality amid the rush for jewellery, silk dresses and supportive underwear.

Ugg sales grew seven-fold and boyfriend jeans sales rose 85% as consumers ditched loungewear and went back into the world, but didn’t want to squeeze back into skinny jeans. 

Barbiecore, influenced by the new Barbie film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, drove the colour pink into the headlines. Pink fashion products were up 22% and pink lipstick was up a massive 83%.

Overall, clothing choices have reflected the hybrid lives consumers now lead. “Many of us have found a new rhythm to our lives,” John Lewis explained. “On Mondays and Fridays, we are at home, slipping into comfortable classics that no Zoom caller can see. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we are in the office again. And all we have to do is throw on a blazer to be office-ready.”