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Apparel data in fashion

February 05, 2025

Though this year's New York Fashion Week styles have yet to hit most local stores, spending on clothes—from haute couture, and ready-to-wear, to factory outlet and discount store bargains—is a must for many. In 2023, household spending on women's apparel averaged $655, compared with $406 for men's apparel. Spending on girls' and boys' apparel was $87 and $96, respectively. Of course, everyone knows that shoes make the outfit. Households spent an average of $208 for women's footwear, and $147 for men's, in 2023.

Average annual expenditures for apparel, selected categories, per household, 2023
Expenditure category Expenditure (U.S. dollars)

Apparel for women, 16 and over

655

Apparel for girls, 2 to 15

87

Women's footwear

208

Apparel for men, 16 and over

406

Apparel for boys, 2 to 15

96

Men's footwear

147

What do prices and fashion trends have in common? They change. Prices for apparel were about 5 times higher than they were a century ago.

Consumer Price Indexes for apparel categories, 1924–2024 (1982–1984 = 100.0)
Year All items Apparel (total) Women's apparel Girls' apparel Men's apparel Boys' apparel Women's footwear Men's footwear Boys' and girls' footwear Jewelry Watches

1924

17.1 26.8

1925

17.5 26.3

1926

17.7 25.9

1927

17.4 25.3

1928

17.1 25.0

1929

17.1 24.7

1930

16.7 24.2

1931

15.2 22.0

1932

13.7 19.5

1933

13.0 18.8

1934

13.4 20.6

1935

13.7 20.8

1936

13.9 21.0

1937

14.4 22.0

1938

14.1 21.9

1939

13.9 21.6

1940

14.0 21.8

1941

14.7 22.8

1942

16.3 26.7

1943

17.3 27.8

1944

17.6 29.8

1945

18.0 31.4

1946

19.5 34.4

1947

22.3 39.9

1948

24.1 42.5

1949

23.8 40.8

1950

24.1 40.3

1951

26.0 43.9

1952

26.5 43.5

1953

26.7 43.1

1954

26.9 43.1

1955

26.8 42.9

1956

27.2 43.7

1957

28.1 44.5

1958

28.9 44.6

1959

29.1 45.0

1960

29.6 45.7

1961

29.9 46.1

1962

30.2 46.3

1963

30.6 46.9

1964

31.0 47.3

1965

31.5 47.8

1966

32.4 49.0

1967

33.4 51.0

1968

34.8 53.7

1969

36.7 56.8

1970

38.8 59.2

1971

40.5 61.1

1972

41.8 62.3

1973

44.4 64.6

1974

49.3 69.4

1975

53.8 72.5

1976

56.9 75.2

1977

60.6 78.6

1978

65.2 81.4 92.7 91.4 84.2 80.9 81.7 76.7 77.8

1979

72.6 84.9 94.4 92.6 85.5 84.6 86.9 84.1 84.2

1980

82.4 90.9 96.0 95.9 89.3 89.8 92.2 90.5 93.0

1981

90.9 95.3 97.2 99.4 94.1 94.3 96.8 95.2 98.3

1982

96.5 97.8 98.3 99.4 97.8 97.1 99.9 98.4 99.0

1983

99.6 100.2 100.1 100.3 100.2 100.6 100.0 99.6 99.7

1984

103.9 102.1 101.5 100.3 102.1 102.3 100.2 101.9 101.2

1985

107.6 105.0 105.3 103.2 105.1 104.8 100.9 103.9 102.4

1986

109.6 105.9 104.4 102.0 106.4 105.2 98.5 106.0 102.0

1987

113.6 110.6 110.9 107.6 110.4 103.9 101.0 109.7 105.6 107.3 102.4

1988

118.3 115.4 115.3 112.6 114.9 107.0 104.5 116.2 111.1 116.6 106.1

1989

124.0 118.6 116.6 115.5 119.1 108.0 109.0 120.3 115.5 124.5 108.8

1990

130.7 124.1 122.9 120.7 123.1 109.0 110.6 124.5 120.0 136.9 110.1

1991

136.2 128.7 127.6 127.8 127.0 112.6 114.6 128.9 121.3 144.0 114.9

1992

140.3 131.9 130.1 132.3 129.1 115.8 119.7 133.1 122.3 150.6 116.1

1993

144.5 133.7 132.7 131.9 129.8 117.6 122.0 132.7 122.0 154.4 118.8

1994

148.2 133.4 131.0 130.8 129.0 115.4 120.4 133.2 125.6 158.6 124.5

1995

152.4 132.0 126.7 128.5 128.4 117.0 119.4 134.4 123.5 159.3 129.1

1996

156.9 131.7 124.3 127.2 130.5 116.1 121.0 132.0 128.9 155.3 129.8

1997

160.5 132.9 126.1 126.3 133.1 117.6 122.0 132.1 131.0 150.7 126.7

1998

163.0 133.0 126.4 124.0 134.9 119.2 123.1 131.8 131.4 147.7 123.5

1999

166.6 131.3 123.7 121.2 134.5 117.4 121.5 129.5 127.7 145.8 122.3

2000

172.2 129.6 121.9 119.7 133.1 116.2 119.6 129.5 123.2 141.2 122.2

2001

177.1 127.3 119.9 116.4 128.9 112.9 120.9 125.6 122.4 141.7 120.1

2002

179.9 124.0 116.1 114.6 125.7 106.9 119.0 125.9 118.0 138.1 115.7

2003

184.0 120.9 113.1 112.6 122.1 102.6 118.4 120.7 118.6 133.2 112.6

2004

188.9 120.4 113.3 111.4 121.4 102.6 118.4 119.7 118.6 133.6 115.0

2005

195.3 119.5 111.8 105.3 121.4 97.0 121.9 121.3 124.4 131.3 115.2

2006

201.6 119.5 112.5 101.6 119.8 93.7 122.8 123.5 123.3 134.8 116.8

2007

207.342 118.998 112.064 101.104 118.176 91.687 122.465 120.879 122.418 142.442 116.744

2008

215.303 118.907 109.273 98.491 118.380 93.468 122.562 122.932 127.548 153.770 116.707

2009

214.537 120.078 109.928 99.010 118.608 95.182 123.396 126.425 133.263 156.980 116.622

2010

218.056 119.503 109.489 95.376 117.493 91.518 125.293 127.556 132.604 161.239 114.997

2011

224.939 122.111 111.348 98.487 119.763 95.922 123.661 129.191 136.184 176.572 116.671

2012

229.594 126.265 115.002 103.160 124.332 101.481 127.188 133.423 137.575 178.231 118.312

2013

232.957 127.411 116.223 99.560 126.674 102.619 130.374 136.765 140.445 177.606 121.569

2014

236.736 127.514 117.589 99.023 124.970 103.905 127.972 138.033 146.329 170.583 122.202

2015

237.017 125.903 114.411 96.029 123.950 103.046 128.884 137.860 150.647 165.521 123.188

2016

240.007 126.045 114.577 95.550 122.635 103.835 128.604 138.799 152.288 175.836 129.550

2017

245.120 125.612 114.242 95.836 121.452 100.843 127.125 138.617 152.887 179.421 135.698

2018

251.107 125.654 113.523 95.017 120.745 106.711 124.871 139.730 152.986 175.034 138.271

2019

255.657 124.052 109.240 94.283 120.248 110.034 124.185 140.218 156.884 172.543 138.794

2020

258.811 118.079 100.611 95.039 115.718 101.189 120.559 137.702 152.106 166.982 143.414

2021

270.970 120.993 101.593 97.269 118.156 105.808 124.462 144.187 156.627 181.222 149.648

2022

292.655 127.081 107.098 100.494 125.229 110.313 130.551 149.363 165.683 185.719 152.410

2023

304.702 130.579 110.382 103.602 129.763 113.506 131.923 148.633 166.392 196.796 153.505

2024

313.689 131.483 111.131 103.646 131.072 116.689 132.049 151.580 165.836 197.474 158.168

Note: Data are Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, annual average, not seasonally adjusted. Dash indicates data not available.

 

Apparel prices more than doubled, increasing by a factor of 2.6, from 1924 to 1974. Over the next five decades, from 1974 to 2024, apparel prices increased by a factor of 1.9, with most of the increase occurring prior to 1994. Apparel prices in 2024 were essentially the same as in 1994.

Overall, the price index for all items purchased by consumers in 2024 was 18.3 times higher than its 1924 level and 6.4 times higher than in 1974.

These data are from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys and the Consumer Price Index. The consumer expenditure data are averages for all consumer units (households). Because not all consumer units purchase each item, the average expenditure for an item is generally considerably lower than the expenditure by those consumer units that purchased that item.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Apparel data in fashion at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/apparel-data-in-fashion.htm (visited March 20, 2025).

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