Young Frenchmen spend as much on clothes as women

French men aged between 15 and 29 spend as much on clothes as women of their age, but jeans are the number one item in their wardrobe, the French Fashion Institute (IFM) said Wednesday.

The survey issued on the eve of the four-day Paris menswear fashion shows said young French men fussed as much over appearances as women their age yet spent less time and energy picking and choosing clothes.

"Young men are somewhat passive about gathering fashion information. Their favourite sources are TV and brand adverts," the study said, though blogs and assorted websites are becoming more popular than magazines with men.

As to spending, jeans, shoes and jackets top the list of favourites with the typical cupboard stuffed with "many small items" - on average, 18 T-shirts, 12 shirts, eight pairs of jeans, six pairs of sneakers and four pairs of shoes.

Women pay more attention than men to price and quality, with more than 60 percent of men going for brands, compared to around 40 percent of women.

Favourite streetwear brands are Nike and Adidas for sneakers, Levi's, Diesel and Replay for jeans, while upmarket labels such as Armani, Boss, Dior Homme and Gucci are popular even with the 15-29 age bracket.

While men aged over 45 cut back spending on clothing, French men in general spend only 15 percent less on clothes than women compared to 30 percent less in Italy and 42 percent less in Britain.