Despite the stereotype that women are far more stricken than men by an inherent propensity to shop, recession statistics are showing the opposite. “In a reversal of every recession in the last 100 years, figures show that men have not cut back on buying clothes as much as women have,” says the New York Times’ David Colman. And the bulk of what men are buying is a look that could best be described as the anti-banker. The power suit is out; premium denim and sleek sneakers that help create the appearance of a “creative professional” are in. “This as-yet-unnamed wardrobe takes pieces of sporty country-club clothing, traditional business attire and off-hours favorites like premium jeans and high-top sneaker,” continues Colman. Call it what you will—‘office-meets-after-hours,’ ‘urban gentleman,’ or simply ‘casual Friday’—but, for men, the era of the three-piece suit has come to a close (at least for the time being).

But, don’t mourn the Wall Street staple just yet; in fact the same style that’s become so passé among men is experiencing a revival among another gender. While women may not be shopping as much as men, they're raiding their boyfriend/brother/dad’s closets en force. “From boyfriend blazers to grandpa cardigans to this season’s return of the pantsuit, women are filching from men’s wardrobes,” Karin Nelson of the New York Times pens in a piece titled, ‘It Works For Us.’ So why are women embracing tailored pieces at the same time men are tossing them out the window? “It fees protective, safe. A beautiful jacket is like a cocoon, and yet it lends a certain confidence,” says Scott Sternberg, the LA-based designer behind Band of Outsiders and Boy (who this past season introduced suit separates for women and a casual, prep-school appropriate collection for men, albeit one punctuated by his signature tailored pieces). So, as women search for structure and security by way of their wardrobe, men are fully embracing the opportunity to infuse their closets with the opposite.