Underwear and uncertainty: What wardrobe purchases could tell us about economic health, UTampa professor says

TAMPA, Fla. – A professor with The University of Tampa said unique metrics, like men’s underwear sales, can provide insight into the health of the economy. 

“The students absolutely love real-world examples, and they like seeing how economics translates off of the things that we typically put on the blackboard,” Dr. Abby Hall, an associate professor of economics at The University of Tampa, told FOX 13. “And so, when we’re talking about things like GDP declines, that probably doesn’t resonate with – not just students – but most people. But if you start talking about things like, well, what kinds of goods are you going to cut back on if your budget is tight?”

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The backstory:

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“One of the things that we’re really contending with is a lot of uncertainty,” Hall said when speaking about the impact of tariffs and trade policies on the 2025 economy. “So not only do businesses adopt that kind of ‘wait-and-see approach,’ but consumers do, too. So we start looking at things like consumer sentiment: How are people feeling about the overall economy? And those kinds of indicators can tell us important things, too.”

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So what kinds of indicators are we talking about here? The UTampa professor got creative and researched, looked up data and found answers in some unique places.

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“How the macroeconomy influences your husband’s underwear purchases is maybe not the most intuitive economic lesson, but it’s one that will certainly grab your attention,” Hall added. 

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Dig deeper:

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What does men’s underwear have to do with how people feel about the economy?   

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“During a recession, men may buy fewer pairs of underwear than they do regularly. The thought being that people don’t typically see your underwear, and so if you’re rocking some holes in your boxers, you can let it go,” Hall said. 

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When there’s insecurity over income, Hall told FOX 13, people tend to skip larger luxuries – like big vacations or expensive purses. But, they’ll “splurge” when it comes to certain makeup items. 

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“Something like a $15 or $20 tube of lipstick is still going to give you that kind of serotonin boost – but not break the bank,” Hall said. 

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When the economy is down, lipstick sales tend to go up. So does the number of first dates, Hall added. 

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“At first, this doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, because you’d imagine, if I’m going to go out on a first date with someone and pay for appetizers and entrées and maybe a drink or two, how is that possibly conserving money during a recession?” Hall said. “But it’s a way for people to, again, get those kinds of boosts from making purchases – that kind of happy feeling that a lot of us get from going shopping or from being with new people — in a way that is economically sound and effective.”

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According to Hall, there’s something we can all learn from these real-world examples.

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“What does that mean for me? What does that mean for my family? And in thinking about these types of indicators, that gives us a way to really appreciate how these larger macroeconomic phenomena impact us on a day-to-day basis,” Hall said.

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