From NYT, snapshot of one or two social dominoes falling.

We're in this period where the implications of a few massive societal earthquakes, decades old, are being worked out as a series of little rockfalls, all over the place. These little slips are most of what happens, most of the time, I suppose.

Have a look: what a funny century it was, to bring us abruptly cheek to cheek with phrases like "women work" and "death of the suit". And so men's stores must be redesigned completely. (But only just now!)

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Analysts point to many men's-wear shops that have either gone out of business or added women's clothes and accessories.

The changes were necessary because of a revolution in shopping habits, said Marshal Cohen, senior retail analyst for the NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.. Now, more men pick out their own clothing. Just three years ago, NPD's polls showed that women shopped for 76 percent of men. Now, women buy for less than half of them.

"Women work," Mr. Cohen explained.

And men have a different shopping style.

"Men don't need to see 40 different pairs of black pants, the way women like to see," Mr. Cohen said. `'They want to see three pairs of black pairs, have some clerk tell him what to wear with them, and move on. The stores simply don't need the floor space anymore."

"After a decade of decline, the stores are finally figuring it out," Mr. Cohen said. `'They know men want good service, in a less painful environment."

In the dismal atmosphere that shrouds the clothing business these days, men's wear is usually regarded as the worst performer. C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, which polls shoppers, said the desire to shop for men's clothes had continued to drop: it reported a decline of 8 to 11 percent in shopping for men's wear in the first six months this year, compared with the corresponding period last year. And in all of 2002, customers shopped for men's clothes 4 to 9 percent less than they did in 2001. The numbers vary by region: the falloff is higher in the Northeast, where suits have traditionally sold best, and lower in the South, Mr. Beemer said.

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After the suit died, American men loaded up on chinos and polo shirts -- and made Gap's stock soar. But three years ago, with no clear fashion trend and a souring economy, men and their children, girlfriends and wives passed up buying more khaki and knit shirts -- and Gap's sales fell, along with those of many of its imitators. But now, Gap, which has been steadily raising its percentage of women's and girls' clothing, appears to be recovering.