After nearly two years the sale of men’s suit in United States has started improving as businesses revive dress codes and more Americans suit-up to compete for jobs.

Analyst Christopher Ragazzo of Sidoti & Co LLC says that “The trend toward casual clothing seems to be reversing a bit”. Men’s stores have had an easier time selling suits and formal wear than mass-market stores because they offer more specialised merchandise.

Fremont, California-based Men’s Wearhouse posted a better-than-expected 7.6% increase in sales at stores open at least a year for June, helped by suits and tuxedo rentals. It said it would consequently meet or exceed earnings of 25 cents per share in the second quarter, compared with its prior view of between 22 cents and 25 cents. “The replenishment cycle is kicking in, where you want to start to replace things, and the catalyst is that you’re getting trends toward more tailored apparel,” said William Baldwin, an analyst for Baldwin Anthony Securities. He said a pick-up in demand for suits was especially pronounced over the past six
months.

People tend to be more aware of dressing for success when jobs are scarce and competition is fierce. The US unemployment rate in June reached a fresh nine-year high, while the economy lost 30,000 jobs, the government said last week. “If you go for an interview, you want to dress up for that,” Baldwin said.

Menswear retailer JoS A Bank Clothiers said its same-store sales — a key gauge of retail performance — surged 15.2% for the month, sparking a rally in the stock to an all-time high. Shares of Hampstead, Maryland-based JoS A Bank, which owns 178 stores, rose to $39.17 on the Nasdaq — its highest level since it began trading in May 1994 — before closing up 5.19% at $38.28 on Thursday. “Most of our major product categories posted sales increases in June, with suits, dress shirts and ties being
particularly strong,” chief executive officer Robert Wildrick said in a statement.

Preston Silvey, an analyst for First Dallas Securities, said speciality menswear companies were not only benefiting from the dress-up trend, but also from tweaking their merchandise and operations.