Unpacking 'City' vs 'Mountain' girls

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Krishna Motukuri, CEO of spree, says, "Both Gauteng and Western Cape are large fast-growing markets for us, so we wanted to find out how their taste in fashion differs from one another. What we found out was rather surprising."

Foot fetish

Joburg women list their preference in footwear as heels followed by wedges. In contrast, Capetonians' first choice of shoes is pumps then sandals, and their last choice is heels. It seems that - at least in terms of footwear - for Cape Town fashionistas, comfort comes first. It appears that most women are closet Imelda Marcos - in both cities, the majority of respondents boast over 21 pairs of shoes in their respective wardrobes. When it comes to accessories, jewellery is listed as the number one choice across both provinces (Cape Town 37% / Johannesburg 47%), followed by shoes.

Colour crazy

When asked what colour dominates their wardrobe, almost 8 out of 10 Cape Town women selected black and grey. "May be this has to do with the somewhat longer winters in Cape Town," remarks Motukuri. Interestingly, a greater number of Joburg women gravitated towards more vibrant colours, such as bold reds, yellows and blues, than their Cape Town counterparts (14% vs. 10%) did. Although floral and print garments make an appearance in most wardrobes, they definitely do not dominate, with only around 2% of Cape Town and Joburg respondents listing them as the main feature in their closets.

Retail therapy

When it comes to shopping to unwind, both Cape Town and Joburg women prefer shopping for tops, skirt or pants as their primary medicine. "This surprised us, as dresses are the site's best-selling category." Over double the amount of women in Joburg say they shop for cosmetics to unwind, compared to the Capetonians, reinforcing the perception of Joburg-glamour. It was also revealed that 84% of women make impulse purchases whilst shopping - so we need not all feel so guilty - and that the highest percentage of women who make these spontaneous buys fall into the 31 - 36 years age bracket. "This makes sense, as these ladies tend to have established careers and have the disposable income to make these impulse purchases."

Save or splurge

It was also revealed that both provinces are rather thrifty. The majority of Cape Town and Joburg women reveal that they keep clothing in their wardrobe for up to two years before throwing it away, while as many as 3 out of 10 women (in both cities) say that they never throw away clothes, as they "may wear it again or it may come back in fashion!" Joburg women are more likely to shell out for investment pieces priced at R3000 or above (20% vs. 17%), with Capetonians more inclined to buy mid-range items priced between R500-R1000 (24% vs. 22%).

E-tail therapy

When it comes to online shopping, the majority of the women surveyed cite the greatest benefit as being convenience - "no queues, parking or jostling." This is followed by 'greater variety' for the Cape Town women, while Joburg women cite the fact that when you purchase garments online, there is less chance of having the same clothes as everyone else. Other benefits include that they are not exposed to flaw-amplifying changing room lighting and mirrors and that online shopping saves time (Cape Town 13% / Joburg 16%). "We are seeing the site's customer base grow, as South Africans become more familiar with shopping online. More women are becoming aware of the great styles and varieties available, with the added convenience of having all your favourite garments in one place - and a click-of-a-button away.

"I think this survey has disproved many of our misconceptions about the differences in styles between the cities and has revealed that they are more alike than we thought. While there are a number of differences, what is more surprising are the similarities. All women - regardless of age, income, or size - have more-or-less same desires and preferences in terms of their fashion choices. It would seem that, at least when it comes to fashion, the skeletons are the same in all of our closets," concludes Motukuri.

Spree.co.za, part of Naspers' e-Commerce division, is South Africa's first online shop to offer a 'shoppable magazine' experience. Its in-house fashion team handpicks each item in the collection, with leading magazine editors selecting, styling and highlighting their favourite picks in their magazines and on the website.

For more information, go to www.spree.co.za.