Back to normal translates to back to shopping

A padded vest sold by Voice of Voices [SHINSEGAE INTERNATIONAL]

A return to normalcy is driving shopping sprees for new clothes and cosmetics.

According to Shinsegae International, sales of its fashion brands Voice of Voices, G-Cut, Studio Tomboy and 10Month between Oct. 22 and 31 rose 46 percent on year.

For Voice of Voices, its top selling products were jackets and coats, including a goose down jacket and leather jacket. Its Crack Down Vest, a sleeveless padded vest, was sold out and had to be reordered.

10Month’s turtlenecks and cardigans sold especially well, with sales of those two product categories rising 100 percent on year. The top 10 best-selling products by G-Cut were all padded jackets.

Sales of women's fashion brands at Lotte Department Stores between Oct. 29 to 31 rose 31.7 percent on year.

Although masks are still mandatory despite eased social distancing restrictions, cosmetics and beauty products are another popular pick for customers. Sales of cosmetics at Lotte Department Stores during the same period increased 31.5 percent on year.

Sales of products on Shinsegae International's S.I. Village, an e-commerce site that specializes in cosmetics, rose 38 percent on year between Oct. 22 and 31. The company said customers mostly bought cushion foundation and lipsticks.

“Customers worked from home over the past two years and mostly purchased comfortable 'one-mile wear' and lounge wear, but are now beginning to buy clothes to wear to work,” said a spokesperson for Shinsegae International. “’With Corona’ [social distancing relaxing] starts in November and so does the cold, so we expect sales to increase even more.” "One-mile wear" is a Japanese fashion term referring to clothes worn within a mile of one's home.

The spokesperson said fashion brands’ annual sales rely on winter purchases, and companies have high expectations. Sales of expensive coats and jackets have been on a rise since October compared to last year.

BY LEE BYUNG-JUN, LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]