SIFTING through racks of Ted Baker shirts, discussing the relative merits of Calvin Klein and Armani jeans, handing over hundreds of pounds and only having two shirts to show for it.

If all that has conjured up images of the 'It' girls of Knightsbridge, you're mistaken - it's all happening here in East Lancashire and it's the men who are doing the shopping!

Your intrepid Citizen went boldly onto the streets to find out more about this growing phenomenon - the man who likes to shop.

It's true. Shops such as Originals, Reef etc are all reporting a boom in trade - and say that the old days of girlfriends coming in and picking clothes for their men are at an end.

"They just leave the women at home these days, they don't need their opinion," said Adrian, the man behind Originals designer clothing shop in Oswaldtwistle. "They've got their own minds now. They know what they want."

"Lads have never had this kind of choice locally before. It was all chain shops with off the shelf mass produced garments around here. Now, they're more label concious, and they know what they want"

And to back up his theory, Mark Hall, 22, or Tarbert Crescent, Blackburn, said: " It's worth the expense, first impressions count. I certainly wouldn't let a girl choose my outfits for me!"

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.