Taobao predicts Chinese women will wear more masculine clothes

Women shoppers are proportionately buying more suits than their male counterparts on Alibaba's Taobao, according to the site's 2019 fashion predictions released Monday.

The report featured a chart comparing the number of suits bought by men and women, as a percentage of their respective genders, from March 20, 2018 - Feb 20, 2019.

The two lines moved in parallel until around Jan 27, when the women's line moved sharply upwards to twice as high as the men's.

Oversized, masculine suits have become the most on-trend item for women online, with search volume in 2019's first quarter surging over 300 percent, turnover by 139 percent.

Taobao now predicts that Chinese women will own an average of two suits in 10 years' time if the trend continues, an average that would dwarf the number owned by men.

Based on data for the last twelve months, Taobao's prediction has much to say about changing clothing tastes in China.

As more women begin to wear more traditionally masculine clothes, an increasing number of men are moving away from the aesthetic.

Lace, see-through clothing, domestic fashion brands, earrings and floral shirts were the fastest growing keywords for male buyers from January to March.

The top ten trends for women's and men's clothes indicate women will prefer loose clothes, while men will favor fashionable clothes.