Many online retailers like L.L. Bean make returns easy. Once you find the style of shirt or slacks that fit, repeat purchases are a breeze. I wish the local brick and mortar stores were more competitive on price and selection, but they aren’t. My town is down to one traditional men’s clothing store, and the reason has nothing to do with the current economy or Obama. It’s a long-term structural change in retail, like the disappearance of video stores.
It might have more to do with the economy than you think; many of the available jobs in my area are not the type that require suits/ties. Those jobs (often related to the financial sector) are the ones leaving for Manila & Mumbai.
I have a wide foot, triple EEE, a designation that few people even recognize anymore and I also have an extremely high arch. I used to be able to buy shoes in any little one horse town and get a good fit but now I can only buy sneakers or work shoes locally and I have a hard time with that. If I want to buy a pair of dress shoes I have to order online and hope that I can get some that fit. I recently spent most of a day combing local stores and finally gave up. Even when I find a pair they usually are only good for a short while and then they come apart before they show any signs of wear. I recently threw away a pair of Wolverine shoes with “oil resistant” soles because the soles crumbled before the uppers showed any wear to speak of. In the old days a pair of dress shoes would last me for years and I wore them every day then because I had a suit and tie job. Sales people are no help, I can go in a store that sells nothing BUT shoes and the help knows far less about shoes than I do.