This sign at Marks & Spencer at Parkway Parade says:
20% off Ladies’ printed apparels & bras
It should say ‘apparel’, not ‘apparels’.
The sign also says:
Image for illustration purpose only
We can say “for the purpose of illustration only”, but because there’s no article, “purpose” should be plural in this case.
Upshot: The total number of letter s’s on the sign is correct. They just need to move the ‘s’ from ‘apparels’ to ‘purpose’.
Wait, I take it back. The word ‘apparels’ is on there twice. Gah!
Just so we’re absolutely clear:
Do not ever put an ‘s’ on ‘apparel’.
Or ‘clothing’.
Clothing shops sell apparel, not apparels, no matter how many individual items they sell or how many kinds of items they sell (ladies’ apparel, men’s apparel, kids’ or children’s apparel).
I suppose maybe it’s possible you could talk about a business importing a variety of ‘apparels’ from different countries, just as a chef could study the ‘cuisines’ of different countries, but I’m not sure whether anyone actually uses the word in this way.
Just assume that if you see the word ‘apparels’, it’s wrong. The word ‘apparel’ should be used instead.
Oh well. At least they didn’t write ‘lingeries’!
