No, I'm not talking about (from what I hear) the lack of dating options for the single ladies here in NYC, sillies. I'm talking about how men are getting back out there and shopping! According to an October survey conducted by BIGresearch, men plan to spend about 3 percent more than they did in 2009; women plan to spend about 1 percent less. On Black Friday of 2010, men spent on average $100 more than women- about $417 during the weekend (source: NRF). Why the surge in spend? Well, men are overall more optimistic about the economy. They feel overall that their finances will improve, while women are a bit more pessimistic. Two years ago (right when the recession began) both men and women were equally pessimistic. What's exciting is seeing retailers respond to the surge in male shoppers. $JCP and $SKS reorganized their menswear sections trying to appeal to the male 25-45 demographic. $SKS generates 14% of its sales from the mens department and $COH is also getting on the band wagon-- they opened two stand alone mens stores stocked with $198 messenger bags and $798 jackets. And PS, those items are pretty much sold out. Above is my segment on CNBC's "Power Lunch" talking about the return of the male...