Whether One is Buying Men’s or Women’s Clothing, it Pays to Consider Fashion Trends.

Question: Whether one is buying men’s or women’s clothing, it pays to consider fashion trends. A classic suit may stay in style for as long as five years, so it is worthwhile to pay more to get a well-constructed one. A trendy hat that will go out of style in a year or two should be purchased as cheaply as possible.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the principle underlying the reasoning above?

(A) Formal attire tends to be designed and constructed to last longer than casual attire.
(B) The amount of money one spends on a garment should be roughly proportionate to the length of time one plans to keep wearing it.
(C) One should not buy a cheaply made garment when a well-constructed garment is available.
(D) The amount of money one spends on clothing should be roughly the same whether one is purchasing men’s or women’s attire.
(E) It is more appropriate to spend money on office attire than on casual attire.

“Whether one is buying men’s or women’s clothing, it pays to consider fashion trends.” – is a GMAT Critical question. This particular GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘501 GMAT Questions’. This is a find the assumption type GMAT CR questions. Here candidates need to pick the answer choice that comprises the assumption that must be accurate to support the given argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, or find the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: B
Explanation:

Question type: This is a find the assumption type GMAT CR questions. Here candidates need to pick the answer choice that comprises the assumption that must be accurate to support the given argument. The keywords present in critical reasoning in GMAT are - rely or because.

Comparisons: For GMAT CR questions, we can see that often toss up some kind of comparison. Making a decision between multiple choices requires comparison between two elements.

Let us check the given assumption that most accurately expresses the principle underlying the reasoning:

Option A: Incorrect
Here statement A states that formal and casual clothes were used as examples in the question.The argument tries to pint out that there is no difference between them. The only issue is that the longevity of the garment to be in fashion.

Option B: Correct
Statement B states that buying clothes based on the amount of time anyone having it. The logic matches the example. It states that more time with clothes equals more money spent. Hence, option B is the correct answer.

Option C: Irrelevant.
The argument does not claim about buying garments of best quality. So, this statement is not correct.

Option D: Incorrect.
In option D it states that the comparison between men and women's clothes were never made. This statement is beyond the scope of the argument.

Option E: Incorrect.
Option E is incorrect as the statement is similar to that of statement in option A. The formal or casual clothes were just used for example purposes. The correct comparison would consist of the time consumed.

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