NEW YORK — The conventional wisdom about guys and shopping has always been that they go together like paisley and plaid, which is to say not very well. There is a reason menswear in most stores is relegated to the back walls and the basements, while womenswear is front and center.

But at the beginning of New York Fashion Week, an event long dominated by the top designers of womenswear, it would seem that the fight for gender equality has finally come to the place where one might least expect it. When shopping, men are demanding better service, and retailers are providing it.

“For too long, male shoppers were considered to be the stepchildren,” said Jim Moore, the creative director of GQ. “There were a lot of assumptions on the retail level that men weren’t interested in fashion and that they just went to department stores to buy socks and underwear.”

But in recent months, a surprising number of retailers have opened stores that cater solely to their male customers, with specialized environments and customer service. Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue have remodeled their men’s floors, and Urban Outfitters created a separate catalog for men. Even Fashion Week has more events tailored to menswear. Details magazine has rented a space at Lincoln Center, the Fashion Week site, this week to encourage more men’s designers, like John Bartlett and Mark McNairy, to show their collections here, rather than in Europe, where men’s designers typically get more respect.

While men have traditionally been stubborn consumers, and the fastest to close their wallets during times of economic strain, there is a growing sense among retailers, evidenced by the phenomenal success of new men’s concepts from labels like Coach and J. Crew, that a new generation of male consumers actually embraces fashion. Or at least that younger guys are not so afraid of shopping.

Luxury designer labels like Hermes and Bottega Veneta have responded to a growing market by opening distinct stores for men, and Lanvin, the French fashion house that dressed both the best actress and best actor winners at the Oscars this year, plans to open an expensive one on Madison Avenue this fall.

The trend has also reached more democratically priced stores like Club Monaco, Ralph Lauren and even Ugg, the shearling shoe company, which opened a men’s store this summer.

The reason for all this attention to men is fairly obvious: Since the recession, they have represented the fastest-growing segment of the adult apparel market, according to the NPD Group’s Consumer Tracking Service. In 2011, dollar sales in menswear increased 4 percent, to roughly $55 billion, led by strong gains in categories like dress shirts, tailored suits and sports coats. (The women’s market is twice as large, but it grew at a rate of 3 percent for the same period.)

While the gain in menswear is partly attributed to the economy, a bigger factor has likely been the broader interest in fashion.

“Menswear has traditionally lagged behind womenswear for decades and decades,” said Marshal Cohen, the chief industry analyst of NPD. “It’s the first thing to spiral downward during a recession, and the last to recover — with the exception of this one.”