Eccles gets surprising answer in section of department store (8)
I believe the answer is:
menswear
'section of department store' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'eccles gets surprising answer' is the wordplay.
'eccles' becomes 'me' (where the crossword setter is 'Eccles').
'gets' indicates putting letters inside.
'surprising' indicates an anagram.
'answer' is an anagram of 'nswear'.
'me' put into 'nswear' is 'MENSWEAR'.
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for menswear that I've seen before include "Boxers, for example" , "Male attire" , "clobber" , "Male clothing" , "habits" .)