Fashion Fuels Upbeat Ladieswear Market

Despite tough economic conditions, the ladieswear category continues to perform surprisingly well, thanks in part to new fabrics, details and colors. May 01, 2009
By Deborah Sexton, Contributing Writer

The Sandra Vintage Dolman Tee (style 8403) from Bella is a vintage-washed, slouchy-chic style with shirring at the front neck and a wide, set-in neckband and extra-wide banded bottom. It's constructed of 3.8-ounce 55% cotton/45% polyester.

While the ongoing recession may have prompted suppliers to narrow their product offerings a bit, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of stylish, new options this year in ladieswear. See-through sheers, eco-friendly cottons, red-hot layered looks, deep V-necks, bright colors like apricot orange and lime green, and standby styles like baby ribs are giving decorators plenty of alluring choices. Eye-catching looks inspired by retail are in abundance.

Material Girls
Ultra-light fabrics have been a sheer success lately, as suppliers introduce a host of garments with a soft, silky feel. This year, American Apparel unveiled a new ultra-light T-shirt and tank top made from Viscose, "a rayon material that has a silky appearance," says Mark Smalley, wholesale marketing product manager, American Apparel.

"Sheer fabric gives a nicer fit to the body, and it's very good for printing," says Todd Proffit, marketing director, Alstyle Apparel, Anaheim, Calif.

Suppliers also are introducing an array of women's garments made from "burnout" fabric — a treatment that burns away the cotton and leaves the polyester, explains Nicole Britt, national account executive, Bella, Los Angeles. The company recently added tunics and burnout T-shirts in 55% cotton/45% polyester.

"Burnout fabric and vintage washes are doing very well for us," adds Dean Vuong, vice president, Kavio, Los Angeles. His company offers a new vintage wash ringer and a burnout raw-edge hoodie.

Women are generally layering the burnout T-shirt with other garments, although a few daring ones may wear it revealingly, suppliers say. "The majority of women layer it," says Mike Pearl, director of sales and marketing, JS Apparel, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.

Alternative Apparel's heather burnout line is a "huge hit right now," says Molly Raney, media and event coordinator, Alternative Apparel, Atlanta.

Meanwhile, Royal Apparel added a deep V-neck as a tri-blend, another popular fabric. "Tri-blend and the sheer burnout are our most popular new fabrics," says Morey Mayeri, president of the New York-based company.

Complementing the burnout look are raw edges, which are making an appearance in styles from numerous suppliers. For instance, Royal Apparel offers raw edges on several of its sheer jersey styles.

One look that's anything but burned out is organic styling, which remains a popular category with customers. Royal Apparel added 19 new organic styles this year overall, many of them in the women's wear line. "There's a big demand for it," Mayeri says. "We plan on adding even more styles in the coming months."

Bella's ALO brand has responded to the continuing demand for all things eco-friendly and added a recycled T-shirt to this year's collection. "It's 42.5% recycled polyester and 15% organic cotton," Britt says of the T-shirt. "It's cool and comfortable; it has a contrasting chain stitch from shoulder to shoulder."

Some suppliers this year have unveiled a new fabric dubbed "slub," a knit with a "distinctive soft texture and light hand," explains Lee Strom, senior marketing manager, SanMar Corp., Preston, Wash. SanMar offers its District Threads brand in slub cotton, as well as its juniors' V-neck hoodie.

Finally, a multitude of washes and special dyes have gained traction in women's wear, including mineral wash and acid wash. "We're going to introduce a line of dip dyes," Mayeri says. "We start with a color on top, like pink, and it gradually gets darker toward the bottom of the garment."

Style Sense
Wave goodbye to the bare-all ladies' look popularized in recent years by pop stars like Britney Spears, replaced by more modest, less-revealing styles that are less "Baby Got Back" and more "Baby Got Her Clothes Back On." "The trend at retail is longer-length shirts, sheer fabrics and layered pieces," Britt says. "We follow what happens in retail. Shirts and jackets also are getting longer."

The long and short of it? Long is hot. "Over the past three years, everything has gotten longer," Smalley says.

For instance, deep V-necks with tunic lengths have been catching buyers' attention. "The deep V-neck is taking over women's apparel," Pearl says. "The old scoop neck doesn't do as well as it used to. Women want the deep V-neck, worn in layers."

Adds Raney: "We see wider, deeper necklines that drop or have significant curves. Sleeves are also wider and longer."

Still, basics continue to perform extremely well, due in part to the difficult financial climate, suppliers say. "In a tougher economy, the trends go back to basics, and our industry is no exception," Strom says. "In women's wear, our best sellers are in value sports shirts and T-shirts."

JS Apparel's popular standards include combed ring-spun, cap-sleeve T-shirts, as well as long-sleeve, lightweight thermals and the basic short-sleeve crew with set-in capped sleeves. Meanwhile, Alstyle Apparel's 2x1 tank top and junior sheer jersey T-shirts remain the company's best sellers in the women's category. Also, Bella has six looks in its sheer mini-rib style that "have been performing well," Britt says. "Baby ribs, jerseys, spaghetti straps and 2x1s also are popular. Burnout T-shirts are popular now, but there's always going to be a need for the basic jersey knit."

Christopher Levesque, vice president of marketing, Anvil Knitwear, New York, adds, "The crew neck is still the No. 1 garment for ladies, in terms of volume."

"Our three most popular wholesale styles are the basic fine-jersey women's T-shirt, our 50% cotton/50% polyester women's T-shirt and our boy-beater tank top," Smalley says.

Size Matters
In general, fits are becoming more oversized, according to Raney of Alternative Apparel, which recently introduced women's silhouettes with a "roomier, oversized appeal," Raney says. "The shapes are simple but the cuts are more fashion-forward. It's comfortable and 'loungey' with an edgy, urban feel."

The Future's So Bright
While the gloomy economy may mean a few clouds in the sky, suppliers are brightening up things considerably with some eye-opening colors. Alstyle Apparel added lime, turquoise and purple to its line of T-shirts and tank tops, while Kavio introduced willow green.

"Colors this year are bold and hopeful with warm shades across the color spectrum," says Strom of SanMar, which introduced cobalt blue, bamboo charcoal, and green oasis, among others.

Bella added "pop colors," Britt says, to its line of burnout T-shirts, including light aqua, lilac, leaf and bright green. Meanwhile, ALO offers its recycled T-shirt line in hot colors like berry, pink and coffee.

The demand for bright colors isn't surprising, says Levesque, whose company added neon pink, yellow and orange to its lineup. "The world needs optimism," he explains. "When economic times are down, brights generally sell well. You wouldn't paint your interior walls these colors, but you want the accessories and brightness in your life when the news isn't always bright."

It's not all about eye-scalding brights, however. Black, white and earth tones, such as mushroom and avocado, are performing well for Royal Apparel, Mayeri says. Also, Anvil added silver and oatmeal to its color offerings in response to "growing market demand for products that have a natural color palette," Levesque says.

Sell Well
When it comes to women's apparel, some markets are somewhat recession-proof, suppliers say. "Cheerleading and the Greek market continue to do well. People aren't cutting back on those types of things — they're still going back to school," Britt says.

Demand from designers with small labels also is fueling overall sales of women's apparel, as is the recession, which has prompted companies to purchase smaller orders just in time. "A lot of companies aren't ordering in advance, so they're relying on domestic goods," Mayeri says. "That has been huge for us. The buyer doesn't have to wait and put out the money for 120 days, and doesn't have to order large quantities."

Adds Proffit: "[Some] buyers are going to purchase basic garments over high-end garments in this tough economy. But they're still going to buy something; they still need garments."

While some customers may be choosing less-expensive items, they're generally not opting for unisex garments instead of women's apparel, suppliers say. "They're choosing from the 'good' and 'better' categories as opposed to 'best,' but we're not going to see a drop in women's styles," Strom says. "We'll see this category stay strong relative to men's and youth wear."

Despite the difficult economy, suppliers remain optimistic that the women's wear category will remain strong, with ladies still preferring a garment made for them rather than a unisex one. "I don't see people making large changes," Levesque says.

Deborah Sexton, the former editor of Impressions, has been in the decorated apparel industry for more than 25 years. She currently does marketing and public relations for decorated apparel companies. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Deborah at dsexton@sbcglobal.net.



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