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Denim Perfection. When Bloomingdale's opened its new store in SoHo last Saturday, its merchandising mix featured "18 lines of blue jeans for women and 12 for men," as reported by Guy Trebay in The New York Times. Can you imagine? Even Barney's vp of publicity sounds a bit stunned by such ostensibly extreme assortments: "I'm the kind of person who wore a pair of jeans to death and then got a new pair," she confides. But Bloomie SoHo fashion director Kal Ruttenstein chimes in with a dose of denim-clad reality: "Premium denim is probably the most important element" of the new store's mix, he says, adding: "At the moment there doesn't seem to be a limit to the appetite or even a price ceiling."
Actually, "a majority of jeans sold to Americans cost less than $20" and tend to have names like Levi's, Wrangler and Lee. However, a relatively new crop of premium jeans, with names such as Rogan, Seven for All Mankind, Miss Sixty and Diesel can run you from $75 to $250. If you're still not satisfied, you might check out tags such as Earl, Chip and Pepper, Paper Denim & Cloth, G-Star, Citizens of Humanity, Habitual, Notify or Blue Guru. Guy Trebay observes that these brands are to Levi's what microbrews are to Budweiser. He also notes that even though they "account for no more than three percent of the $11 billion overall jeans market ... the category itself barely existed just a few years back." And, as Cotton Inc. trend forecaster Claire Dupuis observes, "three percent of $11 billion is fairly substantial."
Some of the denim's fresh appeal is attributed to the growing idea "that blue jeans are the one item of apparel suitable in almost any situation." Amen. Some consumers apply exactly that notion to justify paying big bucks for their jeans. Others note that it's all about looking really good in your jeans (from both front and back, if you get the drift). Then there are the jeans connoisseurs, who "know the back story on construction and fabrics, the grommets, the washes, the finishes." The ultimate driver, however, appears to be exclusivity. "I have always been fond of the things that seemed more limited, that are not available for everyone," comments Daniel Green, designer of Saddelite jeans, which are made from cotton "woven on antique Japanese looms and sewn in limited lots." Price: $280. So, there you have it: Jeans, jeans everywhere ... but only in short supply.
Torrid Fashions. While Wal-Mart and Target seem to admit they haven't quite figured out the young, plus-size market, a 52-store division of goth-retailer Hot Topic seems to be taking it to the bank, reports Stephanie Kang in The Wall Street Journal. The chain is called Torrid, and we don't actually know exactly how successful it is because Hot Topic doesn't break out its earnings. But analysts say it is turning a modest profit, having been around for about three years now. In any case, Torrid, www.torrid.com, profiles its "ideal customers" as "young, fashion-forward and not afraid to be ... feminine and sassy" ... and overweight. As Hot Topic ceo Betsy McLaughlin puts it: "These girls want to feel good and they want as many options as anyone else." It's a market that Torrid pretty much has to itself, in part because it is technically complex to make "fashionable clothes in large sizes." What's more, overweight people tend not to shop in malls.
Consequently, manufacturers "have been reluctant to devote resources" to serving plus-size teens and tweens -- even though an estimated "25 percent of American teens are technically overweight," according to the CDC. In this Betsy McLaughlin sensed opportunity and persuaded her skeptical board to pursue it. She initiated brainstorming sessions, leading with the obvious question that "few in the fashion industry had ever bothered to ask: What do you want to wear?" More specifically, she asked questions such as: "Do big girls want short-shorts?" Turns out, they did -- in fact, they wanted pretty much what other girls wanted, just cut to fit and flatter. That was a challenge, and initially it "took Torrid manufacturers as long as 18 months to finish a piece of clothing."
Lots of trial-and-error was in order, using a process known as "grading" to find just the right dimensions. For example: "To make a plus-size top, arm holes and midsections had to be cut bigger, while shoulder widths stayed the same." The tailoring didn't stop with the apparel however, as Torrid created mall signage (Torrid: The Alternative for Sizes 12-26) and a retail experience (large dressing rooms with "do not disturb" signs on the doorknobs) designed to attract otherwise elusive overweight customers. Some critics think Torrid's designs are a bit risque, and perhaps inappropriate, for plus-size shoppers. But ever-trendy rival retailer Target, whose 266-store Mervyn's chain offers plus-size apparel, reportedly is "taking note of Torrid's success" and is readying its own assortment of plus-size teen apparel.
Tim Manners, editor
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