Retail Observation
Sep. 22nd, 2006 09:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
callistotoniHumor me, I worked a stint in the garment industry, and my grandmother was a professional seamstress, so clothes and fashion are sort of in my blood (even if I don't always dress fashionably). ;-)
OK, the following is probably obvious to the rest of you, but it was the first I'd noticed it: I was at the local mall Wednesday night. Normally when I make a trip to the mall it is to go to Nordstrom, and I hardly ever see the rest of the mall. On Wednesday I walked through the mall and so saw it for the first time for the last 1-2 years. I was struck by the number of stores -- mostly new -- that cater to women my age (I'd say the 40-65 y.o. demographic). Previously there was almost nothing for people like me; only certain sections of Nordstrom and Lands End for cheap causuals. (Of course, LE went downhill after it got associated with Sears, but it was still book for cotton knot stuff.) Now there is J.Jill, Coldwater Creek, and Talbots (which has been around but seems to have changed its offerings). G0atface tells me that The Gap Corp. recognized this as an untapped market and is opening a store chain that caters 40-60 y.o. women. And in cast the style of clothing wasn't enough of a clue as to who the intended audience was, J. Jill had big window display photos of a cool-looking fit woman with long grey hair out in the countryside. Basic look can be characterized as casual tailored clothing. Lots of jackets over trousers. I also noticed that there were no long tailored skirts to be had. In fact, there were hardly any skirts at all. The store with the most skirts was Coldwater Creek, but as many of you know CC specialized in the South West look so those skirts tended to be of the broomstick variety. In fact, I saw only 1 long tailored skirt: a wool plaid number by Ralph Loren over at Nordstrom. Clearly women in this area don't buy skirts for business or everyday wear, which makes sense if you thing about it.
Come to think of it, I saw no dresses either, except for knit t-shirt-cut ones. No tailored or suit-cut dresses at all.
On the other hand, I'm seeing more and more Special Occassion wear and stores. Nordstrom carries a section that is not Couture all year round now, and the mall opened a "Trudy's"-like fancy beaded dress store. The sized and obvious success of Trudy's in the south bay is testement that there is a market for evening and cocktail dress now days.
I'm thinking that middle and upper-middle class women have given up on the classic women's business suit and are dressing in pants with jackets for work, or jeans et all every day, but *want* to have the super-snazzy dress for dinner and parties. Certainly a more comfortable and practical way of dressing. Trust me -- 8-10 hours in panty hose is no fun and can be uncomfortable enough to be distracting.
Of course, I work in an extremely casual dress environment in the south bay, and I live out in the Livermore 'burbs. SF may be retaining the women's buisness suit with skirt and tailored dresses, I don't know.
OK, the following is probably obvious to the rest of you, but it was the first I'd noticed it: I was at the local mall Wednesday night. Normally when I make a trip to the mall it is to go to Nordstrom, and I hardly ever see the rest of the mall. On Wednesday I walked through the mall and so saw it for the first time for the last 1-2 years. I was struck by the number of stores -- mostly new -- that cater to women my age (I'd say the 40-65 y.o. demographic). Previously there was almost nothing for people like me; only certain sections of Nordstrom and Lands End for cheap causuals. (Of course, LE went downhill after it got associated with Sears, but it was still book for cotton knot stuff.) Now there is J.Jill, Coldwater Creek, and Talbots (which has been around but seems to have changed its offerings). G0atface tells me that The Gap Corp. recognized this as an untapped market and is opening a store chain that caters 40-60 y.o. women. And in cast the style of clothing wasn't enough of a clue as to who the intended audience was, J. Jill had big window display photos of a cool-looking fit woman with long grey hair out in the countryside. Basic look can be characterized as casual tailored clothing. Lots of jackets over trousers. I also noticed that there were no long tailored skirts to be had. In fact, there were hardly any skirts at all. The store with the most skirts was Coldwater Creek, but as many of you know CC specialized in the South West look so those skirts tended to be of the broomstick variety. In fact, I saw only 1 long tailored skirt: a wool plaid number by Ralph Loren over at Nordstrom. Clearly women in this area don't buy skirts for business or everyday wear, which makes sense if you thing about it.
Come to think of it, I saw no dresses either, except for knit t-shirt-cut ones. No tailored or suit-cut dresses at all.
On the other hand, I'm seeing more and more Special Occassion wear and stores. Nordstrom carries a section that is not Couture all year round now, and the mall opened a "Trudy's"-like fancy beaded dress store. The sized and obvious success of Trudy's in the south bay is testement that there is a market for evening and cocktail dress now days.
I'm thinking that middle and upper-middle class women have given up on the classic women's business suit and are dressing in pants with jackets for work, or jeans et all every day, but *want* to have the super-snazzy dress for dinner and parties. Certainly a more comfortable and practical way of dressing. Trust me -- 8-10 hours in panty hose is no fun and can be uncomfortable enough to be distracting.
Of course, I work in an extremely casual dress environment in the south bay, and I live out in the Livermore 'burbs. SF may be retaining the women's buisness suit with skirt and tailored dresses, I don't know.
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no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:29 pm (UTC)I agree, since most work places are now casual most of the time, there is much less of a demand for skirts and dresses. I'm just about the only woman in my office above the clerical level who wears a skirt to work four days out of the five ... and this is the heart of the financial district.
What I do find odd is the bad juxtaposition of tailored and casual. I saw a lady in a grey pinstriped suit (pants, not skirt) wearing red flip flops with it. This was at lunch time, so I don't think she'd changed into going home shoes. The really bad one is the tailored wool suit with pants ... and the pants only go to the knee. Yuck.
JIMR
no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:34 pm (UTC)Luckily today there are no Hot Pants. That was just bad.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-22 05:36 pm (UTC)I wore pencil skirts for a while and I got treated better than when I wear jeans.
I get treated more seriously as a peer of the men when I wear slacks than when I wear skirts.
I've given up wearing red at work: bullseyes are red and I certainly always seemed to draw fire - even when it was clearly unjust.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-23 04:03 am (UTC)I recently discovered Chico's as a place for women who don't have that 20-something figure.