Women’s Apparel (Study Guide)

Women’s Apparel Key Concepts ● Categories, size ranges, and price zones of women’s apparel ● Roles of brand names and designer names in the marketing of women’s wear ● Advertising and promotional activities in the marketing of women’s apparel ● Trends in the women’s apparel industry History of the Women’s Apparel Industry ● Growth of Ready - to - Wear ● Acceptance of Ready - to - Wear in the Twentieth Century ● Ready - to - Wear: Opposite to custom made/tailored clothes, Ready - to - Wear garments are produced in factories to standardized measurements ● By the 1920’s, most women shopped for their wardrobe in department stores and specialty stores. Mass production and distribution through retail outlets accelerated the fashion cycle of styles produced, and made the latest fashions available to the middle and working class. Organization and Operation of the Women’s Apparel Industry ● For many decades the women’s apparel company was a small, independently owned, and often family run business. This all changed in the 1970’s. An expanding economy led to an increased demand for everything. Many of the textile companies had grown into huge businesses, as had several major retailers. Pushed from both directions, the clothing manufacturers responded by merging to create large publicly owned corporations. Size of Producers ● AFter years of specialization, giant apparel producers have emerged brining diversification ● A number of giants have divisions not only manufacturing women’s wear, but men’s wear, kid’s wear, home fashions, beauty, and accessories The Role of the Designer ● Designers must balance diversification with specialization. ● From familiar names in the industry to newcomers, all designers specialize to the extent that they are marketing their own artistic identity to a segment of the population that shares their vision. ● Established designers not only cater to people who can afford their lines, but also lead the way foor producers of more moderately priced fashion to adapt their style Categories in Women’s Apparel ● Outerwear: Coats, Raincoats & jackets ● Dresses ● Blouses & Shirts ● Suits ● Evening Wear ● Bridal Wear: Includes dresses for brides, bridesmaids, mother of the bride etc… ● Sportswear & Separates: “Spectator sports” tops, sweaters, casual dress, bottoms ● Activewear: Specific for athletics such as workouts, tennis apparel, running apparel, cycling, and skiwear ● Uniforms & Aprons: Aprons, smocks, housedresses, and a variety of uniforms (doctors, nurses, factory workers, restaurants, construction, service industry etc…) ● Maternity: Dresses, sportswear, evening wear and all other garments designed to accommodate the needs of a pregnant woman. ● Innerwear: Bras, panties, shapewear, bodywear, sleepwear and intimate apparel. ● Specialty Wear: Apparel designed with snaps and Velcro closures specifically targeted to the elderly and physically challenged woman. Size Ranges Women’s apparel is divided into several size ranges. Unfortunately, the industry has still not developed standard industry wide size measurements. That’s why the same size can vary so greatly from brand to brand. ● Misses: Average Adult women. Includes regular even-numbered sizes ranging from 422, and sometimes as small as a 0. ● Juniors: more youthful styling to fit the body of a teenager. Regular size 5-21 and Petite size 1-15. ● Petites: Proportioned for short & small boned women. Includes misses numbers size 2-22. ● Women’s & Plus Size: 1/3rd of all women in the US wear a size 16-20. Includes sizes for larger women ranging from size 14-28 or 5X. Wholesale Price Points The women’s Ready-to-Wear Market has 6 major price zones that appeal to specific target customers. ● Designer Signature: Highest price zone. Includes labels like Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren and Jean Paul Gaultier. ● Bridge: Bridges the price ranges from designer and better prices. Normally 1/3rd to ½ price than signature. ● Contemporary: Favored by young designers to seek a broader market. Sometime less expensive fabrics are used to lower costs. ● Better: Medium to high price point. Liz Claiborne, Ann Taylor & Nautica. ● Moderate: Less prestige than designer names, but still appeal to the middle class consumer. Mostly sold in chain and department stores. Guess, Levi’s, Jantzen ● Budget: Lowest price zone. Made for mass market. A lot of private label retailers including JC Penny’s Arizona line & Kohl’s Jennifer Lopez Collection. Merchandising and Marketing Advertising ● Most women’s fashion apparel carries the name of the designer / brand somewhere on it. Up until the 1930’s this wasn’t the case, and retailers refused to let manufacturers put labels and tags in their clothing. ● Today merchants happy display labels attached to clothing for brand recognition, advertising and loyal customers. ● In the 1980’s we saw a tremendous growth in sales for national brands and known designer labels. In part, this growth resulted from advertisements and campaigns directed at the consumer. The label / logo became a main selling feature for the garment. Trunk Shows ● Trunk shows are an excellent form of publicity for women’s wear. It’s when a new line is shown to a retail store’s staff and customers. It can be a presentation to an in-house fashion show. ● Sometimes the designer and/or a celebrity will be present for the event. There can be promotions and incentives for purchasing products during the show. ● These are normally advertised on TV, radio, social media with hopes for drawing in a large crowd. Promotion Aids ● Display ideas, physical displays and fixtures. Sales training to learn about the product when dealing with customers. ● Special in-house retail promotions.