March 2007

Casual Wear: Everyday Clothing is Queen

Women’s casual clothing is now fashion forward, and can be worn out and about or dressed up for the office.

By Tonia Cook Kimbrough

Dressing for active lifestyles – both on the weekend and beyond – has made previously “Saturday-only” apparel into an everyday staple. T-shirts are no longer basic cotton crewnecks. Fleece doesn’t mean dowdy sweats. Lounge pants aren’t stretchy polyester embarrassments. Now, women on the go seek comfortable, yet stylish options that they can tone down for a trip to the store or throw a jacket over for the office.

Consider, for example, shirts. Beyond the T-shirt or tank, you’ve got many versions from polos to sassy little tees with dressier cap sleeves and v-neck collars.

“Collars can dress any shirt up. And, pair that with a longer sleeve length, side vents and pearl buttons, and you have a shirt that’s ready for the office,” says Heather Glasgow, marketing manager for Hanes sport shirts and assistant manager of Outer Banks, based in Winston-Salem, NC.

The color also makes a difference, Glasgow says. For example, athletic orange (from the Hanes Collegiate collection) may be perfect for a road trip, but Bimini blue (from the Outer Banks catalog) works better in the boardroom.

“Corporations have long unified teams by buying coordinating colored sport shirts versus everyone wearing their own personal shade,” Glasgow says. “Casual wear pieces tend to be screen printed, where corporate polos will display more embroidery embellishments.”

One feature that takes casual shirts – particularly tees – from the gym to the grocery store to the office as an under-pinning, is length. Look for T-shirts with a longer length to cover the tummy and backside a bit, particularly when your client’s audience is beyond the teen or collegiate years.

Also consider fabric weight when selecting casual wear that’s intended for a corporate setting. “I do think that fabric is a determining factor. While we see a lot of the finer cotton T-shirts, they’re difficult to decorate, and for corporate, they’re a bit revealing in my clients’ minds,” says Nicki DeMattei with Sonoma, CA-based Focus4.

DeMattei encourages her clients to layer and does sell the more retail T-shirt to go under another piece. “A lot of these are for trade show purposes, so they can work in the T-shirt and then cover up on the show floor,” she says.

Casual’s colors
While traditional colors tend to be a trademark of dressier corporate wear, you often have greater range in choices for casual wear programs, especially those targeting female audiences.

“With women’s apparel we have a little more flexibility and can offer more fun, trendy, retail colors. More then men, women will look at color first when choosing a style,” says Lori Anderson, marketing manager at Hopkins, MN-based River’s End Trading Co. Its new Her Perspective collection offers sportswear in a range of vibrant hues from a deep pink peony to vibrant Carolina blue or fresh pistachio green.

Look for fresh ways to decorate, as well. “We’ve been having a lot of fun with a variety of decorating techniques for gals. The liquid metals and vinyl appliqués are interesting,” DeMattei says.

“We just did a great order with three icon motifs across American Apparel v-neck, asphalt-colored T-shirts for ‘gamers’ that the gals loved,” DeMattei says. “It’s edgy, different and still carries their corporate message in a way that’s unique, yet not revealing or over the top.”

Try also to mix and match. Some suppliers are creating lines with this in mind. River’s End’s Her Perspective Collection includes six different styles in five colors that can mix and match for every day of the week and any type of day. These products can be styled together or alone to make a playful yet professional look that’s smart; a laid-back, refreshing style for the beach or a day at home; or a chic outfit for a dinner downtown. Styles can also be created for any corporate look for a day at the office, trade show or meetings, Anderson says.

You can give yet another layer of sophistication to casual tops by adding a sweater or jacket. River’s End, for example, offers chenille sweaters. “Sweaters can be worn with any style pant to create a casual or corporate look,” Anderson says.

Bottoms up
Finally, sales of casual wear open the door to coordinated bottoms. Women’s wear, in particular, offers a variety of options from capri pants to long, loose gym pants to shorts. The key is styling and figure-flattering features.

Consider Bella’s ladies cotton spandex short. “We re-designed it a couple of years ago using our cotton spandex material, which is lightweight and allows for freedom of movement and a great fit. It’s got a two-piece separated wider waistband, which looks flattering on the stomach because it lays flat without bunching,” says Brinden Asher, director of marketing for the Los Angeles-based supplier. “We’ve also included side vents. The style has been enormously popular in the cheer market and serves as a great alternative to the typical jersey short. It also sells to the active sports market, gyms and running outlets such as marathons.”

Bella also offers more upscale casual wear, such as its velour cargo pant that can be combined with a coordinating velour zip-front hoodie. Look also to lines like Devon & Jones by Trevose, PA-based Alpha Shirt Co., with its velour loungewear.

So the next time you’re merchandising a corporate apparel program, don’t forget to include several casual pieces that recipients can wear on and off the job.