For this weeks' blog, I read an article on www.nytimes.com about how men are dressing differently these days. I think that menswear is interesting and definitely a part of the industry I am interested in learning more about.
The article goes into detail about how men's pants have spent too long fitting poorly and now there is more emphasis on trousers fitting appropriately. I have noticed over the years how men have started wearing closer fitting pants and have appreciated it. Before, men would wear unflattering, too-baggy pants that looked pretty bad. Now men are taking better care of themselves and focusing more on their looks which means the they want to wear clothes that look good on them.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Troubling Signs Around the Shows
For my blog this week, I chose to read an article on www.nytimes.com entitled Troubling Signs Around the Shows. The article was about how designers and companies and brands are coping with the economic crisis happening right now.
All this fashion talk is especially prevelant now since New York fashion week just kicked off about two weeks ago. Designers are very concerned at this time because they do not know how much longer they will be able to last when people are saving money as much as they can. They are having to take money out of their savings accounts instead of being able to rely on customer sales. Even Bloomingdales is having to rely on selling Barbie dolls in order to stay afloat.
Everyone is worried right now; big companies, small companies, designers, pretty much anyone in retail. Companies are trying to stay optimistic because there really is not any other option. They have to cope with reality. Designers and stores are still trying to lure customers in to shop because they have to stay alive somehow, but they are also having to deal with much slower traffic.
Designers and companies are doing what they can to revamp, but it is only going so far. People are shopping much less these days and there is not much anyone can do about it.
All this fashion talk is especially prevelant now since New York fashion week just kicked off about two weeks ago. Designers are very concerned at this time because they do not know how much longer they will be able to last when people are saving money as much as they can. They are having to take money out of their savings accounts instead of being able to rely on customer sales. Even Bloomingdales is having to rely on selling Barbie dolls in order to stay afloat.
Everyone is worried right now; big companies, small companies, designers, pretty much anyone in retail. Companies are trying to stay optimistic because there really is not any other option. They have to cope with reality. Designers and stores are still trying to lure customers in to shop because they have to stay alive somehow, but they are also having to deal with much slower traffic.
Designers and companies are doing what they can to revamp, but it is only going so far. People are shopping much less these days and there is not much anyone can do about it.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
How the bad economy can be a good excuse
For this weeks' blog, I decided to read an article on www.nytimes.com about how the bad economy can be a good thing in some situations.
There were many people interviewed for the article about how the bad economy could be spun into a kind of good situation. Most of them said that it works in their favor when they would like to get out of something they would prefer not to do. Nobody can argue with the excuse that someone can't afford to do something because of the economy. An example that was given was a woman who wanted to fire her nanny, but instead just let her go because she couldn't afford her any longer. The same woman got a new nanny soon after that.
People are using the economy to put off different things too. One man said he was blaming his postponement of his wedding on the economy instead of wedding jitters. One couple turned down a trip to Disneyworld with his family to save up for a vacation later in the year.
This put a new thought into my head. I had never really thought about how a terrible economy could actually benefit people but, now that I think about it, I have probably given that excuse and been given that excuse by others. It's a good thing and a bad thing. It's a bad thing for the people having to deal with these excuses from other people. It's a good thing because it's a reasonable excuse to use when you don't want to hurt someones' feelings.
There were many people interviewed for the article about how the bad economy could be spun into a kind of good situation. Most of them said that it works in their favor when they would like to get out of something they would prefer not to do. Nobody can argue with the excuse that someone can't afford to do something because of the economy. An example that was given was a woman who wanted to fire her nanny, but instead just let her go because she couldn't afford her any longer. The same woman got a new nanny soon after that.
People are using the economy to put off different things too. One man said he was blaming his postponement of his wedding on the economy instead of wedding jitters. One couple turned down a trip to Disneyworld with his family to save up for a vacation later in the year.
This put a new thought into my head. I had never really thought about how a terrible economy could actually benefit people but, now that I think about it, I have probably given that excuse and been given that excuse by others. It's a good thing and a bad thing. It's a bad thing for the people having to deal with these excuses from other people. It's a good thing because it's a reasonable excuse to use when you don't want to hurt someones' feelings.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Make or Break Season
This week I decided to read an article on www.nytimes.com about how the bad economy is affecting designers and smaller stores.
It was no big surprise to me to read that the fashion industry is struggling slightly. It seems that everything around us is crumbling down and it shouldn't be shocking that the fashion industry is too.
Fashion week has just started and designers are excited about getting the exposure, but are worried about the effect the economy will take on them once fashion week is over. Stores will not be ordering nearly the amount of clothes that they have in previous years because they don't have the money to do so. Less orders from stores means less money for designers. A lot of small companies and stores are also closing which means that designers will not have as many places buying their clothes.
Up and coming designers are some of the hardest hit. At this time, it is hard for them to get people to buy their clothes because they are expensive. People would rather buy from familiar designers because they feel more comfortable doing so. Buyers are also hesitant to buy from newer designers for this reason.
One major concern of stores is how expensive designer clothes still are and how well these will sell in this rough time. People are looking to skimp wherever they can and that includes how much they are willing to spend on clothing.
In order to save money, some designers are bringing back things from the past. Brian Reyes recently made clothes out of fabric that he had left over from another season. Most designers are trying to save money wherever they can. They can't afford to make clothes that people can't afford to buy.
I think that the most surprising thing in this article was the little part that said some designers that I have heard of have lost their financial backing. I would think that already established designers would have a pretty stable base but I guess in this economy, nothing is stable.
It was no big surprise to me to read that the fashion industry is struggling slightly. It seems that everything around us is crumbling down and it shouldn't be shocking that the fashion industry is too.
Fashion week has just started and designers are excited about getting the exposure, but are worried about the effect the economy will take on them once fashion week is over. Stores will not be ordering nearly the amount of clothes that they have in previous years because they don't have the money to do so. Less orders from stores means less money for designers. A lot of small companies and stores are also closing which means that designers will not have as many places buying their clothes.
Up and coming designers are some of the hardest hit. At this time, it is hard for them to get people to buy their clothes because they are expensive. People would rather buy from familiar designers because they feel more comfortable doing so. Buyers are also hesitant to buy from newer designers for this reason.
One major concern of stores is how expensive designer clothes still are and how well these will sell in this rough time. People are looking to skimp wherever they can and that includes how much they are willing to spend on clothing.
In order to save money, some designers are bringing back things from the past. Brian Reyes recently made clothes out of fabric that he had left over from another season. Most designers are trying to save money wherever they can. They can't afford to make clothes that people can't afford to buy.
I think that the most surprising thing in this article was the little part that said some designers that I have heard of have lost their financial backing. I would think that already established designers would have a pretty stable base but I guess in this economy, nothing is stable.
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