NEW YORK — Moderate shoppers looking for a fresh career wardrobe are in luck.
While the days of the traditional suit aren’t completely over, industry executives say there is a definite shift taking place in the moderate career area as customers search for more fashionable suit separates. They stress, however, that just because consumers may be moving away from suits doesn’t mean they are more casual for work.
Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the Port Washington-N.Y. based NPD Group, said the suit business is indeed growing. He said that while the $97 billion women’s apparel sector has grown only by 4 percent in the past year, the suits area has grown by 12 percent, and the suit separates area has grown by 16 percent over the past year.
“As a buyer, you look at the suit business as suits and suit separates, and while suit departments have grown in the past year, it’s not all about suits sold as sets, but separates as well,” Cohen explained. “Today’s definition of a suit is not what it used to be, and it’s really changing right before our eyes. A suit today is easy to wear, easy to travel with, and the appeal of a suit separate is that women can shop for a different size top and bottom. The consumer also loves to be able to mix and match, so suit separates appeal to everyone.”
Glenn Shepard, vice president and general manager of Liz Claiborne moderate brands, agrees that times have changed in the moderate career area. While the customer looks for more fashion apparel for her career wardrobe, Shepard said she is still price-sensitive.
“What has been defined as career in the past is much more broad today,” Shepard explained. “It’s no longer about the old interview suit. Career has evolved into fashionable separates, which we like to call the ‘mismatched’ or ‘ ‘broken’ suit. She’s more willing to mix materials or pair a printed jacket with a solid bottom. She’s taking her cues from fashion magazines and is interested in keeping with the trends, but is very value-conscious at the same time.”
Shepard said the Emma James brand has responded to this “new career” by reconfiguring the basic suit in the line. He said the jacket is shorter and more fitted, and the skirt has a new pleated bottom. In fashion pieces, a spring bestseller for the brand was a three-quarter-length printed linen and rayon jacket over a lace-trimmed rayon and spandex underpinning paired with linen and rayon wrinkle-resistant herringbone pants.
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“This epitomizes the new career — color, texture, updated silhouettes at a value price: The entire look is under $150 [at retail],” he said. “Emma James is a career-focused line, and business has been very good. We attribute this to the fact that we’re able to address the needs of the moderate customer and consistently provide her with the right mix of color, details and value.”
But Jay Diamond, chief executive officer of Kellwood Co.’s Halmode division, which produces the Sag Harbor and Liz Claiborne suits and dresses lines, said suits are extremely strong — just not in the summer months.
“Overall, we’ve had the most successful year this year,” Diamond said. “Department stores that we do business with have played up their suit departments by 20 percent this year, and we’ve doubled our Liz Claiborne suit business this year.”
Diamond said, traditionally, suits do not sell as well in summer as in the fall, as people are looking for comfortable casual clothes to wear in the heat. But, he said, as stores begin to aggressively fill their floors for fall and holiday, the suit business is sure to rise.
“This is the worst time of year for suits, that’s for sure,” he said, “so if the suit business isn’t doing well right now, that’s just a timing issue.”
Sherri Mitzmacher, market specialist for moderate and career sportswear at the Doneger Group, the large buying office here, said retailers are still buying suits, but seem to be moving to separates to fill their career needs. She said tiered skirts, tunics and knits with heavy embellishments continue to book well. Blouses sold well for spring and summer at retail, so those, too, will continue heavily into fall.
“We were in this casual cycle for such a long time,” Mitzmacher said. “Now that career is coming back, it’s not as structured as it used to be. Women want to look young, more contemporary and updated, but with a fit that’s for her shape. They still want that put-together look that a suit can give, but they are looking for it in the separates area where they can really make an outfit unique to them.”
Mitzmacher said she sees the layering trend continuing in the career sector.
“I think it started with the camisole, but has now evolved into other things, like a sleeveless knit top under a sweater with lots of decoration,” she said.
Lynne Cote, ceo of moderate apparel at Jones Apparel Group, said suits continue to sell well, especially in the Evan-Picone, Norton McNaughton, Rena Rowan and Joneswear collections. But for the other Jones-owned lines, fashion careerwear is certainly selling.
“[The customer] is responding to the fashion skirt trend that is explosive, from tiered skirts to soft print asymmetric skirts to embellished poplin circle skirts,” Cote explained. “She is pairing this with simple knit tops or separate sweaters. The explosiveness of this category, as well as the cami category, is probably making the overall percentage of suits being bought lower than in previous years. The brands where this is the case are Bandolino, Nine & Co. and A-Line.”
A spokeswoman for Sears stores said more women are shopping for fashionable careerwear than ever before.
“Women are looking for styles to show suiting all together,” explained the spokeswoman. “She may be in the store buying a suit, but that doesn’t mean she’s wearing the pieces together as an outfit. Women who are interested in fashion are wearing the pieces separately so they can mix the skirt with a denim jacket or the jacket with jeans if they can wear them to work. They are mixing and matching so much more than they used to.”
The spokeswoman said customers looking for careerwear in the moderate area are searching for clothing that makes them look professional for day, but can easily dress up for evening.
“It seems like women are really putting more energy into looking their best,” she said. “I think that’s why the accessories are selling so well, too. They are paying more attention to what they are wearing, and it may not be that easy to put together, but that’s not a bad thing all the time.”
She said that while Sears still sells many suits for career, the company has beefed up its array of fashion separates in other areas of the store to make it easy for shoppers to mix fashion pieces with careerwear. This is especially true in Latina Life, a new sportswear line launching exclusively at Sears stores this fall. The line is being produced in conjunction with Latina magazine.
“It’s a very fashionable line and is appealing to women looking for fashionable clothes for work,” said the spokeswoman, also citing other lines within the store, like Parallel (designed by the BCBG design team), Apostrophe and A-Line (produced by Jones Apparel Group). “Over the past year, our apparel mix overall has become more fashion-centric. We are just offering it for less. The customer can come into Sears and get the whole look — from head to toe — for under $125.”