ATLANTA — At Kaleidoscope, a hip boutique in Decatur, Ga., the over-40 crowd is desperately seeking denim. But even if they’re moms, the shoppers aren’t looking for “your mother’s jeans.”
“This woman has become rabid for cool denim,” said Kaleidoscope owner Camille Wright.
Denim sales to older women, a minimal part of her clientele two years ago, have grown to 40 percent of overall volume, Wright said. Customers willing to pay more than $100 for the right fit and look get on a waiting list for a few key lines, such as Vitamina or Sergio Valente, which target these women. Almost daily, Wright fields calls from as far away as Flint, Mich. The callers are women seeking a jean that fits, without making them look like a grandmother.
Wright said the surge has been fueled by fashion magazines, such as In Style and Real Simple, that run features on jeans for various ages and body types. She’s also noticed a growing acceptance of jeans paired with blazers, camisoles and sweaters, as an alternative to dress pants.
While many denim lines, inspired by the success of contemporary offerings, focus on younger consumers, a few are carving a lucrative niche with older women. Responding to consumer demand, specialty stores are expanding denim offerings. While fit is of the utmost importance, older consumers want the same variety in washes and details that are readily available to their younger counterparts.
Sales of jeans to the Baby Boomer market are up significantly compared with sportswear, according to a survey by STS Market Research in Cambridge, Mass., which tracks monthly apparel purchases of 12,000 men, women and children.
For the 12 months ended September, jeans sales to the 35- to 44-year-old age group increased 8 percent, and sales to 45- to 54-year-olds grew 4 percent. Sportswear sales for the same groups were down 2 percent and flat, respectively, for the same period. Jeans sales for 20- to 24-year-olds rose 13 percent, while sales to the 25- to 34-year-old group rose 2 percent.
“There’s so much opportunity in this market, I’d rather the competition not find out about it,” said a jeans vendor, who asked not to be identified.
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Even contemporary jeans firms are finding older women hard to ignore. Red Engine, a Los Angeles-based contemporary line, has had such success with slightly higher-rise fits introduced in the past year that it will launch a separate misses’ denim line in 2005. The line, which has not yet been named, will feature rises of 8 or 9 inches. The collection won’t have the rips or tears that appeal to younger customers, but will offer premium Italian denim in a variety of washes.
“Everybody wants to be young and trendy, but the market has always ignored this customer,” said Jim Boldes, Red Engine’s owner.
While focusing on fit and comfort through stretch denim, companies often have limited misses’ collections to classic washes, said Christine Cappelletti, the brand’s East Coast sales representative, rather than branching out into “cool, funky washes.” With a comparative scarcity of product, older women are more fiercely loyal to denim brands than younger women who have more choices, Cappelletti said.
Red Engine’s midrise options appeared in the August and September issues of Real Simple, Redbook and Glamour, which the company said helped to triple sales over the past three months compared with the same period last year. Annual sales of $4 million in 2003 more than doubled to a projected $10 million for 2004.
Christopher Blue, a Redmond, Wash., jeans line intended for women older than 30, founded in 1997, also has doubled sales each of the last four years to $15 million for 2004. President and co-founder Mel Matsui, a denim veteran who worked with the Brittania jeans line in the Seventies, said the denim market has yet to realize the potential of older shoppers.
“When we started, there was a gigantic void, and since then, around 50 labels sprung up, all chasing the same young customer,” Matsui said. “There are plenty of women out there with money and nothing to buy.”
Matsui also credits the print media, especially People magazine’s coverage of celebrities and their favorite jeans, along with increasing casualwear among older women, for the growing demand. Among his 1,000 specialty store accounts he noted a big increase in the number of stores targeting misses’ customers that are expanding or launching the denim category for the first time. Customers are willing to pay $130 to $150 to get a great-fitting pair of jeans, Matsui said.
The Christopher Blue line has evolved from one 9-inch-rise fit to four rises, starting at 7 inches and working up to 9 inches, with new silhouettes, including an A-frame for fall. Working with Chinese factories for new techniques such as abrasion and nicking, the line also will expand from eight to 10 washes.
Matsui said the misses’ denim market, where fit is paramount and style is evolving, can be challenging.
“The area is less competitive and full of opportunity, but you really have to be savvy, especially about fit, to get good real estate in stores,” he said.
Two years ago, Sergio Valente, owned by Seattle Pacific Industries, switched from a young, urban demographic to a more sophisticated, slightly older profile customer. Now using premium Japanese denim, retail prices increased to a range of $110 to $150 from $68. The brand also has dropped its former bull’s head logo.
With four rise options, from 6 to 8 inches, the waistline is contoured higher in back, with more room in the thigh. The new direction has allowed the company more exposure, especially in suburban areas of the country.
“We’ve found our niche — it’s the hip mom, ” said Kristen Peterson, vice president of sales at Sergio Valente. “Retailers kept saying, ‘We have jeans for the young kids, but wouldn’t it be nice to also offer something for the mom that is usually with them, paying for the jeans?’”
The most popular styles have been the Madison and Preston jeans, with clean lines and stretch for comfort, Peterson said.
At Chico’s, the Fort Meyers, Fla.-based national chain, a bellwether of fashion for older women, jeans are a key growth area, replacing some of the pull-on or elastic-waist pants that were popular. This fall, Chico’s added in-between sizes to its zero, one, two and three size ranges, for customers seeking more specific fits, and offered more variety in rises and silhouettes.
“Our customers are so happy to find jeans that fit and are comfortable, without wearing elastic waists,” said Pat Kerstein, Chico’s executive vice president and chief merchandise officer. “They know the trends and want to know how to wear them. We have a wide range of customers with different figure concerns, so variety is key.”
Etched Indigo, a Guntersville, Ala.-based denim line launched six years ago, has found that too many rises confuses the issue. Starting with 7- and 9-inch options, the line has pared down to one 9-inch rise, but offers three fits — slim, regular and curvy — and varies leg openings, for a hipper silhouette. The line also offers nine shades of indigo and numerous washings, including etching and hand-sanding techniques, developed in Winder, Ga. Founder Roger McCoy said retailers and consumers, once assured on fit, are more open to washes and artistic details.
“Domestic production allows us to be highly original and preserve artistic integrity,” said McCoy. “We know this market is wide open and underserved. Now our biggest challenge is convincing buyers that a jeans line can be cool, even if it’s not from New York or Los Angeles.”