So much style and it’s wasted… Issue #39

How the economy is cramping your style

By Stephanie Niedospial
Published: March 1st, 2009 | 2:46pm

It seems that there’s not a business left on earth that isn’t feeling the dwindling economy — hey, even the porn industry asked for a federal bailout — but the true effects of the recession arrived to the retail clothing world — ahem — fashionably late.

Which begs the question — what’s out for spring? Consumer choice, it seems. This season it’ll be much easier to look like your neighbors and a lot more difficult to find unique fashion items and designer pieces. “In the next year, I think every (retailer) will focus on very edited assortments. Making sure they have the right product, at the right price, in the right location without a lot of excess inventory,” says Julia Gee, Assistant Buyer, Macy’s East.

So why the limited inventory? To answer that, you’ll need a crash-course in the way the fashion biz works: buyers for most department stores and boutiques typically order products six months prior to actually selling them in the stores. The amount they spend is determined by budgets derived from an analysis that occurs up to nine months prior. This means that what is in stores now was ordered six months ago, and the numbers that determined what, and how much, to order were contrived from sales that happened nine to 12 months ago.

So back before the 2008 holiday season, when we were all watching the market plummet with our mouths agape, store buyers were watching seasonal shoppers “holding onto their money and being more selective with how it is spent,” says Gee. In turn, these buyers took their meager budgets and scooped up fewer Spring ’09 items, and are likely selecting even fewer pieces for Fall ’09 release.

But it’s not doom-and-gloom for all facets of the clothing industry; low-priced, trend-conscious companies such as H&M and other fast-fashion retailers are seeing profits and expansion. Ditto those much-lauded designer big-box collaborations. Designers like Doo.Ri, Thakoon, and Zac Posen have all announced the creation of lower-priced lines in the coming year. So at least you get to rock more designer duds for cheap — even if everyone on the bus is sporting the same Thakoon for Target tunic.

Fortunately, Venus Zine readers already have the creative chops necessary to weather this recession and maintain individuality: use your instincts to mix vintage pieces and handmade finds with fast-fashion basics.