The Business of Fashion.

The “dressing up” trend is seen as one of the factors fueling the growth in the U.S. fashion market, both footwear and apparel, according to The NPD Group, Inc.

“We continue to be optimistic about the growth in U.S. apparel sales; however, it is cautious optimism.” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst. “To truly fuel growth, department stores, other retailers, and manufacturers need to pay careful attention to consumers so they can meet the demands of the marketplace and offer a unique and exciting merchandise mix that connects with their customers.”

The “dressing up” trend is seen as one of the factors fueling the growth in the U.S. fashion market, both footwear and apparel, according to The NPD Group, Inc., leading provider of consumer and retail information. “We continue to be optimistic about the growth in U.S. apparel sales; however, it is cautious optimism.” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst. “To truly fuel growth, department stores, other retailers, and manufacturers need to pay careful attention to consumers so they can meet the demands of the marketplace and offer a unique and exciting merchandise mix that connects with their customers.”

The categories of notable growth in women’s apparel were dresses and hosiery. “We certainly heard a lot about dresses this year,” said Cohen, “and it would seem so did the female consumer. Dress sales were up over 7% this year. And from what I’ve seen that trend should continue.”

An integral part of the burgeoning dress trend is hosiery. Designers, magazines, and retailers showed dresses with leggings and the consumer bought the trend. Overall women’s hosiery sales are up 3.5%. Tights sales lead the way with 33.6% growth. “Of particular note are the sales numbers for women’s sheer hosiery. For the first time in ten years sales grew and by 6.5%,” noted Cohen.

Men’s apparel also posted growth. Here again the ‘dressing up’ trend is still evident. Overall, the bottoms category is up 8.5%. The pants/slacks category (a dressier option) posted 7.2% growth while jeans posted 5.4% growth. Even dressier is the suit. When looking at the suits category and the actual pieces purchased, we see that the unit volume is up 6.2% for 2006. “Suits are stronger in the younger men’s market. Younger men are realizing the benefits of dressing up … ‘dress for success’ has become ‘dress to impress,’ ”

commented Cohen, “And the unit volume trend has a lot has to do with price point. When you have mass merchant retailers offering suits for $84, all of a sudden it becomes much easier and much more accessible to those men who have limited dollars to purchase a suit. Men 25-34, increased their purchases by 13.4%, while men 18- 24 purchased 11.6% more suits this year than last.”

Men’s fashion footwear year end numbers continue to support the “dressing up” trend seen in men’s apparel. Sales in the dress/casual category are up 13.7%, and the dress category is up 19.3% over 2005.

Women’s fashion footwear year end numbers also complement the dressing up trend seen in the apparel numbers with evening shoes posting 13.5% growth.

Summing up 2006 footwear sales, Cohen had this to say, “Department stores, here again need to re-examine their model and look at places like the self serve stores. I see stores like Famous Footwear, DSW, and Payless gaining. They have clearly made a connection with the consumer. Consumers love the convenience and speed to shop there, not to mention the lower prices and increased emphasis on fashion.”

For more information at http://www.npd.com