Comments on: Life after jeans: Are denim’s days numbered?

By: WeLoveDenim - Editor

WeLoveDenim - Editor — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:36:12 +0000

Thanks Stevie! We’d love for you to guest write for us sometime! I agree, I love Joe’s and find them to be highly underrated. We’ll try to dig up some more dirt on some of the other brands you mentioned!

By: Stevie

Stevie — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:02:07 +0000

as something of a denim and fashion expert (I have interviewed over 100 denim lines, am an expert denim fitter and am a fashion editor), denim isn’t going to go out of style– however the market is in transition because of
1) that a lot of brands are suitable for a huge group of women out there that are size 12 .. or those with specific body types that make them hard to fit.
2) the price points of 200 dollars make it very hard to maintain- particularly in those top tier brands and they are suffering from lower sales. Thus the option for them is either change up their cut/styles completely or expand the range of their *brand* into new segments. They opted for the latter and don’t have to depend on denim to make the bottom line.
3) the market is showing more feminine silhouette trends like skirts and dresses because they fit more women easily.. but if you look at the niche or boutique brand denims and those who watch their trends carefully and launch different tweaks to styles, those are the brands that are doing well. They keep their inventory low, they spread across the country into different outlets and don’t keep too much stock in stores.
brands to watch out for
Level 99 and Level for men
Freedom of Choice
Denim of Virtue
Thirteen Denim

Less emphasis on the bigger brands except those that work well on women (*rather than teen/college age body types0
David Kahn
Paige Premium who has expanded into larger sizes and maternity
Christopher Blue
Red Engine
WHY? because they are a bit more body friendly and less body conscious with a higher rise and fit that works for more bodies.

Those who are going too trendy aren’t going to last long in the market.
Seven, Citizens, True Religion are spreading out because they aren’t selling as well
Joe’s on the other hand is doing significantly better because their fits are consistently on the mark from size to size, style to style PLUS they don’t do anything overly trendy or in a lot of inventory. However Joe’s has been changing strategy and not sure how well that’s going to work for them because when you change strategy, it better be with the best team.
Others who need to watch for the fall-out
Frankie B, AG jeans, Antik, Chip & Pepper, Earnest Sewn,

Other things that will carry more weight:
eco-friendly washes,
stretch,
some color but don’t count on that trend lasting
dark colors will be great, less destruction, a touch more on embellishment and brands that allow customization

sorry for the long reply
Stevie

By: I return TRIUMPHANT! — Goth and Rock blog

I return TRIUMPHANT! — Goth and Rock blog — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 05:00:12 +0000

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By: mgoose

mgoose — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 22:39:09 +0000

We’ve been seeing less and less denim for men, but it always be a weekend wardrobe staple, but we could go back to 10 years ago when a lot of nicer clubs had “no denim” as part of their dress code.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:39:08 +0000

khaki’s aren’t really all that cool anyway

By: Nova

Nova — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:34:38 +0000

I don’t know that it will EVER go out of style… but there is only so much designer denim that people can have… the funny part is most of the world is denim’d out… yet areas like where i am from are just catching on… so there may be a short boost in sales but it’ll flat line again because there are only so many styles and pairs that people are going to want.