Here’s one less thing for parents to worry about when their child heads off to school this fall: Skin is out.
Instead, the more conservative preppy look is back.
“The Britney [Spears] look is dead,” said Neil Stern, an analyst for McMillan Doolittle, a Chicago retail consultant. “There’s more covering up happening.”
For girls, the preppy look is complete with plaid, pleated skirts, shawls and ponchos. For guys, preppy calls for collared shirts with bold colors and stripes and boot-cut jeans.
Early estimates indicate that this is shaping up to be another strong back-to-school season for retailers–the second most important season of the year behind holiday sales in November and December. And a good back-to-school season is usually a precursor to strong year-end sales.
So far, “retailers have gotten the fashion cycles right and consumers are willing to reinvest into apparel, something they haven’t done in the past two years,” said Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Chicago-based ShopperTrak, which follows retail sales nationwide, said back-to-school sales are up nearly 10 percent from the same period last year.
“Sales are pretty strong so far, although it is still early for the back-to-school season in Chicago,” said Jason Milch, a spokesman for ShopperTrak.
Families with school-age children will spend an average of $483.28 on back-to-school items including clothes, shoes and school supplies, which is an increase of 7.2 percent from last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Nike-branded spiral-bound notebooks and backpacks that light up are among the popular items at Office Max this season, according to Sean Clark, vice president of merchandising for the chain.
However, the bulk of back-to-school dollars will be spent on apparel.
At Moosejaw Mountaineering, back-to-school sales are sharply higher than last year due to demand for North Face products that include daypacks and fleece jackets, said Jeffrey Wolfe, vice president and co-owner of the East Lansing, Mich.-based chain.
Even Moosejaw hooded sweatshirts have become popular items at the chain’s two Chicago-area locations, he said.
J.C. Penney Co. is looking forward to its fourth straight solid back-to-school shopping season and has already seen an 8 percent increase from last year, spokesman Tim Lyons said.
Sears, Roebuck and Co., which did not release back-to-school sales figures so far, anticipates a shopping season that will extend for more than a month as some students wait to see what their peers wear, spokeswoman Rochelle Williams said.
But some parents and students aren’t going all-out to create a new look.
Jewelry, for instance, is helping to renew an existing wardrobe. Broaches and pins fit with the assortment of ponchos and blazers.
Orla Castanien, owner of Nuada, an Irish contemporary fashion boutique in Lincoln Park, said the store is selling more jewelry than a year ago as shoppers opt to accessorize rather than buy new clothes.
Castanien, whose boutique is near such major clothing retailers as Banana Republic, said the most popular jewelry items include simple, organic styles by Irish designer John Rocha, which range from $60 to $260.
“This type of jewelry is reflective of the conservative and simplistic nature of the season,” Castanien said.
Still, retailers are getting their hopes up because early figures are promising. They have also managed to get the merchandise out earlier.
“Fall goods at full price are selling earlier,” said analyst Stern. “It’s a better barometer of what’s going to sell and the focus is being right on fashion.”
Moosejaw, for instance, got their products in July instead of August this year. “When products are hot, people start shopping earlier,” Wolfe said.
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Back-to-school trends
In
– Blazers
– Boot-cut jeans
– Button-down/collared shirts in colors/stripes
– Chuck Taylor high-tops
– Country club, preppy look
– Drawstring mini-backpacks
– Hooded sweatshirts
– iPods
– North Face daypacks
– Ponchos
– Plaid, pleated skirts
Out
– Superbaggy, frayed jeans
– Low-rise jeans
– Von Dutch trucker hats
– Midriffbaring shirts
– Ugg boots
