Impressions - March 2015 - 44

The women's
Vansport Omega
ruched polo (style
2611) is ﬂattering to
women of all shapes
and sizes.

Bebon insists today's
discriminating womenswear
buyer is seeking wovens with
slimmer silhouetting and sculpted
looks, as well as darting and pleating
that accentuate the female form.
Yeung says a younger demographic
is being targeted with wovens in a more
urban-driven, retail-savvy corporate environment. "They want designer trends in
what they wear," she says. "We are edging
the retail line [and are getting] closer than
ever to retail than we ever had been."
Lee Strom, director of marketing, SanMar, agrees, but also stakes this industry's
claim on being at the forefront of brand development. "This is now the industry where
brands can spring into retail," he says. "For
instance, art - the way the imprint is designed and positioned on a T-shirt - can
make that tee so cool, so in demand, that
the art is the reason why retailers are featuring it or why people go online to buy
it. We are leading retail in that way for the
ﬁrst time in our industry's history."
Mary Ellen Sokalski, MAS, is the
founder and chief creative ofﬁcer of The Scarlet Marketeer, Cherry Hill, N.J. She has 33
years of marketing experience (including numerous industry awards), specializing in the
decorated apparel and promotional products
industries. For information or to comment on
this article, email Mary Ellen at maryellen@
scarletmarketeer.com.
44

Impressions | March 2015

The Importance

Ladies'
Choices
Fit
of

pparel decorators operate in a competitive market today. The
key to sustaining and growing business is happy customers.
Many factors go into a executing a ﬁnal product that
customers love. At the forefront of the list are design, style,
color, fabric and ﬁt.
As the T-shirt market has grown and evolved, so have
the choices for ladies' T-shirt styles and ﬁts. Today's woman
demands more than ever from her clothing. Studies have shown that women have three primary
considerations when searching for the correct ﬁt: physical characteristics, aesthetics and functionality.
Women also now expect trendy styles, comfortable fabrics and a range of colors.
Decorators who pay attention to the importance of ﬁt for their female customers will have an
advantage over those who don't. Women will go to great lengths to ﬁnd the right outﬁt for an event or
outing, and ﬁt is a big consideration in the garment they choose.

JUNIORS' AND LADIES' FITS

Yes, there is a difference between juniors' and ladies' ﬁts. But confusion reigns in our industry
because ﬁt and sizing standards vary, as does terminology. Often, juniors' sizing is sold for women.
Retailers have recognized the risk in confusion and have traditionally marketed juniors' and ladies' ﬁts
clearly by having separate departments. But even that line is blurring as women's tastes favor younger
styles and more shopping is now done online instead of in stores.
The juniors' ﬁt is tailored to tweens who tend to wear more narrow, ﬁtted garments. True ladies' ﬁts
ﬂatter a woman's silhouette and curves. Selling a junior's piece to a woman with a developed ﬁgure
simply doesn't work. However, a ladies' ﬁt that includes a modern cut with a longer length mirroring the
concept of the juniors' piece works.

SELLING FIT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

There are two keys to selling the right ﬁt to your customers. First, ask your customer how she wants
the shirts to look and ﬁt. Second, understand the ﬁt options and specs your supplier provides. Have your
female employees and customers try them on so you can see how they ﬁt. Then, you can recommend ﬁt
and spec with conﬁdence.
- Rebecca Clements is chief marketing ofﬁcer for LAT Apparel and Deanna Miller is senior marketing
manager for LAT Apparel, Ball Ground, Ga.
impressionsmag.com

http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - March 2015

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