Fashions Trends of This Fall

This article outlines very well the cutting-edge fashions of this fall: What Do Girls Want? by Cathy Horyn, New York Times. In a couple of words, this fall are hot: "wearable colors" - sophisticated greens and peaches, refined grunge (chunky knits, faux fur coats), Americana (polos and dark rolled up denim), longer skirts and high-waist winter shorts with thigh-high socks. An interesting agglomeration!

But what I liked best about this article is some amazing insight it gives on today's generation of young shoppers and their shopping preferences. Here are two most powerful excerpts which give a great update on the theory and hint on direct practical implications.

On today's shopper:
"There is plenty of research about the so-called Millennials — people ages 18 to 29 — to suggest you can’t lump them all together. Not only is this group likely to become the most educated generation in American history, according to a Pew Research Center survey this year, it is also the most racially and ethnically diverse. At the same time, this generation’s 37 percent unemployment rate is certain to affect taste. It may explain an underlying conservatism in fall fashion — penny loafers, camel coats, longer hemlines — that goes beyond “Mad Men” hype."

On the power of the Web and the importance of great shopping experience:
"Women like Ms. Byun, or Lauren Wynns, a 27-year-old law student in Washington, who works for a business consulting firm, or Nicky Deam, a 25-year-old publicist in New York, do much of their shopping online. Ms. Wynns, for one, said she now gets most of her fashion information from online retailers like Lagarconne.com, Revolveclothing.com and Shopbop, and from blogs rather than magazines. And because a lot of high-end apparel is hard to find online — compared with the amount shown on runways — it’s not surprising that young women now seem to gauge their interest in a brand not in terms of its prestige or craft but rather in terms of its accessibility. Even if Ms. Wynns could afford their products, she said, “their Web sites aren’t really tailored to a great shopping experience.”
You can understand why brands like Chanel want to limit their Web exposure, but what happens to interest if the immediate outlet is blocked? “This is not a generation that will wait to get a number for admission,” said Candace Corlett, a partner at WSL Strategic Retail in New York, a retail consultant. “They’ll find another way to get what they want.”"