Fashion Forward - Designer Kids Clothing Now at Moderate Prices

The old political statement, 'It's the economy stupid' sure rings true today. As in politics, so changes consumer shopping habits for boutique label kids clothes. Three years ago customers of upscale children's clothes rarely turned a tag over to look at price before they bought several thousand dollars worth of back to school clothes because it was all about picking the right labels with the hottest, freshest looks, whether it be European or American. Today, however, the vast majority, including me, do what I call a 'fashion reality check' and broadly look at the price to see if the fashion is being provided at a good value.

A quick check of some of the hottest kids labels shows a great girls coat close to $200 three years ago, but today $100, a fun bright girls summer dress $75 now $35 and an adorable baby outfit $60, now $30. Wow, I'm amazed at the number of kids clothing designers that have restructured their businesses to provide affordable fashion without compromising on quality.

It takes years to effect a successful business restructuring so did all these companies anticipate a soft economy? I think not. The catalyst for change was the big box retailer Target. As one of the nation's largest apparel sellers, Target raised the fashion value bar to new heights and set a standard that boutique labels needed to exceed to remain successful. In essence, branded apparel manufacturers need to provide products to specialty retailers which are cutting edge, fresh, novel, and at a price that screams value in order to remain in business.

This behavior has been extremely positive for specialty store owners because their product mix is still cutting edge, fresh and novel, but it is also represents a compelling value to the consumers of kids clothing. Specialty stores will never compete with Target on price, but with about 2,000 children's boutique label manufacturers pushing the fashion value edge, consumers will find a lot of extremely exciting fashion at moderate prices. Collectively these small upscale fashion designers offer a product mix that could never be produced for the mass market.

Thank you Target, you made the upscale kids clothes industry change for the better! And just in time for a softer economy.

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