<i> Haute Couture </i> Robs the Cradle : Fashion: Children’s retailers traditionally fare better than most in tough times, because parents hesitate to scrimp on their kids.
The models were a little shy at first. Some had to be coaxed from behind the curtain.
They wandered on stage at the Ritz-Carlton to show off $120 Ann Savoy dresses, $105 Katydid denim skirt and jacket combination and $38 Bami swimsuit, complete with water wings.
In the world of high fashion, Calvin Klein and Ann Taylor might be better-known names. But not for this crowd. The elegantly dressed diners seemed intrigued as they slurped hot chocolate from teacups and munched cookies served on silver trays. After all, most of them--and all of the models--were children.
The weekly fashion show--organized by Anne Weiler, owner of a Laguna Beach children’s clothing store--is a warm-up act for a weekly puppet show at the Dana Point resort hotel.
Children’s fashions have become big business in Orange County and elsewhere. Some major retailers--such as Laura Ashley, The Gap and Benetton--have started separate children’s lines. And other individual, high-end retail stores have sprung up to fill the demand for handmade dresses and baggy, pleated pants for fashion-conscious 9-year-olds.
Most merchants catering to the children’s market have been caught by the same economic slowdown that is spoiling other retailers’ profits this Christmas season. But analysts say children’s retailers traditionally fare better than most in tough times, because parents often hesitate to scrimp when it comes to their children.
“Parents always have money for their kids,” said Peggy Zamberlan, general manager of Bernans at South Coast Plaza, an upscale fashion store for children and young adults.
That’s because people who buy gifts for children are just as likely to buy with their hearts as with their heads. “Any time you can connect a retail purchase to something that is emotional, people are going to spend a lot more money than they normally would for it,” said Tony Cherbak, a retail consultant for the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche in Irvine.
Sales figures appear to bear out the phenomenon. Sales of women’s wear have dropped 2% in the past four years, while sales of clothing for pre-teen girls are up 9%, according to Kurt Salmon Associates, a New York consulting firm. And sales of apparel for young children of both sexes increased 25% last year, while there was just a 2% growth for the overall economy, according to a recent article in Forbes magazine.
A generation ago, few middle-class parents would have thought of paying top dollar for designer clothes that children will outgrow in a few months.
In Christmases past, a little girl might have gasped in delight at the sight of a ruffled skirt and matching blouse from Sears, Roebuck and Co. But in the designer-frenzied ‘90s, it might take a hand-embroidered appliqued dress from Dragonfly to gain the same reaction.
Today, more families have two working parents and more money to spend on children. And Orange County is more affluent than it used to be, particularly the South County.
“It’s a very lucrative market, especially here in Orange County,” said Cherbak of Deloitte & Touche. “People in Orange County are not the types to (buy) used clothing for their kids. They are yuppie types. So for these specialty children’s shops . . . this is the market.”
Some independent children’s wear merchants have learned the value of building a loyal clientele through special promotions. Besides the weekly fashion show, Anne Weiler holds such events as “clown days” and “princess beauty days,” where little girls can have their nails done and hair coiffed.
Weiler’s store, Kids Kloset/Kids Klub, sells such merchandise as a $350 denim jacket embroidered with a cityscape that lights up with the help of a hidden nine-volt battery.
Bernans occasionally serenades shoppers with child violinists from a nearby music school.
The store offers clothing staples for as little as $10 but also sells $300 hand-sewn dresses for girls and $66 Cavaricei pants for boys, says Zamberlan, the store manager.
Zamberlan said her store’s business seems to be getting stronger.
“I think the birthrate is up. Have you ever walked into this mall on a Saturday?” she asked. “We call it the Stroller Brigade.”
Even if it held steady or dropped, children’s clothiers always have an ace in the hole: Children constantly outgrow their wardrobe.
“Every month they are out of things,” said Becky Blake, owner of the Y Grow Up stores at MainPlace/Santa Ana and malls in Cerritos and Montebello. “For the double-income families, they want more quality. They are looking for something that’s different too.”
