Women of Colour : L.A.’s Cross Colours Now Does Tapered, Sexy Clothes for Juniors
For 14-year-old Cassandra Bradshaw, the best and quickest place to find hip and funky sportswear is her 16-year-old brother’s closet.
“My brother hates it but I always borrow his Cross Colours jacket whenever he’s not wearing it,” says Bradshaw, who prefers oversize shorts, Ts and jackets to frilly floral dresses. “My mom won’t buy me Cross Colours. She says those are boys’ clothes.”
Parental approval notwithstanding, teen-age girls account for nearly 30% of Cross Colours’ customers. Armed with those statistics, and yearning to bridge the gender gap, the hot L.A.-based maker of young men’s bright-colored denim jackets, baggy shorts and jeans recently launched a signature collection for the opposite sex.
“A lot of women were buying the men’s line, but at the same time there were a lot of women who weren’t buying the line at all because it wasn’t sexy enough,” notes Cross Colours co-owner Carl Jones, who expects the new label to attract 16- to 22-year-olds who like the men’s line but would prefer a similar look of her own.
Jones says the company--which recently topped the $40-million mark in sales--has shipped nearly $1 million worth of clothes to selected stores.
“We don’t want to grow the women’s business as fast as we grew the men’s,” Jones says, adding that unbridled growth resulted in a rush of counterfeit Cross Colours items. “We’d like to be more selective as to the stores that carry it and the presentations they make with it.”
The new collection, nicknamed Women of Colour, made its entrance this month at the Broadway, Bullock’s and Miller’s Outpost. Buyers say the women’s line is already attracting an audience.
“We just got the line in . . . and we’re selling out of the hooded T-shirts and denim jeans,” says Pat Turner, a spokeswoman for the Broadway.
The new 60-piece line, designed by Walker and Helen Hagland, includes some crossover items from the men--baggy “sueded” cotton denim jeans, work jackets, and relaxed-fit, knee-length shorts. Aside from youthful shapes and bright colors, however, the collections are playgrounds apart.
While the young men’s is mostly oversized and rebellious, the juniors’ is tapered and sexy. A form-fitting, hooded Lycra-spandex bodysuit in contrasting colors, with a bold label across the chest, is the signature piece. It’s shown under multicolored denim jeans with matching denim jackets or under short shorts or denim miniskirt.
Most prices fall between $40 and $75; T-shirts, baseball caps and floppy hats sell for as little as $20 while an anorak jacket tips the scale at $110.
Upcoming additions, scheduled for delivery in December and January, include more whimsical items, such as multicolor-striped jersey knit bell-bottom leggings and matching bodysuit.
