Tag Archives: clothing

by | Sunday, November 14, 2021 · 12:29 pm

Socks are Hot

We long for comfort and style in our dress. Sometimes the stylish fashions are not comfortable, but when it comes to socks, we can have both style and comfort now. Why settle for boring old dark dress socks when you can instead wear vibrant, colorful socks that express your personality and fashion sense?

Indeed, socks are booming right now. As people return to the office (and school), their clothing choices have changed. Comfort is more important the fancy dress. And not only have socks become fashionable, many companies also embrace a social mission with purchases.

For example, companies including Bombas  and London Sock Co. donate socks for every purchase made. Company MERGE4 partnered with the San Diego Zoo on a special edition that gives back to wildlife conservancy. And, Cicada uses its socks to raise awareness of environmental issues such as ocean waste and animal poaching.

Socks are a way to make a statement  without being garish. While these socks are more expensive than the mass-market white athletic socks, they are a low-cost way to stand out.

What’s on your feet?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Ask students to look at their feet. What are their socks? Athletic, dress, fashion?
  2. Show sock websites: Bombas: https://bombas.com/
  3. Cicada: https://www.cicadasocks.com/
  4. London Sock Co: https://www.londonsockcompany.com/
  5. Boardroom Socks: https://boardroomsocks.com/
  6. Merge4Socks: https://merge4.com/
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team review a different website selling socks as well as the company’s social media presence.
  8. What is the messaging for each company?
  9. How can these sites be differentiated and marketed?
  10. Have each team develop a social media marketing campaign for their company.

Source:  Ad Week; Footwear News

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | Tuesday, August 24, 2021 · 7:39 am

The Rise of Used Clothing Purchasing

There is no doubt that the pandemic changed shopping habits – both what we buy as well as how we buy. Work clothes such as suits and ties are trending down, and more relaxed and casual clothes are trending up. But that’s only part of the story. Sustainability in clothing is also on an upward trend.

To learn more about this, a survey by Adweek-Morning Consult surveyed 2,200 U.S. adults about where they buy clothing, and how they dispose of clothing they no longer want. Among the survey results findings was that 70% of Americans think sustainability is at least somewhat important when deciding how to get rid of unneeded clothing. And, 65% said that sustainability is at least somewhat important when selecting clothing to wear.

Other findings:

  • 79% have purchased used clothing at some point.
  • 20% buy used clothing most or all of the time.
  • 30% of Millennials buy used clothing most or all of the time.
  • 18% of Gen Z buy used clothing at least most of the time.
  • 72% of Gen Z and 74% of Millennials said sustainability was at least somewhat important.
  • 79% said they considered donating clothing as a sustainable option.
  • 59% felt selling clothing was sustainable.

While the numbers are promising, the proof is in the implementation for clothing companies. A recent agreement between Madewell and clothing resale platform thredUP aims to capitalize on this. Madewell (owned by J. Crew) will have a dedicated microsite the its website and will offer a curated selection of used (or ‘preloved’) Madewell jeans.

Old jeans can be brought to Madewell stores, which then assesses the condition of the clothes. If the clothing can live on, it is sold to someone. If the jeans are a little too worn to be sold, they are recycled into housing insulation through Blue Jeans Go Green. The lower price of Madewell jeans on the resales website also opens up sales to a market that is unable or unwilling to pay the high price of new jeans.

What did you buy lately?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What types of clothes do they buy? New or used? Where? Why?
  2. View thredUP’s 2021 resale report: https://www.thredup.com/resale/#resale-industry
  3. Show thredUP website: https://www.thredup.com/
  4. Show Madewell preowned site: https://madewellforever.thredup.com/
  5. Show Blue Jeans Go Green site: https://bluejeansgogreen.org/
  6. In teams, have students go to these websites and browse clothing items.
  7. Have them consider price, style, etc.
  8. Now that they have viewed resale websites, have their attitudes about buying and clothing changed?
  9. How can sustainability issues be addressed by other clothing manufacturers and retailers?

Source:  AdWeek

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | Friday, July 16, 2021 · 2:34 pm

Victoria’s Secret Updates Brand Personality

Branding is a critical thing – while usually a strong marketing point, it can also be used to defeat you. Think about brands that need to be revised, even if they have a strong position.

Let’s try it. What is the first brand that comes to mind for the phrase “sexy women’s lingerie?” Go ahead, think. I’ll wait. (Yeah, right, I don’t need to wait more than a brief second.) You said “Victoria’s Secret,” right?

Now, picture the Victoria’s Secret’s advertisements and images. The images focus on bodies that would be at home in Playboy magazine; bodies encased in wings, feathers, bangles, and sparkles.  Sexy supermodels. Remember the Victoria’s Secret Angels and TV fashion show? Certainly glitzy and entertaining, but not really an honest portrait for or of the average woman, and certainly not an image that connotes strong, fearless, women and their accomplishments.

The brand has recognized that it needs a refresh for today’s culture, and to that end has garnered representation from female trailblazers and icons including: Megan Rapinoe (soccer), Eileen Gu (Chinese American skier), Paloma Elsesser (biracial model and size 14), and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Indian actor and tech investor), Valentina Sampaio (Brazilian trans model), Adut Akech (South Sudanese refugee and model), and Amanda de Cadenet (photographer).  Not a supermodel in the bunch.

Victoria’s Secret new approach is to become a leading global “advocate” for female empowerment, focusing on women’s reality rather than male fantasy images. The stakes are high. With a market share of 21%, revenue of more than $7 billion, 1,400 stores, and 32,000 retail jobs the company has a lot on the line. Critics decry the company’s links to a misogynistic culture that honored sexism, sizeism, and ageism.

Looks like rebranding can be a good thing.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What brand comes to mind when you say “sexy female lingerie?”
  2. What images come to mind for Victoria’s Secret? What do the models look like? What is the focus of the advertising?
  3. Does this focus reflect today’s female culture?
  4. What do students think could be done to bring Victoria’s Secret branding to a more relevant place?
  5. Show a recent video: https://youtu.be/Pe3Nob7QM28
  6. Show the website: https://www.victoriassecret.com/us/
  7. What brands compete with Victoria’s Secret?
  8. What is their positioning?

Source:  New York Times; other news sources

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,