Fashion Industry Is Betting
That Somber Is Seriously In
By TERI AGINS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Alfred Moran makes a point of looking sharp when he goes to work these days, donning navy pinstripe suits and pricey Hermes ties. They're part of a new formal look the corporate consultant says clients want to see.
But when it's time to kick back and meet friends for dinner, Mr. Moran puts on ... suits and Hermes ties? "Women like it," the 48-year-old says.
• So what should you be wearing this fall? Take a look at some of the "serious" fashions that are now in stores and some laid-back wear from recent years.
• Cast your vote: Are you going back to more formal dress at your office? Participate in the Question of the Day.
Suit up: The look for fall is serious, sober and button-down -- at work and at play. With banker suits and librarian-length skirts, the $140 billion-a-year fashion industry is hoping to ride the new serious Zeitgeist that reflects everything from a shaky economy to just-yesterday's business scandals. This fall, the first season featuring clothes designed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, retailers from Macy's to Men's Wearhouse are betting consumers will, finally, want to look grown up. The men's suits are gray, navy and pinstripe. Women's hemlines are, sedately, midcalf. And the neckties? They're Reagan-era red.
Of course, fashion marketers have been trying for years to trumpet the return of dressier -- and more expensive -- clothes, but it's always turned out to be wishful thinking. Baby-boomer shoppers generally stuck with the cheap casual tops, khakis and capris they had bought on sale during previous seasons. Apparel sales have fallen 5% this year, and now the big fall shopping season opens amid a whipsaw economy.
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