The Spring trench coat is a different animal to the trusty Autumn trench you might already have hanging in your wardrobe. While the classic long-sleeved, double or single breasted beige creature is forever fashionable, you might want to have a  bit of fun with the new styles that are in store at the moment. This cheeky version of the original is cropped in length, shorter in sleeve and definitely not beige! Tailored and belted in keeping with the true spirit of a trench, this perky update is bound to kickstart any Spring wardrobe.

If you feel that you’d rather stick to a classic trench for Spring, then you’ll still be in style. Sophisticated and elegant options are available from Ann Taylor and Banana Republic at the moment. But if you fancy freshening up that classic look – go short, flirty and bold instead. Your new mini rendition is the perfect complement to trouser jeans, slim-legged pants, flouncy skirts and walk shorts. A high ROI is guaranteed.

Cropped trenches from J. Crew, Macy’s, Anthropologie, Arden B. and Bebe.

Esprit is a German chain store and a brand known for it’s uncomplicated, sporty European style and clean-cut, crisp looking merchandise. Their fit is roomier than fellow European retailers and quality usually superior. They offer casual and smart casual clothing / accessories for men and women at affordable prices.

Esprit was a great brand to own in the ‘80’s and early 90’s, but battled a bit when giants like H&M and Zara took over most of the European contemporary fashion scene. Suddenly their look seemed expensive and basic (sound familiar?). In a world where people want more for their fashion dollar, Esprit was forced to make changes. They realized that “basic was less desirable” and are back on the map. Their casual wear is once again a strength for both the funky urbanite and modern classic.

Esprit is available all over Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. You’ll find stand alone stores in New York City, but elsewhere in the United States Nordstrom is your only option. I’ve recently added Esprit items back into my wardrobe and thoroughly recommend them. Perhaps the Gap could look to Esprit for inspiration?

Esprit are doing a great job of educating customers on their websites. These styles show how effortlessly their items can be layered and co-ordinated. Try creating similar casual combinations with the clothes you already have in your wardrobe.

With Spring only a month away, it’s time to prune those closets again before you add the sparkle of the new season. Re-evaluate each piece and be ruthless. Don’t forget about your sock, underwear, work-out and accessory drawers. You should love everything in your closet.

What can you do with the clothing and accessories that you don’t love?

• Take them to a consignment store. This is an option if your items are in pristine condition. You won’t get much for most items, but it’ll buy you and a friend a cup of tea.
• Sell them on E-bay. You need to be Internet-savvy and prepared to ship your goods to their new owner, but if your items are branded you might recoup a reasonable fraction of the original price.
• Have a clothing swap party with your friends. If that sounds like too much effort, give your friends a gift that you know they’ll love more than you did.
• Donate them to a charity or non-profit. Options include The Salvation Army, Good Will and Dress for Success. You’ll be able to claim a tax deduction and feel doubly good knowing that someone else who literally had nothing to wear will have a new outfit.

Get cracking with your closet-clean out. The sooner you pass those items along, the sooner you’ll get to replace them with goodies that update your look and make you feel fab.

My perfect pants length mantra is seldom followed by fashion models who sport the pages of catalogues, websites and magazines. The hems of their pants hardly ever skim the surface of the floor (which is what I encourage to increase your style quotient). Have you ever wondered why this is? The answer might not be what you expect.

A modeling photo shoot for a garment that the buyer has ordered for a retail store is usually done 2-4 months before the garment is available in stores, and even before the actual order has been produced or delivered. The clothing that the models wear for the shoot are the standard prototypes that the retail buyers use to approve the final order. These prototypes are made in regular lengths (32-33 inch seams) because they need to comply with store approved size specifications. Models, however, are very tall and would ordinarily buy their pants with extra length (34 to 36 inch seams).  It’s no wonder that their pant lengths fall short when they have to model prototypes that are designed for real women.

For a retailer to request an additional prototype with a longer inseam length for advertising purposes (so that the model can sport perfect pants lengths) may seem like an easy solution, but it’s virtually impossible. Clothing manufacturers operate on extremely tight budgets and timelines. They jump through many tedious and bureaucratic  hoops to get the prototype of an order approved by the buying department. To do this twice would delay production which would in turn harm store sales.

Designer fashion shows are different. Models on the runway wear garments that are customized for their bodies – which is why their pants are usually the correct length.

So it’s all about money! Hopefully sites like mine can help you to make sense of the fashion industry’s idiosyncrasies. Are there other things that puzzle you in the world of fashion retail? Let me know in the comments or privately on Ask Angie and I’ll try to address them in future blog entries.

Great pants, poor lengths. Examples from Banana Republic and Ann Taylor.