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Spring & Summer Shopping Reminder

— by Angie

on April 19, 2017

It might not feel like Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, but at retail, Spring and Summer 2017 has been in full swing for a while. If you leave your Spring and Summer wardrobe refresh until warm June and July, you might fall short. By the time June rolls around in the northern hemisphere, stores are full of beach wear like shorts, T-shirts, skimpy tops, sandals and short sleeveless dresses. It’s slim pickings for almost everything else.

If you plan to shop for the following items to refresh your wardrobes for Spring and Summer, try to get them before June. That way you’ll get the best assortment of sizes and styles:

Business casual and business formal clothing
Lightweight jackets and toppers
Cardigans
Sleeved dresses
Sleeved tops
Tops made of substantial fabrics
Crisp cotton knitwear
Crisp open-weave knitwear
Dressy dresses
White jeans
Casual pants that are “leg-covering” like linen joggers, tulip styles, breezy cotton wide leg pants, and chinos.
Swimwear

Years ago I learned this the hard way by taking clients shopping for a full style renewal in June and July – and coming home disappointed with the very small dent we made in their shopping list. I know better now and warn clients that we have to shop earlier in the year for the items that I’ve listed above.

Shopping Strategy

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Good Old Gingham

— by Angie

on April 18, 2017

Gingham is a simple, two-toned checked pattern made up of geometric squares. The squares can be large or small. Gingham fabric is usually woven, although gingham knits are gaining momentum. Gingham is most popular in blue, black and red checks. But you can get gingham in just about any colour when it’s combined with white. In a crisp and cool cotton, gingham is particularly nice for Spring and Summer.

The history of gingham is quite interesting. I was surprised to see that the word “gingham” is derived from the Malaysian word “genggang” meaning “striped”, which was then adopted by the Dutch in Dutch-colonized Malaysia.

Although gingham wafts in and out of fashion as a major trend, it’s a Modern Classic pattern that’s always in style. It’s a check, which means that like stripes, polka dots, lace and animal prints, it has a high longevity factor with excellent pattern mixing potential. It’s versatile, and can function as a false plain when the checks are extra small. Its Modern Retro sensibility can be appealing. Brigitte Bardot wore a pink gingham wedding dress in the late ‘50s, which started a massive trend and a shortage of the fabric in France.

You’ll find gingham wardrobe items every season, but many more of them when the pattern is having a trendy moment. That’s the case this year, so feast your eyes on these lovelies. All sorts of gingham goodies across an assortment of items, colours, and sizes of the pattern. Oversized gingham looks particularly playful and bold.