California Apparel News

In an effort to expand on its current lineup of basic and contemporary denim, 4WhatItsWorth, the Commerce, Calif.-based parent company to sportswear and junior lines Tyte and Etoile Bleu, has created a line of missy jeans and bottoms called Beau Dawson.

“We wanted to create fashions for women who want the same look found in junior lines but made to fit older women,” said 4WhatItsWorth owner and chief executive officer Alden Halpern.

The bottoms-driven collection debuted at the Aug. 5–7 Intermezzo show in New York and will also be on display at the Sep. 23–25 Fashion Coterie show in New York.

The line is being targeted at a contemporary yet mature woman, Halpern said.

The 35-piece collection ranges from regular boot-cut styles to low rise and comes in a variety of novelty treatments. The line’s collection of stretch bottoms comes in a variety of colors and is made with cotton/Lycra fabric from Italy.

Wholesale prices range from $54 for a pair of basic stretch jeans to $69 for a pair of novelty-treated jeans, with retail points up to $150.

In order to get a head start on marketing the new line, 4WhatItsWorth recently hired Alex Michaels, former head of contemporary missy label White On White, to lead the division’s national sales office.

With its sights set on national distribution, the company recently set up offices at Evan’s Place in New York, Madeline and Associates in Florida and Ditchik Zuckerman in Los Angeles.

4WhatItsWorth’s business is expanding to include a group of denim categories for women of all ages. Halpern said that creating a fashion-forward style with a cutting edge for misses was just a small part of the company’s overall brand-building efforts.

When the company launched its first junior denim line, Tyte, six years ago, its focus was on mainstream markets. Last year the company followed up with a more fashion-forward, contemporary line, Etoile Bleu.

Both lines are currently sold separately at Wet Seal, Gadzooks and Charlotte Russe as well as better department stores including Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Last year, the company reported combined earnings at $18 million, Halpern said. This year, both lines are projected to reach over $20 million in sales.

The company hopes the monetary success of both lines will rub off on Beau Dawson, which is projected to reach $4 million its first year.

“The company has already established itself in juniors,” explained Halpern. “The reason we started Etoile Bleu and Beau Dawson is because we believe in the future of the better contemporary market, and since we already have great production and design capabilities, it was a natural direction for the company.” —Claudia Figueroa