California Apparel News

Now that the prestigious academic International Astronomical Union has demoted poor little Pluto to less-than-planet status, you might find it interesting to know what that’s been doing for T-shirt sales on the Internet.

Sites including findatee.com, cafepress.com and bestees.org as well as eBay.com and even craigslist.org started moving Pluto-related merchandise almost immediately after the I.A.U.’s announcement last month that Pluto had been downgraded to a “dwarf planet.”

A whole online marketing fad has been spawned based on saving Pluto’s designation as a coveted member of the solar system. Phrases such as “Stop Planetary Discrimination” and “PLUTO 2006: Running as an Independent Candidate” have been keeping silk-screeners busy as online orders flood the Web. “Pluto, we hardly knew ye ... 1930–2006” is available in adult and kids’ apparel, as well as caps and bags.

For women, Phoenix-based besttees.org now offers 21 Pluto-oriented variations on a pink blank. For men, the range is white (21) or black (21). The site also appears to be an impressive portal for a list of specialized companion sites, including BestFUNNYTees.com, BestPOLITICALTees.com, BestGAYTees.com, BestWINETees.com and BestPOKERTees.com. Customer service is well-developed and presented with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

On Cafepress.com, the San Francisco–area Internet company that custom-prints T-shirts and other items, an explosion of Pluto inventory was up within a day of the news. A few days later, the site featured 200 designs on more than 1,500 products.

Cafepress.com works quite different from other online retailers. It’s not promoting its own tee designs. Its goal is to solicit artists and designers to open their own shops on the site. It gives them a free online shop to promote their work, produces each item when ordered using its printon- demand technology, handles all payment transactions including major credit cards and ships the tees worldwide.

It also manages all returns and exchanges and conducts customer service via toll-free phone and e-mail.

Then it sends designers monthly checks for earnings on sales.

Cafepress.com spokesman Marc Cowlin said the Pluto items were hot but that it was too early to tell how well they ultimately will sell. “Pluto is a planet we’ve known all our lives and suddenly it’s not. People are taken by surprise,” Cowlin said.

The edict by the International Astronomical Union to strip Pluto of its planetary status has clearly got Web-savvy online retailers seeing green. Janis Robinson of San Jose, Calif., was online via craigslist.org within hours, selling $25 “Pluto Is a Planet” T-shirts. “I’m always going to think of Pluto as a planet,” said the 45-year-old semi-retiree, insisting that she wasn’t marketing shirts on craigslist just for the money. “People who buy this can make a statement that we still believe in Pluto.”

Though the success of online Pluto merchandise is yet to be seen, the phenomenon presents an important lesson. As e-tailing continues to evolve and innovate—and provide instant gratification—so must the savvy apparel retailer.

Site Review: Fashion Free

For consumers and retailers alike, one of the most useful online services is simple, straightforward, unbiased professional advice. What to wear and how to wear it are the biggest questions most clothing shoppers face—and what retailers need to know to stock their stores.

Some broad strokes can be found in a very accessible, well-designed site at freefashionadvice.com. Its stated mission is to help women “look and feel beautiful and more confident,” and this is achieved with a staff of fashion and image consultants that offers reasonable advice in a well-organized and savvy Web site. There is a signup for a free monthly e-newsletter, and some of the helpful ar ticles easily referenced on the home page include a “Step-by-step guide to closet organization” and “What you should know before buying clothes on sale,” to name just a couple.

Specific questions are fielded from “fashion stylists [who] are formally trained and have a passion for fashion and educating women about how to look their best.” Advice is even organized by age range, for women in their 20s all the way up to their 70s.

Lots of other nifty features abound, including a Fashion Tip of the Week.

FreeFashionAdvice.com is a perfect resource for bewildered or insecure shoppers and a very useful retail proponent. The Web site is handy, fast and stops just shy of being too busy.