Focused Buying at Boutique Lingerie at the Gerry Building
Lingerie stores throughout California and the West Coast—such as Beauty & Attitude from Berkeley, Calif.; Fred Segal Fun and Fred Segal Silk in Los Angeles; A Tropical Affair in Santa Barbara, Calif.; and La De Da from Webster, Texas—shopped the Boutique Lingerie show and showrooms in The Gerry Building during the March 20–23 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Market.
Shelley Chadwick, buyer for four Chadwicks of London stores in Northern California, shopped everything from basic bras to high-end fancy items. “They’re still coming in looking for what we’ve got that’s new,” Chadwick said of current store traffic. “I’m selling much less, but I’m still selling the high-end to the people who are still spending money.” Brands such as Belabumbum fit the bill for Fall pajamas that retail between $68 and $158. Chadwick said she is buying closer to delivery date than usual, including buying “some fill-ins for the summer.” “I’m trying to make every dollar count,” Chadwick said.
In anticipation of the recession, Claudia Ochoa, designer of New York–based line Clo, put her use of French Leavers lace and Italian silk on hold and started buying lace from domestic resources and Colombia, where the line is also manufactured. “People didn’t even realize there was a change in the lace. They just saw the change in prices,” said Ochoa, who uses the same quality control and also reduced the number of styles and groups by half. Buyers primarily bought bra and panties that averaged under $40 wholesale for a set and cut back on orders for lace and mesh chemise sets.
Jennie Nielsen—whose Gerry Building showroom carries the lingerie lines EA, Priamo and Jane Woolrich—met with all of her usual customers, who “have been around a long time.” Nielsen’s line, Fashion Forms—which provides innerwear solutions such as nipple covers, stick-on bras and bras with convertible straps—was a consistent seller because the products serve a unique purpose.
Angela Skalicky of the Carole Hochman Design Group showroom reported that pajamas and robes were popular for buyers shopping Fall and looking toward the holiday season. Sleepwear from the Carole Hochman, Oscar de la Renta and Betsey Johnson labels were top sellers. This season, Skalicky said, buyers came in with a game plan and “pretty much already know” what they want to buy, as opposed to other seasons, when buyers have been more impulsive. “Everybody’s being extremely careful,” Skalicky said. —Rhea Cortado
