As a student of engineering I am also frustrated by this practice. New, unnecessary patterns result in muda: reduplication of efforts, knowledge disconnection (learned “how to make a pant” last season), material waste, skill waste, and so on. To implement inherently wasteful policies is silly.

The store may be different in different regions, but in the ones I have been to (SF, Bay Area, LA), I would hardly call Anthropologie a one of a kind retailer. I think their mix is rather ecclectic. But I have not yet seen one of a kind apparel items (their furniture is one of a kind). Also, their items do mix together, just not in a brown pants, brown print top kind of way.

Having said that, Anthropologie is an established retailer that carries both other lines and several lines that they own. As a retailer, they don’t have to worry about pleasing a store buyer (a middle man), and as an established, well branded retailer, they have created a niche that an upstarting DE often can’t afford to attempt.

Anthropologie has a line called Free People that they do sell to other retailers. The line does cross merchandise, though not in the brown pants, brown print top sort of way (as I have said before). Or better yet, I should say, they don’t cross merchandise like the GAP where the pairings are obvious, but the store is for people who have more of an “out of the box” way of piecing items together.

Now, if you’re a DE and you have identified that you “hang” with Anthropologie, please keep in mind that many of the brands they carry are very well merchandised, the Anthropologie buyers are putting together that look that you see. So just because the store is eclectic, doesn’t necessarily mean that all the individual lines are.

A few years ago, they used to carry Michael Stars tees (don’t know if they still do and don’t know if that was regional). Michael Stars was a very basic sportswear line made of mostly cotton knits, basic colors, available across the line. But when you got into Anthropologie, they had certain colors, certain trim, blended it in with their merchandising…

I put pockets (usually front side pockets and a single welt back pocket) in ALL my pants. My quantities are small (around 50 per style) so I have to get the stuff made in the UK rather than offshore. The result is that the manufacturing price is so high I hardly sell any of them wholesale, I pretty much only sell my pants direct to consumers.

In the manufacturing markets I am familiar with, the UK and Los Angeles, it is so easy to find factories that do jersey and extremely hard to find ones that do wovens especially pants - I have been repeatedly advised to get a tailor (like off Savile Row!) but have a hard time believing that would be any less expensive.

I find it quite upsetting as I consider myself a far stronger pant designer (and enjoy it more) than tops. And I strongly believe women neglect their bottom halves and need exciting pants designers!

p.s. Thanks, Kathleen for having all the discussions you do. You are a walking library of information, and I so appreciate being allowed a part in it!!!! My Birthday was on the 12th. I don’t feel any older. Do you?

1. I went to Old Navy 2 years ago to check out what they had (they were fairly new here). I got 2 lower-calf-length, drawstring waist, bias-cut linen skirts with a ruffle at the hem, 2 or 3 horizontal pin tucks above that, and a ruched strip sewn down the center above that. One is tan and the other is a bright light orange. When I went back to get more later, they were gone and last year they didn’t have that skirt at all. I thought that was really stupid and frustrating because they look classic and pretty, even though the ruffle and strip have raw edges. They even came in black, white, and some other colors. I would have bought more.

2. I’m working on 2 groups of 5 dresses, ostensibly for Portland Fashion Week in October. The styles are all similar enough to look like they’re a collection and they’re all the same fabric (within each group). Should I keep them the same color and vary the trim color? Or, since they’d be in a fashion show, would it matter?

(The details: one group is this: the shell is satin ribbons sewn vertically or diagonally, depending on the dress, lined with silk organza, and they’re all around knee length and sleeveless. The other group is this: knee length dresses with sleeves in dark colors trimmed with feather fringe.)

What I think might be happening is that these established brands are using blocks that have been proven year-after-year. But, they’re outsourcing a greater share of their production and using inputs local to the facility.

On the surface, it looks lean. But they failed on the implementation, so it’s “lame”. The Consumer is getting screwed because the fabric properties changed; but, the block haven’t.