Retailers Are Going Casual Too By Rachel Beck AP Business Writer Wednesday, January 7, 1998

Merchants now dedicate more selling space to blazers, sweaters and pants, while many apparel makers produce clothes with less dressy fabrics, brighter colors and more relaxed styles.

"We've gone from a country of the man in the gray flannel suit to the man in the khaki pants in two generations," said Alan Millstein, editor and publisher of the New York-based Fashion Network Report, an industry newsletter. "That's devastating news for manufacturers of tailored clothes."

Much of corporate America now dresses down at least on Friday, and more businesses are saying its okay for employees to go casual all week. That's a big change for workers who have closets filled with suits and only casual clothes for the weekends.

In a recent survey by retail consultants Kurt Salmon Associates, consumers plan to spend more on casual shirts and pants in 1998, and drastically less on dress pants, shirts and suits.

To capture this changing market, those retailers who depended on tailored clothes have added more casual wear to their stores to help them compete against stores like the Gap and Banana Republic, which have thrived as corporate America dresses more comfortably.

Brooks Brothers, long relied on to fit the business world in three-piece suits, now stocks its stores with mix-and-match pants, shirts, sweaters and jackets.

Salespeople also offer shoppers advice about the basic items needed to begin a casual wardrobe, and the retailer holds seminars in some stores on dressing casual.

"Casual days aren't about jeans and sneakers. You need to look smart, and what you wear needs to be appropriate for your job," said Jarlath Mellett, senior vice president at Brooks Brothers, which has offered its casual line since 1996. "But some people need help with this."

Department store chain Carson Pirie Scott uses an "Office Casual" label in store and newspaper advertising to designate items appropriate for casual days.

The Milwaukee-based retailer also offers bright-colored shirts and less-structured jackets for those consumers who still must wear a suit but want to dress it down, said Ed Carroll, Carson's executive vice president of marketing.

"Consumers are responding very favorably to manufacturers and retailers who are providing blended ensembles," said Phil Kowalczyk, a partner in the retail division at Atlanta-based Kurt Salmon. "Things that make its simpler to shop are things that make consumers respond these days."