Workwear Gets a Denim Infusion
Dickies Girl is catching up to her male counterpart with a fresh new line of denim styles for juniors.
Once known exclusively for its workman’s pants, Dickies from Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Co. got a new reputation in the early 1990s when ska band No Doubt’s lead singer, Gwen Stefani, popularized the sexy-tomboy look by wearing low-rise Dickies pants and a pair of Dr. Martens creepers.
Three years ago, Masud Sarshar, chief executive of Los Angeles– based Apparel Limited Inc., took notice of the legions of young women wearing the work pants and obtained an exclusive license from the Ft. Worth, Texas–based company to produce the Dickies Girl brand. In addition to offering Dickies’ original low-rise pants for women, Sarshar gave the line a softer side by adding a variety of feminine looks, such as capri pants, poplin mini-dresses, low-rider mini-shorts, athletic suits and cargo miniskirts.
The Dickies Girl denim line, called 12 oz. Bull Denim, has skirts and pants that wholesale between $25 and $30. Dickies Girl also recently added plus sizes and is now available in sizes 0 to 26. The collection offers 30 new looks a month but is not a seasonal line.
Other additions to the youthful, hip collection include garment-dyed muscle tees, V-necks with script logos, and sleeveless hoodies.
“Dickies Girl has a lot of punk influences that translate into today’s fashion,” Sarshar said, pointing to pop sensation Avril Lavigne, who wears her Dickies low-rise pants with dress shirts, men’s ties and high-top Converse sneakers.
Clients such as Lavigne have helped Dickies Girl’s sales grow from $1.2 million in 2000 to this year’s projected sales of $50 million.
With wholesale price points ranging from $8 for a tank tee to $27 for a quilted Eisenhower jacket, the line is sold at department stores such as Macy’s, as well as at specialty chain stores such as Torrid, Pacific Sunwear, Hot Topic and Anchor Blue.
All styles are available at the company’s Web site, www.dickiesgirl.com. For more information, call (877) 746-1988.
—Claudia Figueroa
