Panty Raid
When we think of underwear or intimate apparel, we tend to visualize it as being one of two things: sexy and provocative or basic and matronly. It’s either Victoria’s Secret and Frederick’s of Hollywood or Hanes and Fruit of the Loom.
Seems there’s an unfilled niche that, until recently, hasn’t been thoroughly recognized in those categories. That niche is somewhere in between “I’m too sexy” and not sexy at all.
Most girls I know own (and love) at least one pair of boxers or briefs (probably inherited from their boyfriends) that they love to lounge around in. And most girls I know also have that one pair of panties that is their favorite—maybe it’s the fit, maybe it’s the color or print, or maybe it’s just the way it makes them feel.
But, those favorite intimate items seem few and far between.
Designers and manufacturers are recognizing this unfilled niche for young, hip and fun underwear, intimate apparel and loungewear and are seeking to fill it quickly.
Recently, Los Angeles-based Rampage struck a deal with Costa Mesa, Calif.-based sleepwear manufacturer P.J. Salvage for a new line of Rampage Sleepwear and Loungewear. P.J. Salvage also recently launched its new P.J. Salvage Intimates line. Both lines offer comfy and stylish underwear and loungewear that can be worn as easily under jeans as they can for lounging around with a boyfriend watching a video rental.
Peter Burke, president of P.J. Salvage, said that for the company, it’s a natural progression, but added, “A lot of our customers said to us, ’Please do underwear. There’s a shortage of decent underwear out there in the market.’”Burke said that retailers haven’t taken the underwear and sleepwear categories very seriously until recently but now have begun to view them, together, as a “serious, money-generating category.”
He said that much of the demand has come from the junior market, which never really addressed fashion underwear or sleepwear.
“I think girls just want to feel hip 24/7,” he said.
For Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Porn Star, adding screened thongs, bikinis and camis to its women’s line a couple years ago was a perfect move, according to the label’s head designer, Jamie Ready. Porn Star has built its business on a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and Ready said that because of its name and brand identity the underwear line was extremely well-received.
The women’s line has since expanded its array of screened cotton top and bottom sets to include more fashionable cut-and-sew undergarments (without the words “Porn Star” on them) in such fabrications as stretch velour, mesh and denim knit.
“The reason we’re focusing so much on it now is because it’s our No. 1 [grossing] area,” Ready said.
For Newport Beach, Calif.-based Paul Frank Industries, the underwear category is still somewhat new, but according to co-partner Ryan Heuser, it has been one of the company’s fastest-growing sections. The apparel, accessories and home furnishings manufacturer is perhaps best recognized for its cartoon characters (especially that of Julius the monkey), and it has expanded them into quirky underwear sets. One tank-and-boy-style set—called “Underoos”—features the Paul Frank characters as superheroes. Another offering is a seven-pair undie set with a pair for each day of the week.
“The Underoos set has taken on a life of its own,” said Raili Walton, vice president of sales for Paul Frank. “Nordstorm sold out within the first 2 weeks. And the [Paul Frank] stores in San Francisco and L.A. sold out the first day—out of the box.”
Other apparel manufacturers are testing the waters slowly. At the recent MAGIC International trade show in Las Vegas, I caught up with Los Angeles-based Kik Girl and Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Trails Clothing. Both were offering something I’d never seen the lines offer before: underwear. For Trails, the screen-printed tanks and panties gave the company a chance to use its T-shirt screens on new items.
Designers for both companies said they just thought they’d try adding a few items to gauge the reaction.
I wonder if they’re on to something?
